Miruhulee Boava

Ingredients

Octopus

• 1.5 kgoctopus, cleaned
• water, for the first boil
• 1onion, halved
• 2bay leaves

Aromatics

• 4 tbspcoconut oil
• 2onions, finely sliced
• 6garlic cloves, crushed
• 1thumb ginger, grated
• 2 sprigscurry leaves
• 1pandan leaf, knotted
• 4island chillies, sliced

Spices

• 2 tspMaldivian curry powder
• 1 tspground cumin
• 1 tspground coriander
• 1 tspturmeric
• 1cinnamon stick
• 4cardamom pods, bruised
• 1/2 tspground fenugreek

Liquid

• 400 mlthick coconut milk
• 1 tbsptamarind paste
• salt

To serve

• steamed rice
• roshi flatbread
• lime wedges

Directions

1. Rinse it thoroughly under cold water. Rub the tentacles to remove any remaining slime. Check inside the head and remove anything left there. Cut the head from the tentacles. Freezing it first genuinely helps.
2. Put the octopus in a pot with the onion and bay leaves. Add water to just cover the octopus. Bring it to the boil and then lower the heat immediately. Simmer it gently for forty-five minutes to an hour. Never boil it hard, which tightens the flesh.
3. Let it cool in its own liquid for twenty minutes. Cooling it in the liquid keeps it from tightening. Lift the octopus out and drain it. Keep about two hundred millilitres of the cooking liquid.
4. Cut the tentacles into pieces of about four centimetres. Cut the head into narrow strips. Warm the coconut oil in a wide heavy pan over a medium heat. Add the sliced onions with a pinch of salt. Cook them slowly for twelve minutes until soft and golden. Add the garlic, ginger and sliced chillies.
5. Cook them for two minutes until fragrant. The curry leaves and pandan need hot oil to release their scent. Add the curry leaves and the knotted pandan leaf. Fry them for about thirty seconds. Leave the pandan whole so you can remove it later. Add the curry powder, cumin, coriander, turmeric and fenugreek. Add the cinnamon stick and the bruised cardamom.
6. Fry the ground spices for a full minute, stirring. They should smell toasted rather than raw. Add the cut octopus and turn it in the spiced oil. Cook it for five minutes so it takes up the spices. Pour in the coconut milk and the reserved cooking liquid. Add the tamarind paste and season it with salt.
7. Bring it to a bare simmer and never let it boil. Coconut milk splits into oil and curds if it boils. Simmer it uncovered for twenty-five minutes. The octopus should be completely tender with a slight bite.
8. Taste it and adjust the salt and the tamarind. Remove the pandan leaf and the cinnamon stick. Let it stand off the heat for five minutes. Serve it hot with rice or roshi, with lime wedges alongside.

Technique

• Octopus must be cooked either very briefly or for a long time; the middle leaves it rubbery.
• Never boil it hard at any stage, which tightens the flesh.
• Let it cool in its own liquid after the first boil, which keeps it from tightening.

Substitutions

• Frozen octopus, which is already partly tenderised.
• Squid, cooked for a fraction of the time.

Variations

• Made drier, cooked down until the sauce coats thickly.
• With potato added to the braise.
• Grilled after the first boil, then finished in the sauce.

History

A Maldivian speciality of the outer atolls, where octopus is speared in the lagoon shallows.

Frequently asked questions

What is Miruhulee Boava?

Miruhulee Boava is a main from Maldives: octopus tentacles braised in curry spices and coconut oil until tender. A Maldivian speciality of the outer atolls, where octopus is speared in the lagoon shallows.

How long does Miruhulee Boava take to make?

Miruhulee Boava takes 40 min of preparation and 1 hour 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Miruhulee Boava?

Yes, within limits. Frozen octopus, which is already partly tenderised. Squid, cooked for a fraction of the time.

What is the most important thing to get right in Miruhulee Boava?

Put the octopus in a pot with the onion and bay leaves. Add water to just cover the octopus. Bring it to the boil and then lower the heat immediately. Simmer it gently for forty-five minutes to an hour. Never boil it hard, which tightens the flesh.