Best Maldivian Dishes – Essential Eats Of The Island

The Maldives islands have an intriguing culture that is the amalgamation of various influences such as Chinese, Indian, and Sri Lankan which are also reflected in their national cuisine.

  1. Bis Keemiya: At first glance these delightful fried snacks would look like engorged versions of spring rolls, but these are the spiritual equivalent to the famous Indian snack known as samosa. These flaky and crunchy pastries are stuffed with sautéed cabbage and onions as well as hardboiled eggs and a few spices. While samosas are folded into triangles, bis keemiya are usually rolled up instead. These incredible snacks are one of the most renowned fast-foods in the Maldives and are sure to be available anywhere you could roam.
     
  2. Garudhiya: This is one of the simplest Maldivian dishes but it is also one of the most prominent and culturally significant. This curry can be found in almost any of the Maldives restaurants and is even featured in menus within resorts such as Anantara Dhigu Maldives Resort. The most traditional version of a garudhiya is exceedingly simple, with the ingredients simply being tuna, water and salt. The dish is prepared by cutting up the tuna, discarding the gills and innards and placing the pieces to boil in water. Routinely, the scum that forms on top of the water will be scooped and discarded. Now many more ingredients are likely to be added such as chilli, curry leaves, and onions. This is usually consumed with steamed rice but can also be eaten with Maldivian chapatti known as 'roshi'.
     
  3. Mas Huni: This is another legendary delicacy where Maldivian dishes are concerned. Mas huni is most popularly consumed for breakfast, and consists of tuna, shredded coconut, onion and chilli that has been chopped up and formed into a homogenous paste of sorts. Canned tuna is the staple kind of fish that is used nowadays to make mas huni. There's even a vegetarian version of this dish where tuna is replaced with boiled butternut squash, resulting in a much thicker paste. Mas huni is most commonly consumed with 'roshi' and is served with hot sweetened tea.
     
  4. Gulha: These bite-sized spheres are some of the most fulfilling snacks you can come across in the Maldives, and their enticing appeal lies in their simplicity. Gulha are made by stuffing small quantities of mas huni into tiny balls of roshi-dough and then deep-frying them till they're golden. The results are tiny crispy snacks that are similar to fish cutlets.
     
  5. Mas Roshi: These are similar to gulha but are heartier and healthier. Think of these as the Maldivian equivalent of fish buns and their preparation is also quite easy and involves a fusion of two breakfast staples, which are mas huni and roshi. Similar to gulha, masroshi also revolves around mas huni fused into roshi dough, except they are formed into much bigger items, the size of buns, and are roasted on a pan instead of deep-fried. The resulting snacks are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside with generous amounts of tuna, onions and coconut flavoured with curry leaves, chilli, ginger and garlic.