Kulhi Boakibaa

Ingredients

Rice

• 300 gshort grain rice
• cooked and cooled
• or 600 g cooked rice

Fish

• 300 gsmoked tuna
• valhomas or Maldive fish
• or 300 g cooked tuna
• flaked

The mixture

• 150 ggrated fresh coconut
• 2onions, finely chopped
• 4curry leaves sprigs, chopped
• 3green chillies, chopped
• or to taste
• 1 teaspoonground turmeric
• 1 teaspoonground cumin
• 1 teaspoonground black pepper
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• 2eggs
• 3 tablespoonscoconut milk

To finish

• 1beaten egg, to brush
• a little oil, for the tin

To serve

• cut into squares
• black tea
• at Ramadan evenings

Directions

1. Add a little smoked paprika to approximate it. The rice must break down considerably. Work it hard rather than folding gently. Soak it in coconut milk first if using it. Cook the rice until it is soft. Cook it a little past normal if anything. Firm rice stays as separate grains. Let it cool completely before mixing. Grate or pound the smoked tuna finely. That softens it enough to break up.
2. Boil or steam the tuna until cooked. Give it about ten minutes to cook. Let it cool and flake it finely. Check very carefully for bones. Put the cooled rice in a large bowl. Mash it with your hands or a masher.
3. Work it until the grains break down. This takes real work with the hands. Add the grated or flaked tuna. Add the grated coconut to it as well. Work them through the rice thoroughly. Add the finely chopped onions. Add the chopped curry leaves to it. Add the chopped green chillies. Add the turmeric, cumin and pepper.
4. Add the lime juice and the salt. Work it all through thoroughly. Taste before adding much salt. Fresh tuna needs considerably more. Adjust according to which you use. Beat the eggs in a small bowl. Add the coconut milk in with them.
5. Work them into the rice mixture. Coconut milk keeps the cake moist. Add a little more coconut milk if it is dry. Fry a teaspoonful in a pan to taste it. Adjust the salt, chilli and lime. It should taste strongly seasoned. Season it more than feels comfortable. Oil a shallow baking tin well. Line the base with baking paper.
6. Press the mixture into the tin. Level the top of it with wet hands. Press it down firmly all over. Firm pressing gives a sliceable cake. Press it all down properly firmly. Aim for about three centimetres deep.
7. Brush the top with beaten egg. Heat the oven to one hundred and eighty degrees. Bake it for about forty-five minutes. Judging it takes a careful look. Let it cool in the tin completely. Do not cut it while it is warm. Turn it out onto a chopping board.
8. Cut it into small even squares. Use a sharp knife in one stroke. Set the squares out on a plate. Serve strong black tea alongside. It keeps three days refrigerated.

Technique

• Valhomas is Maldivian smoked tuna, boiled and then smoked hard until it dries into very hard dark pieces that keep for a long time and are grated before use; the dried cured version is the Maldive fish exported to Sri Lanka as a seasoning. Cooked fresh tuna works but lacks the smoky intensity entirely.
• The cooked rice is mashed hard by hand until the grains break down, since whole separate grains give a loose cake that crumbles; press the mixture firmly into the tin for the same reason, and cook the rice a little softer than normal because this is one case where overcooking helps.
• Let it cool in the tin completely before cutting, since the egg sets fully only as it cools and cutting it warm gives crumbling squares.

Substitutions

• Cooked fresh tuna stands in for valhomas, with a little smoked paprika to approximate the smoke.
• Desiccated coconut soaked in coconut milk replaces fresh grated coconut.

Variations

• Sweet versions of boakibaa are made alongside the savoury one.
• The chilli level varies considerably between households.
• It sits among the hedhikaa, the Maldivian savoury short eats.

History

Savoury baked cake of rice, smoked tuna and coconut, cut into squares for celebrations and Ramadan evenings.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kulhi Boakibaa?

Kulhi Boakibaa is a snack from Maldives: baked savory cake of rice and smoked tuna. Savoury baked cake of rice, smoked tuna and coconut, cut into squares for celebrations and Ramadan evenings.

How long does Kulhi Boakibaa take to make?

Kulhi Boakibaa takes 40 minutes of preparation and 50 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes one tray, serves 8. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Kulhi Boakibaa?

Yes, within limits. Cooked fresh tuna stands in for valhomas, with a little smoked paprika to approximate the smoke. Desiccated coconut soaked in coconut milk replaces fresh grated coconut.

What is the most important thing to get right in Kulhi Boakibaa?

Add a little smoked paprika to approximate it. The rice must break down considerably. Work it hard rather than folding gently. Soak it in coconut milk first if using it. Cook the rice until it is soft. Cook it a little past normal if anything. Firm rice stays as separate grains. Let it cool completely before mixing. Grate or pound the smoked tuna finely. That softens it enough to break up.