Rihaakuru Dhiya

Rihaakuru dhiya is a very simple salty, spicy, creamy liquid mixture made to eat with rice or boiled taro or boiled unripe banana, breadfruit with grated coconut. It's eaten for lunch or dinner. Already rihaakuru is explained in the internet so I won’t go for an explanation about it. Traditional way of making Rihaakuru dhiya is by crushing sliced onion, chillies, curry leaves with lime juice and salt using finger tips and then adding all other ingredients accept dried fish. Dried fish is just my combination. It brings a different taste which I love. Using a food processor will make the entire flavor’s mix well. So here is my way of making Rihaakuru Dhiya.

Ingredients:

4 cups fresh thick coconut milk

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp good quality rihaakuru (thick fish paste)

1 pkt dried fish (optional)

1 medium onion (chopped)

4 dry roasted dry red chillies

1/2 of fresh chilly (githeyomirus)

Juice of 1 big lime

6 curry leaves

11/2 tsp salt

Method:

1_ In a food processor or grinder add onion, dried chilly, fresh chilly (chillies depends on how spicy you want it), curry leaves and dried fish, process until all the dried fish is in very small bits. Into this add half cup coconut milk, rihaakuru and lime juice, again process for one minute.

2_ Add this processed coconut milk into the rest of coconut milk and mix. Taste and adjust salt. Serve with rice or boiled taro or breadfruit and grated fresh coconut, smoked fish and a table spoon of home made lonumirus.  

Tomato Paste Fried Rice with Dried Tuna Chips

This is a very simple recipe that requires only a few ingredients from the pantry. It's a blend of tomato paste and dried tuna chips with cooked rice and a few other typical Maldivian spices. I used normal big grain rice, but really any rice would do. So next time you’re in the mood for a “hikimas” (dried tuna) dish, whip up some of this! It is quick, easy to make and tastes absolutely delicious!

Ingredients:

1 big onion (sliced)

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

12 curry leafs

4 dry chilly (cut into pieces)

200 grms dried tuna chips

4 tbs tomato paste

1 tbs dark soy sauce

½ tsp pepper powder

1 tsp lonumirus curry powder

4 cups cooked rice

Salt

¼ cup vegetable oil

Method:

1_ In a sauce pan or wok heat oil and add onion, ginger garlic paste, curry leafs, dry chilly and sauté until light brown.

2_ Now add dry tuna chips sauté for few minutes, add tomato paste, dark soy, lonumirus curry powder and sauté again until everything is mixed.

3_ Add rice, pepper powder mix well, season with salt and serve…………….. enjoy! 

Maldivian Tuna kebab with Coleslaw Sandwich

A sandwich is defined as two or more slices of bread with one or more fillings and there are just so many possibilities! In essence this fresh tuna kebab sandwich is just a simple minced tuna mixed with some spices and formed into small balls or egg shape kebabs, grilled on little oil until nice and golden brown ,crispy and then thrown into a sandwich along with a tasty coleslaw. Does this sound simple then the ingredient list? I finished the sandwiches off with some tomato sauce.

Ingredients:

200grms fresh tuna (minced)

3 tbs vegetable oil

6 slice of bread

2 slice of slice cheese

4 Wooden skewers

6 tbs Tomato sauce

For curry paste

5 dry Chilies
1 tsp cumin

1 tsp whole pepper

1/2 inch ginger

2 cloves of garlic

6 curry leafs

1 small onion

1 tsp smoked paprika

2 tbs water

1/3 tsp salt

For simple coleslaw salad

½ cup chopped or shredded cabbage

½ cup grated carrot

3 tbs mayonnaise

1/2 tsp pepper powder

Pinch of salt

Method:

1 _ Grind all curry paste ingredients in to a very fine paste.

2 _ Mix curry paste, minced tuna & ¾ teaspoon salt, Marinate the meat with curry paste mixture for 2 hours. Take about a tennis-ball size of tuna mince and shape evenly onto the bamboo skewers or make small balls and thread to skewer, 1/4 of the skewer should be left empty so it can be handled with ease and grill for 20 to 30 minutes. Turning side by side until cooked.

Here are some cooking options for kebab:

   * Place some oil on the grill and then grill 10 minutes on each side.

   * Broil on a broiler safe dish that has been coated with aluminum foil and oil on high for 15     minutes on each side.

   * Bake in the oven in an oven safe container that has been oiled at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes on each side.

3 _ Make coleslaw mixing all salad ingredients, set aside.

Lets make Sandwich

4_ Toast all the bread slices on a flat pan, you can toast in a toaster too, but I want the slice cheese to melt on one slice that’s why I toasted on a flat pan. Toast one side turn upside down and put cheese slices on top of the toasted side of two bread slices as I am making two sandwiches, toast like this until cheese is melted.

5 _ Take one toasted bread slice on a plate, take the bread slice topped with cheese and sandwich both. Now on the sandwiched bread spread half of the coleslaw, remove fish kebabs from skewer and arrange on top of coleslaw, drop some spoon full of tomato sauce on the kebabs and sandwich with the third slice, to secure sandwich prick a toothpick. Make the next sandwich and cut each sandwich in to two and serve with French fries …… enjoy! 

Mussamaa Curry

Curries are the most important dish in Maldivian meals, no meal is complete without a curry whether super-hot, mild or sweet. I often get asked how to cook mussamaa curry from some of my readers, so I thought I would write it down and add it to my blog. This is a great recipe to eat with roshi or rice.

 Ingredients:

2 big tuna loins

To make mussamaa curry paste:

30 grams Fish curry powder

30 grams roasted curry powder

Medium onion chopped

½ tsp whole pepper

3 cloves garlic (chopped)

½ of a Maldivian chilly (githeyomirus)

1 spring curry leaves

4 cardamom

1 cinnamon stick about 2 inch

3tbs grated coconut

1/3tsp salt

1cup water

For the curry:-

2big onions sliced

12 curry leaves

2 pandan leaf (raanbaa fai)

Maldivian chilly

3cloves garlic

½ tsp ginger

1/3 cup sea almonds or kanamadu

½ pkt dried resins

4 cardamom pods

2 stick cinnamon

Vegetable oil

1 cup thin coconut milk

1/2cup thick coconut milk

1tbs sugar

Method:-

Assembling tuna rolls…

Process all curry paste ingredients in a food processor and take half of the paste, keep rest for later. Cut each tuna loin in to 5 portions and cut each portion in to 2inch wide to 3inch long thin strips or slices.

Take one piece of tuna and apply generous amount of curry paste on the inside of cut piece and roll the tuna piece like a swiss roll locking as much curry paste inside and tie the rolled tuna piece using a pandan strip or secure with a tooth pick.

Finish all the tuna pieces like this and leave in fridge to marinate for 3 hours or overnight.

To cook curry ..

Heat oil in a pan fry the sea almonds first just until slightly brown take out on to a plate, then fry resins until resins are puffed take on to the same plate, set aside. In the same pan add the onions, curry leaves, chilly, ginger, garlic cinnamon, cardamom and pandan leaves, fry until onions caramelizes. Into this add the thin coconut milk, rest of the curry paste and stir to dissolve.

Start to cook, add the marinated tuna, cook until tuna is cooked and the curry is thick add the thick coconut milk sprinkle 1tbs sugar cook for 2 minutes, sprinkle the sea almonds and resins, season with salt…. Enjoy!

Tuna Pan Loaf Pizza

I made this in my cooking class using a chicken version and it tasted so yummy, the taste of egg toast gives the loaf an extra deliciousness, so I thought I will give a try using a tuna pizza filling. I made this for the third day iftar and my son loved it.

Ingredients: A

1 can tuna (I used in oil)

1 medium onion (chopped)

Chilly (githeyomirus)

1 spring curry leaves

2 garlic (crushed & chopped)

Salt

5 tbs vegetable oil

Ingredients: B

For the sauce

1/3 cup Chilly & garlic sauce

1/3 cup tomato sauce

Or

You can use your favorite pizza sauce

Ingredients: C

10 eggs

½ of a medium onion chopped

1/2 tsp pepper powder

Salt

Ingredient: D

10 to 12 slice of Bread (upper hard layer removed)

3 tbs vegetable oil

3 slices of slice cheese

Mozzarella cheese (optional as much you like)

And

You will need about 81/2 inch pan with a lid

Method:

In sauce pan heat 5 tbs oil, fry onion, chilly, garlic and curry leaves until onions are soft. Into this add tuna and salt, cook for 2 minutes stirring constantly. Add the sauce and mix for another 2 minutes. Set aside.

In a bowl mix all ingredients C and set aside. Oil the pan generously and dip both sides of each slice of bread into the egg mixture coat well and arrange bread slices in the pan covering the entire bottom & sides. To cover small areas just tier the bread in to small pieces and dip in egg mixture. 

When the entire pan is covered with egg dipped bread slices pour the tuna mixture and spread evenly. Arrange the cheese slices both, slice cheese & mozzarella cheese.

(You can grate the cheese for an even layer, I am too lazy to do that) 

Again cover the tuna & cheese mixture by layering bread slices dipped in egg mixture covering totally, pour rest of the remaining egg mixture on top of the pan loaf.

Put the lid on and on the lowest heat of your stove cook the pan loaf pizza until the bottom is slightly brown & toasted, it will take about 5 to 10 minutes.

Keep on checking as the loaf may burn easily. Now take the lid off & flip the bottom of the pan loaf on the inside of the lid, again flip the pan loaf pizza upside down into the pan and now don't put the lid on, just bake until the bottom is nicely brown. When the bottom of pan loaf gets brown you can smell bread toasting. This is how I know my pan loaf pizza side is done. When both sides are baked slice & serve with a salad ........ enjoy!

Theluli Mas (Spicy Fried Fish)

Theluli mas or spicy fried fish is very common in Maldivian cuisine. The ingredients vary to prepare this fish from island to island. My recipe is a very easy recipe as “lonumirus curry powder” which is a combination of dried chilies & some spices sold almost in every local shops & it takes less than 15 minutes to prepare. This fish is a must on our dinner & lunch table.

This pic is taken from Google

Ingredients:

1 Tuna lion about 650 grms (cut vertically in to 1/3 inchthick steaks)

21/2tbs lonumirus curry powder

21/2tbs tomato paste

Salt

1/3 to 1/2 cup vegetable oil or olive oil

Method:

In a bowl mix lonumirus curry powder, tomato paste & salt, rub this paste on the tuna steaks & leave for ½ an hour covered with plastic wrap. Heat oil in a sauce pan & arrange the steaks, put lid on & cook on low heat until bottom is fried.

Turn the steaks to upside down & fry again until slightly crispy. I like bottom of my steaks to burn the paste lightly to give a stronger flavor. This goes well with anything, rice, roshi, bread  & even with boiled vegetables ………………………………………enjoy!

Rihaakuru Garudiya (Fish paste soup)

Again some free days came on hand so I thought of making something local and rarely tasted nowadays to post on my blog. I don’t remember last few years making this soup so I was wondering if my kids will like it or not, but to my surprise they loved this soup with rice and smoked tuna. Here is the recipe

Ingredients:

1ltr water

3 to 5tbs Rihaakuru (Fish paste) depends on the quality

1small sour mango or billinbi (cut in to bite size pieces)

5dried chilies’

1mediun onion (cut in to lengthwise)

4cloves of garlic

1tsp ajinomoto

Curry leaves

Pandan leaves

Salt

Method:

Mix water and Rihaakuru in a saucepan, bring to a boil, if you see little scum remove it. When this starts to boil add all ingredients other than salt. Cook for about 5minutes or until the onions & chilies’ start to release its aroma, taste and season with salt. Serve with rice, Smoked fish and lonumirus ………..enjoy!!

Hanaakuri Mas (Stove roasted fish)

This dish is a very popular dish, it is prepared to eat with rice pudding on special occasions but my kids love to eat it with roshi (Maldivian flat bread) so I make this dish two to three days a week. 

 

Ingredients

1tuna lion cut in to bite size cubes (1 gandumas)

2big onion (sliced)

1tbs ginger garlic paste

8curry leaves

4pc 3” pandan leaves

4tbs chicken curry powder

Maldivian chilly (githeyo mirus)

11/2tbs lonumirus curry powder or chillie powder

2tbs tomato paste

Salt

6tbs vegetable oil

Method:

In a sauce pan heat oil add onion, curry leaves, pandan leaves, chilly (as much you want), ginger garlic paste sate until light caramelized color. Add both curry powder & tomato paste roast with the caramelized onions until oil separates from onions. Now add fish and salt, stir constantly on medium heat until fish is cooked, if you want some gravy add 1/2cup coconut milk give a stir. Serve with rice or roshi or bondibai…..................................enjoy!!