I hope I am putting this in the right forum ?

Can anyone tell me how to cook Bunya Nuts and if there is different ways or methods ?

I am of the understanding that they can ....  well ....  not go down too good if not prepared or cooked the right way.

All assist appreciated.

Cheers  Phill
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Best I could find was a citation in Wickpedia and I quote;

"A. bidwillii was a sacred tree for the Aboriginal people. The vernacular name is Bunya, Bonye, Bunyi or Bunya-bunya, from various tribes or European variations of the Australian Aboriginal name for the tree; it is also often called Bunya Pine (though this is inaccurate as it is not a pine). It is also commonly referred to as the False Monkey Puzzle, despite its obvious physical differences from the Monkey Puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana). The seeds are edible, and are similar to pine nuts, and have been an important food resource for Australian Aboriginal people; groves of the trees were often under particular tribal ownership. They are eaten both raw and cooked. Traditionally they were also ground and made into a paste, which was eaten directly or cooked in hot coals to make bread."


HTH

G'day Phill......found these......hope they help

Spotted Dog a la Bunya
Sultanas or mixed fruit
3 cups S.R.flour
2 cups minced Bunya nuts (cooked)
2 tablespoons butter
2 small teaspoons Baking Powder      2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons powdered milk
4 tablespoons sugar
Mix flour, powdered milk, salt, baking powder and sugar together. Melt butter in a little hot water. Add minced nuts, eggs, butter and fruit to other ingredients. Mix to just pouring consistency, adding a little more later if necessary. Pour into greased large tray or other suitable baking dish. Bake at 450 degrees Fahrenheit, reduce to 400 after 20 minutes, bake until cooked.

Bunya Fruit Cake
3 cups S.R. flour
7 heaped cup raw sugar
3 cups minced Bunya Nuts (cooked)
2 tablespoons butter or
2 teaspoons Baking Powder      Margarine
1 teaspoon salt
5 eggs
4 tablespoons powdered milk
Fruit to taste
Mix all dry ingredients together, add rest with a little water to make mixture to a just-pour consistency. Pour into a greased large lamington tin or other suitable tin. Bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes, then reduce to 400 degrees and continue baking until cooked.

Bunya Nut Casserole

4 Cups finely chopped and boiled Bunya Nuts
250 grams bacon rashers
2 medium onions
1 Can Peeled Tomatoes
250 grams Grated Cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

Using a medium size casserole place a layer of the Bunya Nuts on the base then add a layer of sliced tomatoes, then a layer of the bacon which you have lightly fried, then a layer of tomatoes. Repeat this process until you have used your ingredients and sprinkle on the grated cheese and cover the casserole. Cook in a pre-heated oven at approximately 200 degrees for approximately 1 hour, the last 15 minutes with the lid off.


SBB

This is from a Bush Tucker site, much the same as OzJeepers, there doesn't seem to be any problem eating them raw.  [smiley=beer.gif]


Plant Description
Botanical name: Araucaria bidwillii This plant is a large tall tree to 40 m high with a straight trunk, prickly leaves, and separate male and female flowers. The female cones, up to 300 mm long and weighing up to 10 kg, contain the edible seeds. A large harvest occurs approximately every three years, January to March.

Uses.
Bunya harvest was a time of feasting and ceremonies. Aboriginal tribes headed for the Bunya mountains where each tribe had ownership of particular trees. The tribes gathered in designated meeting places and any hostilities were suspended. Fruit was gathered and taken home.
The fruit was eaten raw, roasted, or pounded to flour to make a kind of bread.
Today, the nuts can still be eaten raw when fresh, or boiled to make it easier to extract the nut from the hard shell. The nuts can then be sliced or pureed and added to desserts and savoury dishes. The nuts' flour can also be used to make breads and cakes.

When we lived at Jondaryan it wasn't too far for a Sunday run to the Bunya Mountains for some nuts. They were very easy to come by at the right times.

Dad used to boil them in the shells in salty water and when cool we were right amongst 'em.
I don't know if there was anything in it but Dad always told us to remove the little core through the centre and not eat it, but I can't remember why he told us that (maybe it was the best part & he wanted 'em for himself ;D)


All the best
Skip [smiley=chris.gif]

Apparently there is a Bunya festival up at Baroon Pocket Dam this saturday. The dam is near Maleny.

Work is putting together a Bunya Nut Chucking Team for the event ::)

Will be checking that one out Troy, Is it at the Maleny on Montville end do you know?

Skip [smiley=piggy.gif]

This is from the same site.  Storing in the fridge bit sound good. [smiley=beer.gif]


These Bunya Nuts were a rich source of food for the Aborigines of south-east Queensland. During the Bunya season they would temporarily set aside their tribal differences and gather in the mountains for great Bunya Nut Feasts. The aboriginal word for the Bunya Pine was actually bon-yi and the Blackall Range, west of the Sunshine Coast, was known to our local Pine Rivers aborigines as the Bon-yi Mountains. Rollo Petries grandfather, Tom Petrie, was the only free white man to ever attend a bon-yi feast. It was Toms father, Andrew Petrie, who discovered this tree around 1838, and who later gave specimens to Mr. John Bidwill, after whom it was ultimately named.

The Aborigines ate the Bunya Nut raw or roasted, and they also buried them in mud for several months. This was said to greatly improve the flavour and may have been a means of storing them. Certainly, raw nuts in their shells, that have been stored in the bottom of the refrigerator in a sealed container for several months, have a much sweeter taste, and are as fresh as the day they fell from the tree, even though the shells may look a bit mouldy.

I have found many uses for the fruit of the Bunya Pine, both cooked and raw and in savoury and sweet dishes. It is one of the most versatile and useful of all our native foods My family and friends have been mostly willing, but sometimes unwitting guinea pigs, as I researched various recipes. So far I have used Bunya Nuts in soups, casseroles, quiches, pies, pastas, vegetables, desserts, cakes, biscuits, bread, damper, scones, pikelets, pastry, lollies and porridge.

The simplest way to prepare Bunya Nuts for eating is to put them in a saucepan of water and boil for about half an hour. Remove from the water and split open while still hot. Remove from the shell and serve with butter (pepper and salt if required). They may be eaten cold, but are better hot.


BUNYA NUT CASSEROLE:

4 cups minced or finely chopped boiled Bunya Nuts
250 g bacon rashes
2 medium onions
1 can peeled tomatoes (425 g)
250 g grated sharp cheese
pepper and salt to taste

Grease a 2-litre deep casserole dish. Cover bottom with a layer of Bunya Nuts, then add a layer of sliced onions, which have been fried in a small quantity of oil until soft and clear. Next add a layer of lightly fried, chopped bacon, then a layer of tomatoes. Sprinkle with some of the grated cheese. Repeat layers, finishing off with Bunya Nuts sprinkled with grated cheese. Cover, place in a moderate oven for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, removing lid for last 15 minutes.

I have enjoyed a few feeds of these nuts over the years. As kids, mum would cook up a heap in the corned meat water, plenty of salt in the meat in those days.
I now cook them in a pressure cooker for about 30 minutes. Split them down one side with a pair of secateurs or knife if you are game, this allows them to swell & cook quicker. Add salt, curry powder, Holbrooks sauce to taste.
LogFire

Hey Phill, we don't see you over here often enough.

Many years back I was in a Natio ................. State Fo ................ in the bush and collected a few of the big cones.   ::)

Boiled them up in salty water and in to them.  I to have heard that the little yellow part in the middle shouldn't be eaten