The star ingredient is pomtajer, sometimes called taro. You grate it into shreds, then mix it with the spiced chicken and pour it all into a big baking dish. In the oven it soaks up all the juices from the meat and the tomatoes, turning into something halfway between a gratin and a dumpling — soft inside, slightly crispy on top.
Pom arrived in Suriname with the Sephardic Jewish community, who came from the Netherlands and Portugal hundreds of years ago and adapted their traditional recipes to the ingredients they found in South America. Today it is eaten by Surinamese families of every background, and is the first dish many people think of when they think of home.
Making pom takes time — grating the pomtajer is hard work, and the dish needs a long, slow bake. In Surinamese families it is often made together, with grandparents and grandchildren grating side by side in the kitchen. That makes it not just a meal, but an event.