Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Mas Riha
A Maldivian tuna curry in a fragrant coconut sauce with curry leaves, pandan, and dried chili.
Maldivian · easy · serves 4
prep 20 min · cook 30 min
~478 cal · 50g protein · 13g carbs · 26g fat · 3g fiber · 5g sugars · 21g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Mas riha is the classic Maldivian tuna curry, chunks of tuna simmered in a fragrant coconut-milk sauce with , chili, and island spice blends, a dish built on the nation's two staples: tuna and coconut. Rich and aromatic, it is everyday food across the archipelago.
The curry sits on the Maldives' Indian Ocean trade routes, its spicing echoing South India and Sri Lanka but built firmly on local reef-caught and pole-caught tuna. gives it a creamy body.
Served with rice or roshi flatbread, mas riha is everyday island food.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
1.5 lb fresh tuna, cut in chunks
1 can (14 oz)
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
1 tbsp ginger
a sprig
Hard to find? a shredded makrut lime leaf, about one for every five or six curry leaves - the closest match for tempering, since both release their oils instantly in hot fat; expect a sharper citrus-peel note. For a long simmer a bay leaf works better
1 leaf pandan
to taste dried chili
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin
1 lime
Instructions
1
Soften the onion, garlic, and ginger with the curry leaves and pandan.
2
Add the turmeric, cumin, and chili and cook until fragrant.
3
Pour in the coconut milk and bring to a gentle simmer.
4
Add the tuna (or hearts of palm and mushrooms) and cook until just done.
5
Finish with lime and serve with rice or roshi.
Malé tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Malé. Three things do nearly all the work here: tuna, coconut and a starch. There is very little farmland, so the sea provides the protein and the palm the fat, while rice and flour are largely imported. Rihaakuru, a thick brown tuna paste boiled down over many hours, is the pantry staple behind all of it.
🗺️
Maldives. Mas huni is the name written plainly: mas is fish and huni is coconut. Cured tuna is shredded and worked by hand with freshly grated coconut, onion, chilli and lime, and eaten at breakfast with huni roshi, a coconut flatbread. The lime and the raw onion are what keep it from being heavy first thing in the morning.
🌍
Asia. Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, and its food spans the delicate seasonality of Japanese washoku, the chili-fired curries of India and Thailand, and the wheat-and-lamb traditions of Central Asia. Rice, noodles, soy, and fermentation recur across its regions, while ancient spice routes and religious traditions shaped distinct grammars of flavor. Whether from a street-cart wok or a monastery kitchen, eating is deeply communal and ritual-rich.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Maldives
Mas HuniShredded smoked tuna tossed with grated coconut, onion, chili, and lime, the Maldivian breakfast, with roshi flatbread.
GarudhiyaA clear, fragrant tuna broth served over rice with lime, chili, and onion, the everyday heart of the Maldivian table.
Foni BoakibaaA dense baked pudding-cake of rice, coconut, and rosewater, a sweet Maldivian favorite for Ramadan and celebrations.
Browse all Maldives recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Stews and braises keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated and often taste better the next day. Reheat gently, adding a splash of water if it has thickened.
Make it a Maldives meal
Foni BoakibaaDessert
Bis KeemiyaLunch
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Frequently asked questions
What is Mas Riha?
A Maldivian tuna curry in a fragrant coconut sauce with curry leaves, pandan, and dried chili.
Where does Mas Riha come from?
Mas Riha is a Maldivian dish from Malé, Maldives.
Can Mas Riha be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Mas Riha recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Mas Riha safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Mas Riha take to make?
About 50 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 30 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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