Maldivian Cuisine

Clear tuna broth served with rice, lime, chili, and onion. The national staple. Every Maldivian household makes this. Simple, clean, and deeply savory. Nothing like the creamy fish soups at resorts.

Shredded smoked tuna mixed with grated coconut, onion, and chili. Eaten with roshi (flatbread) for breakfast. The real version uses hand-shredded tuna, not canned. Slightly dry, slightly spicy, completely addictive.

A spread of small fried and baked items served at local teashops between 3pm and 5pm. Includes bajiya (samosa-like), gulha (fish balls), keemia (fish rolls), and mas roshi (fish-stuffed flatbread). The Maldivian equivalent of afternoon tea.

Thick, dark fish paste made by reducing tuna broth for hours. Intensely concentrated flavor. Spread on roshi or mixed into rice. An acquired taste for visitors, but the backbone of Maldivian cooking.

Deep-fried spring roll filled with cabbage, egg, and onion. A hedhikaa staple. Crispy, hot, and best eaten within minutes of frying. The resort version is often larger and less crispy than the real thing.

Whole grilled fish rubbed with chili paste. Usually reef fish or tuna, cooked over coconut husk coals. The smoky flavor from the husks is impossible to replicate with gas grills. Best eaten with hands, with rice on the side.