Muranga Fai Mashuni ( Tuna and Morainga leaves Sambal)


The Morainga tree in our yard has been there forever.  As a child, I was literally forced to eat the leaves, which I hated back then, as most kids do.
 It would be served raw with rice or in an omelette. Or we would be made to sit and pick each leaf ( the most annoying task), no stems mind you , to make Theli fai, the leaves are deep fried and mixed with fried dried chillies and tuna chips and served as a condiment with rice and curries.
 But as you grow older your taste buds change right? and you realize the disgusting leaves you were fed as a child is actually now considered a superfood around the world and it is grown in the backyard.


So lately I started to head into the yard and pick a branch or two of the morainga tree and started to incorporate them into my daily dishes. The boys how ever enjoy them in their rice( unlike me when I was their age),  and in omelettes. I  started to use it to make this mashuni, which is like a salad of sorts of onions, limes smoked or canned tuna and coconut. 

Recipe: Morainga Fai Mashuni 

1 1/2 can tuna or 1 fillet smoked tuna, thinly sliced
1/4 cup grated coconut
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1-2 chillies, thinly sliced ( more if you like it hotter)
Juice of 1 lime
salt

First, bring a small pan of lightly salted water to boil, once it starts to boil add the moranga leaves and blanch for 1-2 minutes. Remove and plunge into cold water to stop it from cooking any further. Do not cook for more than that or all the nutrients will disappear. 

Place the onions in a bowl along with lime juice and a pinch of salt. Squish with your fingers till the onions go soft.  Add the chillies and the tuna and mix well till all is mixed in and mashed up.

 Finally, add the the moringa leaves and the coconut and mix gently. 

Taste, adjust salt and add more lime juice if needed. 

 Enjoy with some freshly made roshi.

Comments


  1. I have never seen fresh morainga leaves before! This is must be healthy and delicious with tuna, Nammi. Love what you have been cooking!

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  2. Healthy dish.I have a tree here, planning to cook the leaves after Ramadan In Sha Allah.

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  3. We do get moringa leaves but for that, we have to go to the outskirts of UAE, or buy it from the market! Just like you said, as children, we used to loathe it but umma's glances would make us mix it into our rice and gulp it down. Hehe... Like the idea of adding it into omelettes and even this fish stir fry... very interesting...

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  4. Morainga leaves - I love them in egg burjee. That is how my mom always made them. I have never seen these leaves here in UAE. But every time I head to India - I make sure I have them!
    Having it with Tuna is new - may be next time in India I can try!

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