Lakshadweep Tuna with Coconut (Mas Podichathu)

Tuna is the heart of Lakshadweep's cooking – fishermen dry it into 'mas' and stir-fry it with coconut. Our home version uses good tinned tuna (or fresh tuna), giving a quick, savoury dish to eat with rice or rolled in chapati.

Video by shayazi trollzz on YouTube. Our recipe below is our own home-style version, written in our own words – quantities and steps may differ from the video.

• Serves 4
• Prep 15 min
• Cook 15 min
• gluten-free · dairy-free
• Famous in Lakshadweep

Ingredients

• 2 tins tuna in brine (about 300 g drained) or 400 g fresh tuna, cooked and flaked
• 3 tbsp coconut oil
• ½ tsp mustard seeds
• 12 curry leaves
• 8 shallots or 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 3 cm ginger, finely chopped
• 2 green chillies, chopped
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 80 g grated coconut
• salt to taste
• a squeeze of lime

Method

1. Drain the tuna well and flake it with a fork.
2. Heat the coconut oil, add mustard seeds and curry leaves, then shallots, ginger and green chillies. Fry until the shallots are soft and light golden.
3. Add turmeric, chilli powder and pepper and stir for 30 seconds.
4. Add the coconut and stir for 2 minutes until it smells toasty.
5. Add the tuna and stir-fry for 4–5 minutes on medium heat until dry and well mixed. Taste for salt (tinned tuna is already salty).
6. Finish with lime and serve with rice and a simple dal, or as a filling for chapati.

Tip: Squeeze the tinned tuna well – the drier it is, the better it takes up the coconut and spices.

Shop the ingredients

Everything you need for this recipe is in stock at Farmah’s – order online or pick it up at Annenstraße 41, Graz.