Gulha — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

Small steamed or fried dumplings with a rice flour shell filled with smoked tuna, coconut, onion, and spices, shaped into round balls.

Ingredients

For shell: 2 cups rice flour, 1 cup water, pinch salt
200g smoked tuna, finely shredded
1 cup grated coconut
1 onion, finely diced
1 green chili, minced
6 curry leaves, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
1 tsp cumin powder
Salt to taste
Oil for frying if frying

Instructions

1 Cook rice flour with water and salt in a saucepan, stirring constantly, until it forms a thick, pliable dough. Cool slightly.
2 Prepare filling: mix shredded tuna, grated coconut, onion, chili, curry leaves, lime juice, cumin, and salt.
3 Take a walnut-sized piece of dough and flatten into a disc in your palm. Place a teaspoon of filling in the center.
4 Fold the dough around the filling, pinching to seal, and roll into a smooth ball. Ensure no cracks.
5 Steam in a steamer for ten minutes, or deep fry at 160C for four minutes until golden brown.
6 Serve warm with chili sauce. Steamed Gulha are lighter while fried ones are richer and crunchier.

Did You Know?

Maldivian mothers are judged by the smoothness and uniformity of their Gulha, and achieving perfectly round dumplings without cracks is considered an essential life skill.