COPPERMas huni recipe
The Maldivian breakfast of cured smoked tuna rubbed by hand into freshly grated coconut with onion, chilli and lime, eaten with hot roshi flatbread.
Ingredients
- 200 g smoked dried tuna (valhoamas)
- 150 g freshly grated coconut
- 1 red onion
- 2 green chilli
- 1 lime
- 0.5 tsp salt
How to make Mas huni
- Flake 200 g of smoked dried tuna, sold in South Asian shops as Maldive fish. Drained canned tuna works but you lose the smoke and the salt, which is most of the flavour.
- Grate 150 g of fresh coconut. Desiccated sweetened coconut is not a substitute; if you must, soak unsweetened desiccated coconut in a little warm water first.
- Slice 1 red onion and 2 green chillies as finely as you can.
- Put everything in a bowl and rub it together with your hands for 3 to 4 minutes. The rubbing releases the coconut oil and colours the mix; a spoon will not do it.
- Squeeze in the juice of 1 lime, add half a teaspoon of salt and rub again, then taste and adjust the lime and chilli.
- Serve at room temperature for breakfast with hot roshi flatbread and sweet black tea.
What is Mas huni?
Mas huni is a traditional dish from Maldives, and takes about 15 minutes from start to finish. It is built around smoked dried tuna (valhoamas) and freshly grated coconut. The recipe below uses 6 ingredients and is written out step by step.
How long does Mas huni take?
At 15 minutes it is quicker than 100% of the 586 dishes in Copper's atlas. The method runs to 6 steps, the longest being 4 minutes.
Any tips for making Mas huni?
Rub everything together with your hands rather than a spoon: the rubbing releases the coconut oil and colours the mix.
How Mas huni compares
At 15 minutes, Mas huni is among the 10 quickest of the 586 dishes Copper documents. Hard to find elsewhere: smoked dried tuna (valhoamas) (1) and freshly grated coconut (1).
Cooked with the same thing elsewhere
Other traditional dishes built on green chili, from other countries.
- Bhuna khichuri 🇧🇩 Bangladesh
- Ilish bhaja 🇧🇩 Bangladesh
- Samosa 🇧🇭 Bahrain
- Ema datshi 🇧🇹 Bhutan
- Jasha maroo 🇧🇹 Bhutan
- Maraq 🇩🇯 Djibouti
Copper documents Maldives alongside 197 other countries. Every recipe is free to read, with the full ingredient list and every step.