# 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.

> Source: Maldivian Plantain Curry Recipe - Food from the Maldives
> Length: 1 min 25 s
> Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QReW-a3ItjM
> Timestamps are AI estimates; check them against the video.

## Ingredients

| Ingredient | Amount |
| --- | --- |
| Cooking oil | 1 tablespoon |
| Onion, chopped | 1/2 |
| Pandan leaf | 1 |
| Curry leaves | 10 |
| Cumin powder | 1/2 teaspoon |
| Fennel seed powder | 1/2 teaspoon |
| Coriander powder | 1 teaspoon |
| Turmeric powder | 1/2 teaspoon |
| Ground black pepper | 1/4 teaspoon (from on-screen ingredient list) |
| Ash plantains, sliced | 2 |
| Tomato, chopped | 1 |
| Salt | 1/2 teaspoon |
| Dried red chilies | 2 |
| Dried tuna flakes | 1/4 cup |
| Water (optional, for softer plantains) | about 1/2 cup |
| Coconut milk | 1/2 cup |
| Sugar (optional, for a touch of sweetness) | 1 teaspoon |

## Method

1. Peel the 2 ash plantains and slice them into rounds. (~00:00)

2. Warm 1 tablespoon of cooking oil in a pan over medium heat. (~00:22)

3. Add 1/2 chopped onion, 1 cut pandan leaf and 10 curry leaves, frying until the onion turns lightly golden. (~00:24)

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. (~00:30)

5. Add the sliced plantains, 1 chopped tomato, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 2 dried red chilies. (~00:35)

6. Add 1/4 cup of dried tuna flakes. (~00:41)

7. Stir well and cook for about 5 minutes. (~00:44)

8. Optional: pour in about 1/2 cup of water and simmer a few minutes longer if you want the plantains softer. (~00:48)

9. Pour in 1/2 cup of coconut milk, stir, and simmer for another 5 minutes. (~00:54)

10. Optional: stir in 1 teaspoon of sugar if you like a slightly sweeter curry. (~01:02)

11. Spoon into a serving dish and enjoy with roshi flatbread or rice. (~01:07)

## Plantains and Aromatics (~00:00)

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 (~00:22)

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 (~01:07)

Ladle into a bowl and serve warm with Maldivian roshi flatbread or rice.

## To verify

- The video captions suggest adding 1/2 cup of water for softer plantains, though the pour itself is skipped in the edit.
- The sliced green garnish scattered on top at the end isn’t named or measured in the video.
- Ground black pepper is listed as 1/4 teaspoon in the on-screen ingredient card at ~00:20.

## Source and license

Original video: [Maldivian Plantain Curry Recipe - Food from the Maldives](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QReW-a3ItjM)

Creator: Shaai Sattar

License: [CC BY 3.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/) · [License record](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maldivian_Plantain_Curry_Recipe_-_Food_from_the_Maldives.webm)

Notes generated, translated and reviewed by VidQuire, with wording and timestamp edits. Cover still extracted from the source video. No affiliation or endorsement.