The Maldives – Mas Huni (Tuna With Spices)

by Fariha Saeed

About the dish

Mas Huni is one of the most popular and appetizing breakfasts in the Maldives. Mas Huni is basically smoked shredded tuna with coconut, lemon, and onions. Mas huni is eaten with bread or chappati called Roshi. The smoked tuna and coconut tasted so good together and the onions are soft so that it melts in your mouth. The texture of tuna is soft and a little dry, the texture of coconut is watery and chewy, the texture of onions is soft that it melts in your mouth. The coconut adds refreshing flavor to the dish and makes it more appetizing. This is the most popular breakfast in the Maldives. People like to eat this with ROSHI which is bread in the Maldives. When you bite this tempting dish the first thing you taste is tuna with some sweet coconut and some spices which go very well together. This dish is easy to make. you can find this in every restaurant in the Maldives. The lemon adds a tangy twist to the dish. All the ingredients are chopped and then mixed with grated coconut. When the sweet coconut and sour lemon mix together this makes a very unique taste which is the specialty of the dish. This is the most unique and delicious breakfast in the Maldives. This is not important to eat this as breakfast you can also have this as lunch or dinner. You can serve this with:

• Roshi
• chappati
• rice
• pita bread
• vanilla bread

You have to caramelize the onions so they become soft before adding them to the dish. The coconut adds some kind of freshness to the dish. Some people think that this dish is too dry, so you can add cream or yogurt to it if you are one of them. The important part of this dish is you can only use tuna because without tuna the dish is incomplete. There is no comparison of this dish.

History

In ancient times this dish was very famous and it has only three main ingredients which are fish, coconut, and starch but now in this dish we only use tuna. In the past, almost 90 percent of dishes contain coconut but in grated form. Maldivian cuisine is also called Dhivehi cuisine in early times. The recipe of this dish was found in a cookbook in early times which was very famous.

Nutrition list

• Calories 160
• fat 3 g
• fiber 17 g
• carbohydrates 24 g

Ingredients for Mas Huni

• 1 1/2 cups smoked tuna (shredded)
• 1/2 cup coconut (shredded)
• 2 onions(sliced)
• 6 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 1 tsp. red chili flakes
• 4 tbsp. olive oil

Cooking

Take a bowl and add tuna and coconut and then mix well and keep it aside. Now take a pan and turn the heat low and then add oil and onions in it and fry until the onions get caramelized.

Now take the bowl of tuna and add salt, black pepper, red chili flakes, and lemon juice, and then mix well until all the things are fully combined. Now add the onions in it and again mix well. Serve with Roshi.