Breakfast from the sea – Mas Huni; a flavourful Maldivian breakfast
There are almost always 2 things I will always do when I visit a new country – buy a fridge magnet as a souvenir and try to recreate a local dish from the country. We recently visited the beautiful islands of Maldives. Barely a 3.5 hour flight from UAE and 1.5 hour flight from kerala, this is an accessible place for an amazing getaway.
We stayed at the ClubMed Kani, famous for it’s all inclusive package (free flow food and drinks) including entertainment, sport activities, musical shows, dance parties and surrounded by turquoise warm waters from the Indian ocean wrapping around pristine beaches ! Paradise !
On the first day of arrival, I got to try a local Maldivian dish called the Mas Huni – with tuna, chillis, onions and grated coconut. It was such a simple dish but bursting with flavours. The Mas(tuna) Huni(scraped coconut) was served with Maldivian traditional flatbreads also called roshi. Maldivian cuisine also called Dhivehi is very similar to the cuisines found in Sri Lanka as well as Southern India. The chillies used in Maldivian cuisine also known as Dhivehi cuisine uses the fiery scotch bonnet chillis 🔥. Apart from the heat, the scotch bonnet imparts a lovely fragrance to the entire dish.
Traditionally the Mas (Tuna) is cooked for long hours with salt while carefully removing the scum that is formed in the process. Once the tuna pieces are removed to be used for various dishes, the remaining stock is cooked until it is concentrated thick paste and is used as a side, called Rihaakuru.
For ease, the Mas Huni is now prepared with canned tuna, which is what I followed as well. A super quick process to achieve a flavourful dish. You can have this as a spread on sandwiches, crackers, wraps or even serve it as a side for some grilled dishes.
Maldivian Mas Huni
Ingredients
- 1 can shredded tuna preferably in water
- 1/4 scotch bonnet chilli
- 1/2 finely chopped red onion
- 2-3 finely chopped Kafir lime leaves or curry leaves or coriander leaves
- 1 cup scraped coconut
- salt to taste
- 1 tbsp lime juice optional
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix finely chopped red onions, chillis, coconut and the chopped leaves. Use your hands (wearing gloves preferably) to squash the mixture for atleast 2-3 minutes to allow the flavours to blend
- Mix in the tuna, salt and contine mixing with your hands
- Add the lime juice and set aside for 5-10 minutes to allow flavours to develop. Check seasoning and adjust flavour by adding either chillis, salt or lime juice if required
- Serve with flatbread, crackers or bread.
Notes
- Scotch Bonnet chillis are very hot, so be extremely careful while handling these.
- Wear gloves when handling the chillis both while chopping and mixing.
- The flavours develop for the Mas Huni when allowed to rest, so do ensure you let it rest for atleast 5 minutes before serving.
