Sunday, September 28, 2025

Maldives

 Welcome to the Maldives!  Yes, this is a bucket-list place - it looks simply stunning from all the pictures.  The Maldives consist of about 1,190 islands, but only about 200 have people.  It is known as the lowest country in the world, with the highest point being about 5 feet above sea level!  It also has five of the seven sea turtle species living there!  Sounds a bit warm, but it looks beautiful.  According to Google, the population is 388,858 people and the capital is Male'.  Their national dish is...

 

 

 

Mas Huni!

This is a fish dish wrapped in a flat bread.  I made the flatbread, because finding good gluten free flatbread is not fun.  I used the recipe from the book "Baked to Perfection" by Katarina Cermelj (if you don't have this book and need to cook gluten free, run and get this book!)  Sorry the measurements are in grams...  It looked pretty simple to make with simple ingredients.  To go with the mas huni, we made carmel folhi, which ended up being like a sweet flan crepe thing.  It was very interesting!  Ready for a simple meal?  Here's what we did:

MAS HUNI
1 C tuna 
1 C grated coconut
1 habanero, finely chopped
1/2 C red onion,
1/2 C lemon juice
Salt to taste
  1. Mix all the ingredients together and let sit for 5-10 minutes while you make the flatbread.
  2. Serve in flatbread.
  3. Enjoy!
(Source: MAS HUNI
 
FLATBREAD
14 g psyllium husk
160 g whole milk
100 g tapioca starch
80 g brown rice flour
400 g millet flour, plus extra for flouring the surface
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
50 g full-fat plain yogurt
20 g avocado oil, plus extra for frying and brushing
  1. In a small bowl, mix the psyllium husk and milk.  After about 2-3 minutes, a gel will form.
  2. In a larger bowl, mix together the tapioca starch, brown rice flour, millet flour, baking powder and salt.
  3. Add the psyllium husk gel, yogurt, and oil, and knead everything into a smooth dough.
  4. Divide the dough into 5 equal pieces and shape them into balls.
  5. Lightly dust a surface with millet flour and roll the balls into rough circles until they are a little thicker than a flour tortilla.
  6. Heat a frying pan over high heat, and brush lightly with oil.
  7. Cook flat breads one at a time, cooking about 1 minute per side.
  8. Just before you flip the flatbread, brush the side with oil.
  9. Once cooked, wrap the flat bread in a tea towel to trap steam.
  10. Repeat and then enjoy!
(Source: Baked to Perfection
 
CARMEL FOLHI
2 eggs
5 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla 
1 tbsp butter
  1. In a bowl and using a fork, mix all ingredients together.
  2. Heat a pan and spread a little bit of butter in the pan.
  3. Keep heat on medium and add a portion of the batter to the pan, spreading it out thin. 
  4. Little bubbles and holes are going to appear and that’s your signal to roll it into a folhi using a spatula.
  5. Repeat until you run out of batter. If you find the pan to be too dry, just spread a little bit more butter, and also don’t let the pan heat up too much as then your folhi might get a bit burnt.
  6. Enjoy!
(Source: Carmel Folhi
 
The verdict?  We were pleasantly surprised!  I had my doubts about the fish combination, but together with the flatbread, it was delicious.  We did think it needed a sauce or some cilantro or something similar, but it was very good.  While making the flatbread, it was very smokey in the house, so I would recommend turning on the stove fan and opening windows before cooking!  The carmel folhi was ok.  I didn't care for the texture - it reminded me of a more firm but very thin flan.  The flavor was good, and it smelled great!  Overall, it was tasty!
 
      
 
ME
Taste of Mas Huni (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 6
Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 2
Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 7
 
HANDSOME HUSBAND
Taste of Mas Huni (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 7
Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 1
Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 6
 
ME
Taste of Carmel Folhi (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 5
Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0
Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 5
 
HANDSOME HUSBAND
Taste of Carmel Folhi (1 is terrible, 10 is amazing): 7
Spicy (hot) (1 is not at all spicy, 10 is uneatable): 0
Flavor (1 is no flavor, 10 is packed with flavor): 5
 
We hope you join us in the South Pacific in the Marshal Islands next! 

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Maldives