Everything you need to prepare a traditional Fijian lovo (earth oven): timings, quantities, step-by-step method, safety tips and six recipes including vuaka lovo, palusami and vakalolo.

Bula vinaka! (Hello and welcome!) There's no smell quite like a lovo (earth oven) being opened on a Sunday afternoon: smoky vuaka (pork), soft dalo (taro), and palusami (taro-leaf parcels) rich with lolo (coconut cream). This guide walks you through every step, from digging the pit to the first bite, plus six lovo recipes to feed the whole vuvale (family).

What is a lovo?

A lovo is Fiji's traditional earth oven. Food is wrapped in leaves, laid on red-hot vatu (stones) in a shallow pit, then covered and left to steam and roast for two to three hours. The stones hold the heat, the leaves hold the moisture, and the result is tender, smoky food that no kitchen oven can copy.

In Fiji, a lovo is more than a cooking method. It is the centre of a magiti (feast) for weddings, birthdays, church soqo (gatherings), Christmas, New Year and the Sunday family lunch. The men usually prepare the pit and the fire, while the whole household helps with the kakana (root crops) and the parcels. It's a day-long job, and that's half the fun.

Fijian lovo words at a glance

Fijian	English
lovo	earth oven (and the feast cooked in it)
vatu	stones
buka	firewood
drau ni vudi	banana leaves
drau ni niu	coconut leaves / fronds
niu	coconut
lolo	coconut cream
dalo	taro
rourou	taro leaves
tavioka	cassava
uvi	yam
kumala	sweet potato
vuaka	pork / pig
toa	chicken
ika	fish
bulumakau	beef
kakana	staple food (root crops)
magiti	feast
vuvale	family, household
kana vinaka	enjoy your meal
vinaka	thank you

Planning your lovo: how much food and how long?

Timing for a lunch lovo (serves about 20):

• 7:00 am – Prepare marinades, peel root crops, wrap parcels.
• 8:30 am – Light the fire on the stones.
• 10:00 am – Stones are glowing hot; clear the embers and lay in the food.
• 10:30 am – Lovo is covered.
• 1:00 pm – Open the lovo. Kana vinaka!

Rough quantities for 20 people:

• 5–6 kg pork (shoulder or leg) or 4 whole chickens
• 2–3 whole fish (about 1 kg each)
• 20 palusami parcels
• 10–12 dalo, 3–4 kg tavioka, plus uvi or kumala if you have them
• 6–8 dry coconuts for fresh lolo

A lovo is hard to rush, so plan backwards from when you want to eat and give yourself an extra 30 minutes.

What you'll need

For the pit:

• A spade, and a spot in the yard away from the house, trees and power lines
• 20–30 fist-to-head-sized vatu (stones). Use dry volcanic or river stones that have been used before if you can. Avoid wet, flaky or layered stones, which can crack or burst in the heat.
• Plenty of dry buka (firewood), plus coconut husks and shells for kindling
• Long-handled tongs, a rake or two sturdy sticks for moving hot stones
• Drau ni vudi (banana leaves), lots of them, and some drau ni niu (coconut fronds)
• Old sacks or a tarpaulin to cover the pit, and a bucket of water to wet the sacks
• Chicken wire or wire baskets (optional, but they make lifting parcels much easier)
• Heavy-duty aluminium foil (optional, for palusami and fish)

In the kitchen:

• A coconut scraper for fresh lolo
• A wide parat or large bowls for mixing, marinating and squeezing coconut
• A clean cloth or strainer for squeezing lolo
• Large stainless steel trays for carrying food to and from the lovo
• Catering trays and bowls for serving the feast

How to prepare a lovo, step by step

Step 1: Dig the pit

Dig a shallow pit about 1 m across and 40–60 cm deep. Bigger feasts need a bigger pit. If you have a regular lovo spot, reuse it; the soil is already dry and firm. Clear away loose grass so it doesn't smoke under the food.

Step 2: Build the fire and heat the vatu

Lay a bed of kindling and buka in the pit, then stack the vatu on top of and among the wood. Light it and keep feeding the fire for 1 to 1½ hours, until the stones are glowing hot (they will look white-grey and shimmer). The fire should burn down to embers.

Step 3: Prepare the food while the fire burns

This is when the kitchen gets busy: marinate the meat, scrape the coconuts, squeeze the lolo, peel the kakana and wrap everything in leaves (see the recipes below). Wrap each item well. The leaves are what keep your food moist.

Step 4: Clear and level the stones

When the stones are ready, use tongs or sticks to pull out any unburnt wood and large embers. Spread the hot stones into an even layer. Work quickly from here; the heat starts escaping as soon as the fire is out.

Step 5: Layer the food

1. Lay a thin layer of banana leaves or green coconut fronds over the stones.
2. Put the longest-cooking food at the bottom, closest to the heat: vuaka (pork), bulumakau (beef) and big dalo or tavioka.
3. Next, toa (chicken) and the remaining kakana.
4. On top, the quick-cooking and delicate items: ika (fish), palusami and any puddings.

Step 6: Cover the lovo

Cover the food with more banana leaves, then wet sacks or a tarp, and finally a layer of soil around the edges and over the top so no steam escapes. If you see smoke or steam leaking, patch the gap with more soil.

Step 7: Wait (the hardest part)

Leave the lovo for 2 to 2½ hours for a mixed lovo with pork. A lovo of just chicken, fish and palusami needs about 1½ to 2 hours. Use the time to set the tables, make the kokoda or salad, and put the yaqona (kava) on.

Step 8: Open the lovo

Carefully scrape back the soil, lift the sacks away from you (the steam is very hot), and remove the leaves. Lift the parcels out onto trays. Check the meat is cooked through; the juices from the pork and chicken should run clear. If anything needs more time, finish it in the kitchen oven.

Lovo recipes

1. Vuaka lovo (lovo pork)

Serves 12–15 · Cook time 2–2½ hours

• 5–6 kg pork shoulder or leg, skin on
• 1 whole bulb garlic, crushed
• 5 cm piece ginger, grated
• ½ cup soy sauce
• 2 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp black pepper
• Banana leaves

1. Score the pork skin and cut the meat into large pieces (about 1–1.5 kg each).
2. Rub all over with garlic, ginger, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Marinate for at least 2 hours, or overnight in the fridge.
3. Wrap each piece in 3–4 layers of banana leaves and tie with strips of leaf or string.
4. Place at the bottom of the lovo, directly on the stone layer.

2. Toa lovo (lovo chicken)

Serves 12–16 · Cook time 1½–2 hours

• 4 whole chickens (about 1.5 kg each), halved
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed
• 3 cm ginger, grated
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 2 fresh chillies, chopped (optional)
• Salt and pepper

1. Mix garlic, ginger, soy sauce, oyster sauce and chilli. Rub over the chicken halves and marinate for at least 1 hour.
2. Wrap in banana leaves (or foil, then banana leaves) and place in the middle layer of the lovo.

3. Palusami (taro-leaf parcels in coconut cream)

Makes 20 parcels · Cook time 1½–2 hours

• 60–80 young rourou (taro leaves), stalks removed
• 4 cups thick lolo (coconut cream)
• 3 onions, finely chopped
• 2 tins corned beef or tuna (optional)
• 2 fresh chillies, chopped (optional)
• 2 tsp salt
• Banana leaves or foil squares

1. Mix the lolo, onion, chilli and salt in a bowl.
2. Stack 3–4 rourou leaves in your cupped hand to form a cup. Add a spoonful of corned beef or tuna, if using.
3. Pour in about ¼ cup of the lolo mix. Fold the leaves over to seal.
4. Wrap each parcel in a square of banana leaf or foil, twisting the top closed.
5. Place on the top layer of the lovo.

Tip: Always cook rourou well. Undercooked taro leaves make your throat itch. Two hours in the lovo is perfect.

4. Ika vakalolo (lovo fish in coconut cream)

Serves 6–8 · Cook time 1–1½ hours

• 2 whole fish (about 1 kg each), cleaned and scaled
• 1 cup thick lolo
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 tomatoes, sliced
• 1 lemon, sliced
• 1 fresh chilli
• Salt

1. Rub the fish inside and out with salt.
2. Stuff the belly with onion, tomato, lemon and chilli.
3. Place each fish on a large sheet of foil lined with banana leaf, fold up the sides, pour over the lolo and seal tightly.
4. Place on the top layer of the lovo.

5. Kakana ni lovo (lovo root crops)

Cook time 2–2½ hours

• Dalo (taro), tavioka (cassava), uvi (yam) and kumala (sweet potato)

1. Scrub the dalo and uvi well. Peel the tavioka and cut it into 15–20 cm lengths.
2. Wrap in banana leaves in bundles, or place straight on the leaf layer around the meat.
3. Big dalo and uvi go at the bottom; kumala can sit higher up as it cooks faster.

6. Vakalolo (cassava pudding with caramel coconut sauce)

Serves 10 · Cook time 1½ hours

• 2 kg tavioka (cassava), peeled and finely grated
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup lolo

For the sauce:

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups lolo

1. Squeeze excess liquid from the grated tavioka. Mix with 1 cup sugar and 1 cup lolo.
2. Wrap in banana leaves as flat parcels, then foil. Place on the top layer of the lovo.
3. For the sauce: melt the sugar in a pot until golden brown, then carefully stir in the lolo and simmer until slightly thick.
4. Unwrap the pudding, cut into pieces and pour over the warm sauce.

How to make fresh lolo (coconut cream)

Fresh lolo makes a big difference in palusami and vakalolo.

1. Crack a dry, brown niu (coconut) in half.
2. Grate the flesh with a coconut scraper into a bowl or parat.
3. Add about ½ cup of warm water per coconut and knead for a minute.
4. Squeeze the coconut through a cloth or strainer. The first squeeze gives thick cream; add more water and squeeze again for thinner milk.

One coconut gives roughly ¾ to 1 cup of thick lolo.

Lovo safety tips

• Keep children and pets well away from the pit and the hot stones.
• Never use wet, cracked or layered stones. Trapped water can make them crack or burst.
• Use long tongs, thick gloves and closed shoes when moving stones.
• Lift the covering away from your body so steam doesn't burn you.
• Keep a bucket of water or a hose nearby, and put out the fire completely when you're done.
• Cook meat all the way through, and don't leave leftovers sitting in the heat. Refrigerate them within 2 hours in airtight containers.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a lovo take to cook?

Allow 1 to 1½ hours to heat the stones and 2 to 2½ hours of cooking once the food is in. Chicken, fish and palusami need about 1½ to 2 hours.

What stones are best for a lovo?

Dry volcanic or river stones about the size of your fist or head. Avoid wet, flaky or layered stones, which can crack in the heat.

Can I make a lovo without banana leaves?

Yes. Wrap food in foil, then cover the pit with wet sacks. Banana leaves give better flavour and moisture, so use them if you can.

What goes in a Fijian lovo?

Typically pork, chicken, fish, palusami, dalo, tavioka, uvi and kumala, and sometimes beef, lamb or a vakalolo pudding.

Can I cook a lovo without digging a pit?

Some families build an above-ground lovo inside a ring of blocks or a steel drum. The method is the same: hot stones, wrapped food, and a tight cover.

Get your lovo kit at Domalco

Planning a lovo for the family, a church function or a wedding? Pick up coconut scrapers, parats, stainless steel trays and serving ware at our Ba and Lautoka stores, or shop online with free delivery on orders over $100.

Vinaka vakalevu (thank you very much) for reading, and kana vinaka!

Tags

earth oven Fijian food lovo magiti palusami Recipes

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