Fish & seafood · Dried seafood
Maldive fish (dried tuna)
Cured, smoked and sun-dried skipjack tuna, flaked into Sri Lankan sambols and curries for savoury depth.
Also called: umbalakada, hikimas, dried skipjack tuna, maldive fish flakes
Around the world: umbalakada (si) · hiki mas (dv) · masi karuvadu (ta)
A kind of tuna
Photo: Xavier Romero-Frias, via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-3.0)
What it is
Skipjack tuna boiled, smoked and dried in the sun until rock hard, a preserving tradition from the Maldives. It is sold in chunks or ready-shaved flakes. A spoonful adds a smoky, savoury depth to Sri Lankan and Maldivian dishes, much as dried shrimp or katsuobushi do elsewhere.
Katsuwonus pelamis (dried)
How it’s used
- Crushed into seeni sambol and pol sambol
- Added to curries of potatoes, greens or jackfruit
- Mixed with coconut and chilli in Maldivian mas huni
Characteristics
- Taste
- Intensely savoury and smoky.
- Aroma
- Smoky and fishy.
- Texture
- Very hard whole; flakes are fine and dry.
- Sold as
- dried, flakes, smoked
- Cooking uses
- Commonly cooked, Mainly a seasoning
- Common in
- Sri Lankan, Maldivian
Storage
Cool, dry and dark. Keep flakes in an airtight jar in a cool cupboard for months; refrigerate in hot, humid kitchens.
Diet, allergens and safety
Contains Fish.
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy-free
- Egg-free
- Gluten-free
- Nut-free
- Soy-free
- Caffeine-free
Nutrition per 100 g
- Energy
- 290 kcal
- Protein
- 62.82 g
- Carbohydrate
- 0 g
- Fat
- 2.37 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
- Sugars
- 0 g
USDA FoodData Central: Fish, cod, Atlantic, dried and salted (a close stand-in).
Substitutes
Optional — what works if you don’t have it, and how it changes the dish.
- Dried shrimp — Pound to a coarse powder; use the same amount.
Related ingredients
Recipes with maldive fish (dried tuna)
Seeni sambol
Sri Lankan · 55 min · 112 kcal