Living away from home can be tough, but one of the best parts of visiting again is getting to enjoy the foods you grew up with. For me, nothing beats the comfort of eating the dishes my mom used to make. One of my all-time favorites is “hedhee maha,” a fish wrap cooked in “hedhee maha lono.”
Every time someone in our family visits home, this dish is a must. It’s usually served with cooked taro, freshly scraped coconut, and baiffen a light, sweet soup. The meal is simple, but it comes together with a lot of care. My dad always finds the freshest fish the day before, and my mom picks out the best taro so everything tastes just right and prepared for the day its going to be served.
Ingredients
In our home, we usually make a big batch of hedhee maha because everyone loves it, and honestly, the leftovers taste even better the next day or even the day after. We never throw any away since it keeps well, especially when it’s reheated. This recipe is based on a large batch (around one whole mid-sized yellowfin tuna), so feel free to adjust the amounts depending on how much fish you’re using. And if you end up with extra spice mixture, you can always keep it in the fridge and use it later.
Fish
Use the best quality fish you can find. Yellowfin tuna works especially well.
Coconut (optional)
Used if you prefer cooking the wraps in coconut milk.
Coconut leaf or pandan leaf
This is used for wrapping the fish. I prefer coconut leaves. Cut them into about 20-inch strings, thick enough to hold a 2½-inch fish block.
Filling:
- 2 Medium size onion
- 1 Inch ginger
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 1/2 table spoon cumin seeds
- 4 dried chili
- 1 fresh chili
- 2 Table spoon dhivehi havaadhu (a pre mix of spices we use to cook curry)
- 1 teaspoon pepper (optional)
- 2 curry leaves
- 1 big fresh Lime
- 1 Table spoon of chilly powder
- 11/2 Table spoon of salt
Soup:
- 2 table spoon of leftover spice mixture
- 3 bilimbi (cut into cubes)
- 1 curry leaves
How to prepare
Cut the tuna into blocks about 2½ inches thick, then slice each block thinly like in the above fish picture
Prepare the filling by blending all the ingredients until smooth. Add a little water if you need to help it blend and add lime in the mixture, make sure lime taste is there.
Get the coconut leaves ready by cutting them into strips,not too thin, not too thick. Hand-cutting them works best (my mom washes the leaves and keep it in the sun for a while so that its easier to cut)
Spread the spice mixture on the fish slices and wrap them tightly with the leaf strips. If the mixture feels too spicy to handle, wear gloves.
Tie the wraps like a small bow tie so they’re easy to open later.
Cook the wraps the same way you would cook a fish soup. Use the leftover spice mixture for the broth.
- If you’re planning to eat it with rice, coconut milk adds great flavor
- If you’re having it with taro, cooking it in water keeps it lighter
In the end, making hedhee maha isn’t complicated, it just takes a bit of prep, some good fish, and a few basic ingredients that come together beautifully. Whether you cook it with coconut milk or just water, whether you eat it with rice or taro, it’s one of those dishes that somehow always hits the spot. Every wrap carries the kind of flavor you don’t forget easily. And honestly, once you get the hang of tying and cooking them, it’s the kind of recipe you’ll find yourself returning to again and again.
