Masdhalhu Masbaiy

We’ve previously done a masbaiy recipe here on Lonumedhu. It had fresh tuna in it as well as coconut milk; the result was a delicious rice dish that we’d devour any day. Anyway, here’s a faster, simpler and easier version of Masbaiy. This time we are using canned tuna and the best thing about it is that you can have it ready in less than 30 minutes.

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup uncooked rice
• 1 onion
• 1 ½ tbsp. oil
• 15 curry leaves
• 3 inch piece of raanbaa (pandan leaf)
• 3 inch piece of cinnamon
• 3 cardamom pods
• ½ tsp. whole black peppercorns (or to taste)
• ½ githeyo mirus (or to taste)
• 1/3 tsp. turmeric powder
• ¼ tsp. ground cumin
• 1 ¼ cups water
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 tuna can (in brine)

Instructions:

1. Wash the rice thoroughly, drain it, and set it aside.
2. Slice the onion thinly.
3. Heat up the oil a pot. When the oil is well heated, add the onions, curry leaves, raanbaa, cinnamon, cardamom, black peppercorns and githeyo mirus. Stir and cook the mixture until the onions soften and you can see just a hint of brown.
4. Add the turmeric powder and ground cumin. Stir and cook the mixture for half a minute.
5. Add the rice and stir and cook the mixture again. This time for around two minutes on medium heat.
6. Add the water and the salt. We added 1 ¼ cups of water and it worked well for us. But the important thing to remember is that the water level has to be around an inch above the rice for the rice to cook nicely.
7. Mix everything together, put the lid on and bring the mixture to a boil.
8. When it reaches the boiling point, turn the heat low and let it cook until all the water evaporates.
9. Turn off the stove, and then add in the tuna can. You’ll of course have to drain it before you put it in. And also try not to flake it too much while you mix.
10. Put the lid back on and let it sit for around 3 minutes and that’s it.