What to eat in the Maldives – 14 must-try dishes

When staying at a top-end resort in the Maldives, you can expect the staff to fulfill all your gastronomic desires at any time of the day. From European classics to delicately prepared Japanese preparations, resort restaurants serve a variety of world cuisines cooked by the very best chefs, often flown in specially to wow gourmands visiting the islands.

While culinary extravagance goes hand in hand with a luxury stay, there is unique and pure joy in discovering the straightforwardness of Maldives’ regional cuisine.

Not surprisingly, Maldivian recipes rely on limited ingredients due to the country’s secluded location. Nevertheless, the cuisine takes inspiration from Indian, Sri Lankan, and Arab cooking and manages to pack a punch with robust and fresh flavorings that never fail to tingle the taste buds for an exotically appetizing experience.

So, wondering what to eat in the Maldives then? Well, tourists experimenting with food in the Maldivian will quickly realize that fish, primarily tuna, coconut, and rice, form the basis of most gastronomic offerings on the islands. There is a ban on pork due to religious reasons, but locals use chicken and other meats occasionally on special occasions.

Traditionally, Maldivian cuisine is spicy, similar to coastal food from India. However, nowadays, several dishes have chilies as a condiment to add as per individual preference.

When visiting the Maldives, there are ample opportunities for vegetarians and non-vegetarians to try regional food. Although you can request local delicacies when staying at a resort, the best place to eat authentic Maldivian food is in restaurants on inhabited islands, especially Malé and Maafushi.

Now, to finally get you started on a Maldivian culinary adventure, here are 14 traditional dishes you must have in the Maldives to satisfy every type of craving.

Kulhi Boakibaa

Maldivian baked fish cake, usually a little spicy, combines the island nation’s three staples, fish, coconut, and rice. Initially a festive dish, it is now a much-loved tea-time snack. The dish’s ingredients, including ginger, turmeric, lime, coconut oil, and peppers, are mixed and put to bake, resulting in a divine pie that is the perfect savory companion to a glass of Sai – Maldivian tea.   

Bis Keemiya

Bis Keemiya, a cross between a samosa and a spring roll, is an enjoyable snack eaten regularly by Maldivian residents. Stuffed with tuna, hardboiled egg, onions, and cabbage, Bis Keemiya is surprisingly light, making it hard just to eat one. You’ll find Bis Keemiya at most cafes in the Maldives. 

Fihunu Mas

A delicious barbequed tuna or reef fish, gutted, stuffed with chili paste, and seasoned with spices, Fihunu Mas has a beautiful charry flavor from being cooked over a coal grill. It’s the ultimate lunchtime food to have in the Maldives while sitting by the water.

Hedhika

Not an individual dish, Hedhika is the name given to a collection of short eats you will find at most tea shops when discovering Malé and other inhabited islands. Hedhika tends to be a little on the oily side, as most of these quick bites are deep-fired, but there is warming goodness to the food that will undoubtedly tickle your culinary fancy.

Amongst the most popular fast foods in the Maldives is Gulha – small round fish balls stuffed with tuna and coconut, Bajiya – crunchy, golden samosas filled with smoked tuna onion mixture, and Mushimas – fried scads seasoned, deep-fried, and eaten as a whole. Kavaabu – fish, coconut, rice fritters, Rihaakuru Folhi – rihaakuru pancake, Dhonkeyo Kajuru – sweet banana fritters, and Theluli Mas – spicy fried fish, are all yummy Maldivian foods you will find in city restaurants.  

Yam Fries

With yam being abundantly grown in the Maldives, skip the traditional potato chips and opt for fried yams instead. Crunchy and tasty, yam fries are the perfect snack to munch throughout the day.

Mas Huni

When looking for what to eat in the Maldives, you have to try the quintessential breakfast dish, Mas Huni, available everywhere in the archipelago. A mixture of smoked shredded tuna, grated coconut, with chilies, onion, and a dash of lime for extra zest, the magic of Mas Huni lies in the simplicity of its preparation. Pair it with roshi or eat it as it is for a memorable start to your day.

Garudhiya

Maldives’ favorite dish is also the country’s most modest. The only three ingredients that go into the preparation of traditional Garudhiya are pieces of tuna, salt, and water. A clear broth, Garudhiya, is standard in Maldivian households where residents often add garlic, fried onions, lime, and curry leaves to give the dish a bit of oomph before consuming it with rice or roshi. 

Boshi Mashuni

There is something inherently delightful about being on a tropical island and indulging in a fresh salad. Boshi Mashuni is an original take on the standard salad as it includes banana flowers tossed together with fresh coconut shavings, cumin, turmeric, and various spices. Lime and chilies come alongside and can be sprinkled to add more intensity to the salad.

Dhon Riha

No beachside holiday is complete without tasting fish curry, and in the Maldives, you have to eat Dhon Riha. Dhon means fair, and this Maldivian tuna curry gets its whitish appearance from a paste made using fennel seeds and coconut. However, several people nowadays use coconut milk or powder to speed up the cooking process. Besides the diced tuna’s meaty virtue, Dhon Riha has turmeric, cardamom, ginger, curry powder, onions, chilies, and green mangoes, all of which combined to give the dish a hearty and unforgettable taste. The curry’s vegetarian version, Tharukaaree Riha, has sweet potatoes, beans, carrots, and pumpkin.     

Rihaakuru

A real novelty food in the Maldives, Rihaakuru, is an essential part of the everyday diet among locals on inhabited islands. It is prepared by further cooking Garudhiya, traditional tuna fish soup, for hours until the water evaporates, leaving behind a thick brown paste. Rihaakuru has an acidic, salty taste that foreign palates might take a while to appreciate. Theluli Rihaakuru is a spiced version of the dish, made by adding curry leaves, chilies, and onions to the paste. Eaten with rice or roshi, Rihaakuru is sometimes added to curries and soups as a seasoning.

Roshi

Roshi is a Maldivian flatbread, ideally served with fish curry, Rihaakuru, or Mas Huni, that resembles the Indian chapati. Unlike the Indian roti, made using wholewheat flour, Maldivians use refined flour and add warm water to the dough to give the flatbread a softer character. An alternate to the plain roshi is Huni Roshi, which includes adding shredded coconut into the dough. Huni Roshi has a lovely aroma and is comparatively thicker and firmer, making it perfect for dipping into curries.

Mas Roshi

Leave it to Maldivian ingenuity to combine two of its most popular foods into one tummy-filling comfort eat. Mas Roshi, in simple terms, is a roshi with a Mas Huni filling. The preparation of this quick bite involves stuffing the chapati and pan-frying it till it has a crunchier golden-brown exterior. You can have Mas Roshi on its own or pair it with your evening tea.

Addu Bendi

With limited ingredients in use, one might imagine that the Maldives is devoid of specialty food. Addu Bendi breaks that myth by being novel in appearance and flavor. A delicacy found only in Addu Atoll, where it was once used for trading purposes, Bendi consist of shredded coconut, toddy syrup, and sugar mixture, wrapped up toffee-like in a dry banana leaf. It’s easy to mistake this delight for a sausage at first, but once you peel off the leaf and bite into it, the sweet sticky disposition of the Bendi will amaze you with its distinct texture and aftertaste.

Saagu Bondibai

Expect an overload of sweetness with Saagu Bondibai, the Maldivian version of sago pudding. To cook the dessert, one needs to boil sago seeds, a starchy extract of palm stems, adding sugar, rose water, and condensed milk to it later. You can then have the resulting gooey dessert, either warm or chilled. Banbukeyo Bondibai is the breadfruit version of the pudding and is a festive dish made during Eid in the Maldives.