Plun Pilhi: Very Ripe Bananas on the Savory Side of the Plate
This is the very ripe banana version of pilhi, called plun pilhi, using four ingredients and no added sugar. Sekai Gohan has not kitchen-tested this recipe. The recipe says only "moderate oven," so the oven temperature below is an editorial guide.
At the Island Fish Fry, a sunset event on the Norfolk Island coast, the food includes fried fish, salads, coconut bread and pilhi. Norfolk Island Tourism describes that pilhi as a "savoury banana slice." The description may surprise anyone who expects bananas and flour to end up as a sweet cake.
Pilhi is not one fixed recipe. Local and academic sources describe it as a family of baked dishes, with versions based on banana, kumera (sweet potato) or pumpkin. This article follows one of them: the plun pilhi published by Jodie Williams, a Norfolk Islander and host of the Untold Norfolk Island Travel Podcast. That page explains plun as banana and presents the dish as a vegetable to serve with fish or meat.
The recipe gives its ingredients, their order and a baking time of about an hour. It does not state an exact oven temperature, cup standard, banana weight, tray size, number of servings or doneness test. Where this article fills a gap, it says so, and the remaining gaps are left open.
Ingredients for Plun Pilhi
Choosing the Bananas, Flour and Soda
- Bananas: Look for skins with plenty of dark speckles and fruit that has turned soft. Green bananas belong to other dishes.
- Flour: Use ordinary plain flour. Gluten-free flour is an untested swap here, so the same texture can't be promised.
- Bicarbonate of soda: This is also sold as baking soda; choose a food-grade product. Baking powder is an untested swap.
- Additions: Leave out sugar, coconut, oil, kumera and pumpkin. They would make a different recipe.
Plain flour contains wheat. For other allergens and possible cross-contact, follow the labels on the products you buy.
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Fork
- Spoon
- Measuring cup and measuring spoons
- Baking tray
- Oven
- Bamboo skewer
Troubleshooting: What We Can and Can't Say
The recipe offers no troubleshooting, and we have not test-baked it, so this table stays within what the materials support.
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| Batter clings to the skewer after about an hour | Bake a little longer and test again. This is a general editorial check, not part of the published recipe |
| The pilhi sticks to the tray | The recipe does not mention greasing, and we have not tested how it releases, so we can't promise a fix. Other pilhi recipes in a Norfolk Island community cookbook are reported to use greased tins or banana leaves, but those are different methods |
| Your bananas are still green | Choose very ripe fruit for this recipe. The same local host treats green-banana dishes, such as mudda (dumplings cooked in milk and the like) and green banana fritters, as separate dishes |
| It seems plain for something made with bananas | Don't add sugar. This version is served with savory food, so taste it alongside the fish or meat |
Variations: What Changes the Dish
- Ripeness: Bananas vary even within "very ripe," and we have not compared how the stages bake. Treat any comparison as your own experiment, separate from the published recipe.
- Tray: The recipe gives no material or size. A different tray may change the thickness and how well the pilhi releases, but we have no measurements to recommend.
- Banana leaf: Banana-leaf baking is recorded for other pilhi recipes. If you try it, treat it as a separate method, because this recipe doesn't call for it.
- Kumera or pumpkin: These are recorded pilhi types, but they aren't simple swaps for banana. They need their own recipes, so don't merge them with these amounts.
Serving: Beside Fish or Meat
The published recipe presents plun pilhi as a vegetable to serve with fish or meat, and Discover Norfolk Island describes it as a vegetable cake that accompanies savory dishes. Cut it and put it on the plate next to the main dish, as you would a vegetable.
For more Pacific cooking, banana poke from the Cook Islands is a sweet banana dish and shows how different the same fruit can be. Panipopo from Samoa brings together coconut and bread.
Pilhi on Norfolk Island: A Family of Baked Dishes
A University of Adelaide doctoral thesis on Australian community cookbooks describes pilhi as a common Pitcairn and Norfolk dish. It treats pilhi as a category of baked, mashed or grated fruit and vegetable preparations, often made with root vegetables but also with banana or corn, and sometimes moistened with coconut. The thesis reports ten pilhi recipes in the Norfolk Island Cookery Book.
Pilhi also has a place at community gatherings. Discover Norfolk Island describes the Bounty Picnic at Kingston as a communal lunch and records a 1946 picnic menu that included pilhi. The same page identifies the pilhi served there as a vegetable cake made with kumera, ripe banana or pumpkin.
Bananas have their own local history. Discover Norfolk Island recounts the arrival of Pitcairner settlers in 1856 and later banana growing and export on the island, including a boom from the late 1920s into the early 1930s. It describes island kitchens using bananas across their stages of ripeness, recalls their older use as a vegetable, and says plun pilhi uses very overripe fruit. These accounts give useful context, but they don't establish where pilhi or its name came from, so we make no claim about either.
The podcast host also talks about the yolor, a grater the host says was brought from Pitcairn in 1856. It belongs to the wider story of island cooking, and you don't need one for this recipe because the ripe bananas are mashed. The host's account of the island's kitchens includes seasonal ingredients, limited supply and substitution, along with recipes shared among families and the community. That is one Norfolk Islander's perspective, and we don't present it as true of every household.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is pilhi a sweet dessert?
Not in this version. Very ripe bananas have their own sweetness, but the recipe has no added sugar, and local sources present it as an accompaniment to fish, meat or other savory dishes.
Can I use green bananas?
Not for this recipe, which calls for very ripe bananas. Mudda and green banana fritters are separate dishes.
How much should 12 bananas weigh?
The recipe counts bananas and gives no weight, and bananas vary in size, so we don't offer a conversion. It also names no variety or skin color. The speckled skin and soft fruit described above are our editorial guide to ripeness.
What temperature is a moderate oven?
The recipe says only "moderate oven." As a traditional term, that generally corresponds to about 180–190°C (350–375°F), though such terms were loose descriptions used without thermometers. We suggest around 180°C as an editorial guide, and it has not been tested with this recipe.
How do I know when it is done?
The recipe gives only "about an hour." The bamboo skewer check is a general editorial addition: if batter clings to the skewer, bake a little longer. We don't give a target color or internal temperature because the materials don't support one.
What size is the cup, and how much does this make?
The recipe states neither a cup standard nor a yield, so we don't convert the flour to grams or give a number of servings.
Can I store or reheat it?
None of our sources give storage or reheating guidance, and we have not tested it, so we don't give a storage method or time. Follow your local food-safety guidance for cooked food.
Sources
- Jodie Williams, Untold Norfolk Island Travel Podcast, "A culinary insight and what on earth is a 'plun pilhi'?" The recipe's ingredients, amounts and method; pilhi's banana, kumera and pumpkin variants; serving with fish or meat; the host's account of local food culture and the yolor. https://untoldnorfolkislandtravelpodcast.buzzsprout.com/2353792/episodes/16265516-a-culinary-insight-and-what-on-earth-is-a-plun-pilhi
- Norfolk Island Tourism, "Island Fish Fry – Pinetree Tours." Pilhi described as a savoury banana slice and served with fried fish, salads and coconut bread at a sunset coastal event. https://www.norfolkisland.com.au/things-to-do/tours/island-fish-fry-pinetree-tours/
- Discover Norfolk Island, "Good as Gold: Bananas or 'plun'." Very overripe fruit in plun pilhi, its role with savory dishes, bananas across stages of ripeness, Pitcairner settlement in 1856, and banana growing and export history. https://www.norfolkisland.net/good-as-gold-bananas-or-plun/
- University of Adelaide digital repository, "'Tried and Tested': Community Cookbooks in Australia, 1890–1980" (doctoral thesis). Pilhi as a Pitcairn and Norfolk category of baked dishes, the ten recipes in the Norfolk Island Cookery Book, and banana-leaf and greased-tin methods. https://digital.library.adelaide.edu.au/server/api/core/bitstreams/c1d49151-1443-495b-b6e1-1f088fef2c98/content
- Discover Norfolk Island, "Bountiful Feasts: Celebrating Anniversary Day." The Bounty Picnic at Kingston, its 1946 menu, and pilhi as a vegetable cake made with kumera, ripe banana or pumpkin. https://www.norfolkisland.net/bountiful-feasts-celebrating-anniversary-day/
- Wikipedia, "Moderate oven (oven temperature terms)." General reference for the term's approximate range, used only as an editorial conversion aid and not specific to Norfolk Island or this recipe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moderate_oven
