Fihunu Baked Beans Keemiya

Baked beans has been a popular breakfast dish in the Maldives for a while now. However, nowadays, it is even more popular to have it as a Keemiya, a type of Maldivian hedhikaa or short eat.

There are mainly two types of baked beans keemiya - fried and baked. Here we have the recipe for the baked version of this delicious tea time treat.

For our recipe we have used Fresh Baked Beans, provided to us by one of our partners, KDM. The Fresh Baked Beans is packed in a rich tomato sauce, making it quick and easy to prepare. The beans are perfectly soft and has a nice creamy flavour. These are perfect for recipes like shakshuka, curries and even just simply on toast.

Serving size: 16

Ingredients:

For the dough

• 2 cups flour
• 2/3 tsp salt
• 4 tsp oil
• ½ cup + 1 tbsp water (at room temperature)

For the baked beans

• 2 tbsp oil
• ½ cup finely diced onion
• 10 curry leaves
• 1 tsp finely chopped garlic
• ½ scotch bonnet pepper
• ½ tsp finely chopped ginger
• 1 can tuna (180g)
• 425g Fresh Baked Beans
• ¼ tsp chili powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 4 tbsp Fresh Baked Beans tomato sauce (sauce drained from the baked beans can)

Instructions:

1. To prepare the keemiya dough, mix 2 cups flour and 2/3 tsp salt in a large bowl. Then add in 4 tsp of oil and use your fingers to mix it in with the flour.
2. Gradually add ½ cup +1 tbsp water. Add only a couple of tbsp at a time, and mix well using your hand before adding more.
3. Once all the water is added, start kneading the dough and continue kneading until you get a soft and elastic dough. It should not be too dry but also not so wet that it sticks to your hand. Cover the bowl using plastic food wrap and leave the dough to rest for around 20-30 minutes.
4. Divide the dough into 16 equal sized balls and roll each dough ball into a circular shape of around 4-inches in diameter (you can sprinkle some flour on the surface to roll the dough easily). It should be thin but also not translucent. Set aside.
5. Now prepare the baked beans filling. First, add 2 tbsp oil to a pot and heat it up for 30 seconds on medium heat.
6. Then add in ½ cup finely diced onions, 10 curry leaves, 1 tsp finely chopped garlic, and ½ of a scotch bonnet pepper. Stir to combine and cook for 3 minutes or until the onion is soft and lightly brown.
7. Next, add 1 tsp finely chopped ginger and 1 can tuna (after draining any excess oil/water). Mix well and continue cooking for 1 minute.
8. Using a strainer, drain the tomato sauce that’s in the Fresh Baked Beans can (set the sauce aside to use later on). Then to the pot, add the beans along with ¼ tsp chilli powder, and ¼ tsp salt. Stir and cook for another 3 minutes.
9. Turn off the heat and add 4 tbsp of the tomato sauce that was drained from the baked beans. Gently mix it in to the bean filling. After that, transfer the filling to a bowl and remove the 10 curry leaves and the piece of scotch bonnet pepper. Divide the filling into 16 portions (about 2 tsp) and set aside.
10. Take one rolled-out dough piece and place a portion of the baked bean filling in the centre. Then fold in the two opposite edges over the baked beans filling but not all the way (you should be able to see some filling in the middle). Dip a finger in to some water and wet the edges of the folded dough. This will make sure the keemiya is all closed when it’s all folded.
11. Fold in the other two opposite edges in a similar manner, but this time all the way covering the filling; once again dipping your finger into some water and running it over the edge and pressing gently down to seal the keemiya. Now you should have the keemiya shape that resembles a pillow. Repeat the steps for the remaining portions.
12. To bake the keemiya, heat a flat pan on the stove at medium heat. Place 4-6 keemiya on the pan and leave them to bake for 1 minute 30 seconds, or until a golden-brown crust form on the bottom. You can check if the colour changes by peeking under the keemiya.
13. Then using a tong, flip the keemiyas and bake for 1 more minute on that side. If the pan is too hot, you can lower the heat to avoid burning the keemiyas.
14. After that, bake the smaller sides of the keemiya by holding the keemiya upright using the tongs. When the keemiyas are fully baked, it should have a nice golden-brown crust on the outside, that is just slightly crispy but cooked all the way through.
15. Transfer the keemiyas onto a plate. It is best to have these with some black tea, while still warm.