Gulha

Ingredients

Filling

• 200 gsmoked tuna, finely shredded
• 150 gfresh coconut, grated
• 1onion, very finely chopped
• 2 sprigscurry leaves, chopped
• 1chilli, minced
• ½ tspground turmeric
• juice of 1 lime
• salt

Dough

• 300 grice flour or plain flour
• 200 mlhot water
• ½ tspsalt

To fry

• oil, for deep frying

To serve

• black tea

Directions

1. Make the filling first and taste it. It should be sharply hot, sour and salty, because the plain dough shell mutes everything considerably.
2. Pound or shred the smoked tuna finely and mix it with the coconut, onion, curry leaves, chilli, turmeric, lime juice and salt.
3. Work it with your hands, squeezing as you go, until it holds together when pressed.
4. Squeeze it rather than stirring it. That crushing is what releases the coconut oil and the onion juice and binds the mixture, and gently stirred it stays loose and falls straight out of the ball.
5. For the dough, pour hot water into the flour with the salt, mix, and knead once it is cool enough to handle.
6. Hot water for the dough. It gelatinises the starch, which is what lets a shell of nothing but flour and water hold together around a filling with no egg and no fat.
7. Knead for 5 minutes to a smooth, firm, pliable dough and keep it covered.
8. Take a piece the size of a walnut, roll it into a ball, and press a deep well into it with your thumb, turning it to thin the walls.
9. Fill the well generously, then close the dough over the top and roll it smooth between your palms.
10. Seal it completely and check for cracks. A gulha with a crack takes in oil and bursts in the pan.
11. Heat the oil to 170°C (340°F) and fry them in batches for 5 to 7 minutes, turning, until golden and firm.
12. Moderate heat rather than fierce. The shell needs time to cook right through, and hot oil colours it long before the inside sets.
13. Drain them on a rack rather than on paper, which would steam the undersides soft, and serve them warm.
14. They belong to hedhika, the Maldivian short-eats spread put out in the afternoon with strong black tea.

Technique

• Smoked tuna, valhoamas or the harder Maldive fish, is the Maldivian larder staple and nothing else really stands in for it.
• Fresh grated coconut, not desiccated, which stays dry and refuses to bind.
• They are eaten with sai, the sweet black tea, in the afternoon rather than as a starter to a meal.

Substitutions

• Tinned tuna drained very hard with a little smoked paprika, as a compromise.
• Katsuobushi soaked and shredded, which is the closest relative to Maldive fish.

Variations

• Bajiya, the pastry triangle with the same filling.
• Keemia, the fried fish rolls.
• Masroshi, the same filling baked inside a flatbread.

History

Fried dough balls stuffed with smoked tuna and coconut, part of hedhika, the short-eats spread served with afternoon black tea.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gulha?

Gulha is a snack from Maldives: fried dough balls filled with smoked tuna and coconut. Fried dough balls stuffed with smoked tuna and coconut, part of hedhika, the short-eats spread served with afternoon black tea.

How long does Gulha take to make?

Gulha takes 40 min of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 24. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Gulha?

Yes, within limits. Tinned tuna drained very hard with a little smoked paprika, as a compromise. Katsuobushi soaked and shredded, which is the closest relative to Maldive fish.

What is the most important thing to get right in Gulha?

Squeeze it rather than stirring it. That crushing is what releases the coconut oil and the onion juice and binds the mixture, and gently stirred it stays loose and falls straight out of the ball.