Masfathafolhi

Except for the size and shape, Masfathafolhi is really like Kulhi Boakibaa; after all it’s made from the same ingredients and tastes as good with a cup of tea.

Below is our version of the simple baked fish cake. We used canned tuna in our recipe, but feel free to swap that with Valhomas (smoked tuna).

Makes: 11 Masfathafolhi

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rice flour (fine)
• 1 cup water
• 1 large onion
• 10 curry leaves
• ½ githeyo mirus (scotch bonnet pepper)
• 1 lime
• 2/3 tsp. salt (or to taste)
• ½ cup grated coconut
• 1/3 tsp. turmeric powder
• 2/3 tsp. grated ginger
• 1 tuna can (in brine)
• ½ tbsp. oil (for coating the tray)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven at 180 degree Celcius.
2. Prepare a tray by coating it with a little bit of oil.
3. Add the rice flour and water to a bowl and let the rice flour soak as you prepare the other ingredients.
4. Slice the onion and githeyo mirus very thinly. Mince the curry leaves.
5. Add the sliced onions, curry leaves, and salt to a bowl, squeeze the lime in and then using your fingers, mix and squeeze the mixture until the onions soften and release their juices.   
6. Add the coconut, turmeric powder, sliced githeyo mirus and ginger. Mix well again using your fingers.
7. Then add the tuna, mix well, and do a taste test. Make any adjustments you’d like. The tastes are going to be muted a bit when we add the rice flour mixture, so do keep that in mind.
8. Finally, add the rice flour, mix well using your fingers.
9. Make balls from the mixture by rolling them between your palms. Then gently guide them into a dome shape. We were able to make eleven balls from the mixture. When we shaped them into domes, their diameters were around 2 inches.
10. Arrange the domes on the tray you prepared before.
11. Place the tray on the middle rack of the preheated oven and bake until they turn golden reddish. For us this took around an hour. But do remember that different ovens cook differently.