Canned Tuna Mas Bai ( Picnic Rice)

Here is another picnic rice recipe for your next picnic or pair it with some spicy dry vegetable curry and you have a satisfying meal for lunch or dinner.  My son & daughter are huge fans of Maldivian flavors so I served this canned tuna mas bai with teluli rihaakuru (fried fish paste) they loved it. My kids eat rice well when I serve rice with Maldivian foods like theluli rihaakuru (fried fish paste), mas fen (combination of smoked tuna, thick coconut milk, chilly, onion, curry leafs), rihaakuru with thick coconut milk or rihaakuru dhiya(combination of rihaakuru, thick coconut milk, onion, chilly lime). They like to munch cucumbers & tomatoes too when they eat rice with these Maldivian combinations. So I try to make these foods when they both are home.

Ingredients:

2 cups basmati rice (washed)

1 tin canned tuna (oil or water drained)

1 big onion (sliced)

1 spring curry leaf

5 2inch pandan leaves

1 fresh chilly (giteyomirus)

5 cardamom pods

3 inch cinnamon stick

1 tbsp. whole pepper

¾ tsps. turmeric

1/3 cup vegetable oil

Water

Method:

1 – In a sauce pan big enough to cook rice add oil, onion, curry leafs, pandan leafs, chilly, cardamom, cinnamon, and pepper.  Sauté until onions get soft.

2 – When onions get soft add rice and sauté until rice color changes to a very very light brown or until the rice particles separates.

3 – Add water enough to cook rice into the rice & onion mixture, add turmeric. Cook just until big bubbles are forming on the rice now adds salt, fluff the canned tuna on to rice. Give a good stir and cook until all water is absorbed in to rice.

4 – Serve with Theluli rihaakuru (fried fish paste) or some dry vegetable curry …….. Enjoy!