Ingredients
- 1 tsp poppy seeds
- Zest and juice of 2 limes
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 small fresh coconut
- 200g top quality yellow fin tuna in brine, drained
- 2 large carrots, peeled
- 1 yellow pepper, deseeded
- 200g pink radishes, trimmed
- 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced
- 1 green chilli, deseeded and finely sliced
- Wholemeal chapatis or pitta breads, to serve
Directions
1- Pour the groundnut oil into a small saucepan and sprinkle over the black mustard and poppy seeds. Heat the oil until the seeds start to pop, then pour into a heatproof bowl and cool slightly. Whisk in the lime zest and juice with seasoning to taste and leave to cool completely.
2- Meanwhile, prepare the salad ingredients. Pull away any long hairy bits from the coconut shell. To crack the shell open, pierce the eyes at one end by tapping the pointy end of a skewer through with a cleaver or hammer. Drain off the watery juices from inside the shell. Next, place the coconut on a solid board and tap the coconut with the cleaver or hammer around its middle, turning it as you tap, until it breaks in two.
3- To extract the flesh, insert the blade of a small knife between the flesh and shell. Move it about to loosen and remove chunks of the fruit. Taste a piece of the coconut to check that it is fresh. If it tastes good, continue to extract the coconut, then peel away the dark skin with a knife or vegetable peeler. Grate half of the coconut coarsely using a hand-held grater or food processor.
4- Put the tuna in a mixing bowl and flake finely with a fork. Toss through a third of the dressing and check for seasoning. Shred the carrots and pepper into fine matchsticks and slice the radishes thinly with a knife or mandolin. Put the coconut, carrot, pepper, radish and chillies in a bowl and toss through the remaining dressing with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the salad to a bowl, then scatter the tuna over. Serve with chapatis or pitta bread.
Source
The Maldives (Dhivehi: Dhivehi Raajje) are an archipelago of 1,190 coral islands grouped into 26 coral atolls (200 inhabited islands, plus 80 islands with tourist resorts) in the Indian Ocean. They lie south-southwest of India and are considered part of Southern Asia.
