The Maldives – Maalhoskeylu Hiki Riha

by Fariha Saeed

About the dish

Maalhoskeyly Hiki Riha is a plantain dry curry. Dry curry is another name for this dish. It is basically made of green ash plantains with some spices and some vegetables and the most common ingredient is tuna. This curry is very different from other curries because other curries have gravy in them but this is dry and so delicious and the main part of the dish is Green ash plantains. If u do not add green ash plantains then this is not a dry curry or this is not Maalhoskeylu Hiki Riha. This is very famous in the Maldives. This is like an everyday meal of all the families as other dishes but the taste is so tempting and the green ash plantains when mixed up with tuna it tastes better and tuna give some kind of soft and smooth texture to this dry curry. People also use yellowfin tuna but it depends on your taste. Some people like to have canned tuna, some like to have other fishes so it depends upon the taste of who is eating. Spices are a little high in this dish because if u make it with a small amount f spice then it will taste good because spices spice up the taste and add fire to the curry. To give more texture you can also use vegetables like potatoes for smooth texture, broccoli for a little crunch, capsicum for a little crispiness, and many other vegetables like that. This will make the curry more healthy.

Green ash plantians

Green ash plantains are very similar to bananas but green ash plantains are bigger than bananas. Sometimes these are also called green bananas. Green ash plantains are rigid so you have to cut them with a knife. Plantains only look like bananas but they do not taste sweet as bananas. They are a little starchy and ripe from the inside and taste very nice. The texture of it is like boiled potato very soft but when it is cooked. Before cooking it you can not even bite it. This adds some kind of unique flavor to the dish. There are also varieties of Plantains:

• green plantsins
• yellow plantains
• black peel plantains

There are also so many benefits of plantains like this can be used as a natural way to overcome diabetes, To control blood pressure, this also helps in losing weight and so many other reasons are there. There are many types of things that are now used as snacks but they are actually green ash plantains like plantains crackers, plantains crisps, plantains are also rolled in a tortilla and given as a snack.

Place of origin

Plantains mainly come from South East Asia but in small quantities, they also come from America.

Curry powder

Curry powder is very common and as you see from its name it is a powder of spices and then you can add this to any dish. This is not only for curries but you can use this in any meal you make but it has to be a savory meal. Most of the time curry powder is made by roasting the spices and then blending all the spices together. Mostly curry powders do not contain chilis or salts it has made by some star anise, some saffron, some black pepper, and some other spices. This is used just a little bit because it has a so strong aroma and put in just 2 tsp of curry powder. This adds so much more flavor to the meal and tastes so unique. This is not used in salads because salad is a light meal and curry powder is very strong, so it does not go well with salads.

Tuna

Tuna is a fish and it is very common in the Maldives. It is used in almost every dish even in some desserts. Tuna tastes so good in curries and the texture of it is so soft, smooth, and juicy. Tuna is the main source of iron, iodine, potassium, etc. This is one of the healthiest fishes to eat. There are many types of tuna as well. This can be used in man dishes like:

• curries
• sandwiches
• salads
• any kind of rice
• with vegetables gravy
• some desserts

History

In ancient times, Maalhoskeylu Hiki Riha was cooked in soo much water so it has gravy and it is not too dry. But some people do not like the way of cooking this dish like this because this is made of Green Ash Plantains and this is used very rarely id dishes so it should not be cooked like other curries but this should be cooked differently. One day another chef cooked this with just 1 cup of water and cooked it until the water dried out and almost all the people like the curry too much and it very different from others and till today this is cooked in less water.

Nutrition list

• calories 215
• fats 5 g
• protein 9 g
• carbohydrated 283

Ingredients

• Green ash plantians 2 (cut in cubes)
• tuna ( 1 cup, cut in cubes)
• coconut milk 1/2 cup
• water 1/2 cup
• curry powder 2 tsp
• salt 2 tsp
• red chili powder 1 tbsp
• turmeric 1 tsp
• cumin 1 tbsp (roasted)
• oil 1 cup

Cooking

First, wash the plantains and peel off the skin. Make sure that no skin is left on it. Now keep them aside and take a pan and turn the heat on and add the oil and tuna in it and fry it for 20 minutes. Now add the curry powder to it and mix very well.

Now take a deep cooking pot and add the green plantains, water, and coconut milk and let it cook for 30 minutes. Now add the salt, red chili powder, turmeric, cumin and put the lid on, and cook for 10 minutes.

Now add the tuna mixture to the cooking pot and cook it for 20 minutes and then top with some lemon juice and whole black pepper.

Now serve this with some rice or tortilla.