Maldivian Plantain Curry (Maalhoskeylu Riha)
Shaai Sattar’s quick recipe for Maalhoskeylu Riha, a traditional Maldivian curry made with savoury ash plantains, pandan and curry leaves, toasted ground spices, dried tuna flakes and coconut milk — ready to scoop up with roshi flatbread or steamed rice.
Ingredients17
Method11 steps
- 1
Peel the 2 ash plantains and slice them into rounds.
- 2
Warm 1 tablespoon of cooking oil in a pan over medium heat.
- 3
Add 1/2 chopped onion, 1 cut pandan leaf and 10 curry leaves, frying until the onion turns lightly golden.
- 4
Stir in 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder, 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed powder, 1 teaspoon coriander powder, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper until fragrant.
- 5
Add the sliced plantains, 1 chopped tomato, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 2 dried red chilies.
- 6
Add 1/4 cup of dried tuna flakes.
- 7
Stir well and cook for about 5 minutes.
- 8
Optional: pour in about 1/2 cup of water and simmer a few minutes longer if you want the plantains softer.
- 9
Pour in 1/2 cup of coconut milk, stir, and simmer for another 5 minutes.
- 10
Optional: stir in 1 teaspoon of sugar if you like a slightly sweeter curry.
- 11
Spoon into a serving dish and enjoy with roshi flatbread or rice.
Tips
Plantains and Aromatics
This curry uses starchy, savoury ash plantains rather than sweet ripe bananas. The base gets its aroma from onion, pandan leaf and curry leaves, plus five ground spices and umami-rich Maldivian dried tuna flakes.
Simmering the Curry
Once the onions, leaves and spices are fragrant in oil, the sliced plantains, chopped tomato, dried chillies and tuna flakes cook together for about 5 minutes. You can splash in 1/2 cup of water if you like softer plantains, then simmer with coconut milk for another 5 minutes and finish with an optional spoonful of sugar.
Serving
Ladle into a bowl and serve warm with Maldivian roshi flatbread or rice.