As a young child, I used to frequent my mother’s native island of Hithadhoo at least once a year during my school holidays. Fond memories make their way back to me — of undhoali naps and carrom coins, and whiffs of a golden champaapool in bloom across the sun.
One of these many memories, one I remember quite vividly, is of sitting by the kitchen window and watching my grandmother cook Friday lunch. With the weekly sermon on the radio, I watched in awe as she single-handedly produced our afternoon meal, dish after dish, plate after plate. Hedhi mas, fihi mas, oh, what a spread! It was nothing short of a sultan’s feast.
To give you a little taste of Addu’s wholesome home cooking, below are two recipes for you to try out for yourselves. A rich and aromatic southern-style blend of curry, Addu reha is the perfect accompaniment to theleli folhi, a mouth-wateringly crisp and fluffy fried bread.
ADDU REHA:
500g approx. piece of tuna
1 large onion
2 large garlic cloves
2 tsp olive oil
2 curry leaves
3-inch ran’baa leaf piece
3 cardamom pods
3 cloves
1-inch cinnamon stick
2 tbsp high quality Addu havaadhu, blended
1 cup coconut milk
Start off by carefully cleaning the skin of the tuna.
Cut the tuna into small bite-sized cubes.
Finely slice the onion and garlic.
Add the onion and garlic to a pan. On a medium heat, fry them in olive oil along with the curry leaves, ran’baa leaves, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon.
Once the onion mixture has turned golden brown, take out half the mixture and keep aside in a separate container.
To the remaining onion mixture in the pan, add the havaadhu and fry for an additional 2 minutes.
Thin out the paste with a bit of water, and then add the tuna.
On a low heat, cook until fish is done all the way through.
Add milk and cook until thickened.
Garnish with the separate fried onion on top.
THELELI FOLHI:
1 tsp yeast
bit of warm water
500g flour
2 tsp baking powder
5 tbsp sugar
2 tsp milk
pinch of salt
2 eggs
bit of oil, any kind
1 tbsp margarine
vegetable oil for deep frying
In a large mixing bowl, mix yeast and warm water and leave still until the yeast forms a creamy foam layer on top, about 5 minutes.
Then add in the flour and baking powder.
Add sugar, milk and salt and mix thoroughly. Add a bit more water to bring it to a firm, kneadable consistency.
Add in the eggs, along with the oil. Once mixed, add the margarine and give it one final thorough mix.
Cover the bowl and set aside for the dough to rise, about half an hour or so.
Split the dough into 20 – 25 even balls. Cover the balls of dough once more, and leave for another half an hour.
On a floured surface, roll out the balls into small, round flatbreads.
Prepare your deep fryer by heating vegetable oil to 175’C.
Gently place the flatbreads into the hot oil, and fry until golden brown on both sides, turning once, 2 to 3 minutes per side.
Drain on paper towels, and serve warm with your curry.