Products and eating habits
With only 298 km2 of land area, the Maldives is the smallest country in Asia, yet including the coastal waters and lagoons, this tiny nation covers over 900,000 km2. Seafood has always been a major component of Maldivian cuisine and until recently, fishing was the main resource of the Maldives.
Tuna is caught in the open sea. Dried and salted, it is called Maldives-fish. This product, prepared with pink tuna, yellowfin tuna, tuna fish or bonito, is highly prized for its long shelf life in southern India and Sri Lanka where it has been imported for centuries. Local cooks also use rihaakuru, a very aromatic black paste, comparable to a long caramelized fish smoke.
But there are also other species such as grouper, dolphinfish, barracuda, swordfish, marlin, jackfish and squirrelfish, not to mention a multitude of locally consumed reef fish as well as several species of sharks. Various types of seafood are collected including lobsters, octopus, cuttlefish, squid and several types of molluscs.
A large part of the Maldives' landmass is made up of sandy tongues, which are not very suitable for agriculture, except for the coconut tree. Coconut is highly prized for its meat, milk and oil. However, the larger islands offer some arable land for the cultivation of sweet potatoes, taro, cassava, peppers, watermelons, squash, papaya, eggplant, cabbage, not to mention various fruit trees such as banana, mango and breadfruit.
Thanks to its proximity to India and Sri Lanka, the country has incorporated many spices into its cuisine, such as ginger, pepper, cinnamon, turmeric, cloves, nutmeg, cumin, cardamom, coriander and so on. A gastronomy that can be very spicy, thanks to the addition of githeyo mirus, a small bumpy pepper similar to the West Indian pepper. Not forgetting the kaloupilé leaves, often called curry leaves in English. A misleading term, as the leaves of this plant are not used in the composition of curry, which is a mixture of spices.
Islam is the religion of almost all Maldivians and is practised in a traditional way through the Sharia. Thus "haram" (impure) products are forbidden for Muslims, such as pork or alcohol. However, given the importance of tourism on the archipelago, a certain flexibility applies to foreigners and alcohol is served without any problem in the numerous hotels and large restaurants of the country.
The same applies to Ramadan, which is not mandatory for tourists. As in the rest of the Muslim world, it is practiced here with fervor and consists of fasting from sunrise to sunset. The fast is traditionally broken each evening with three dates and a glass of watermelon juice or coconut water, which provide both the sugar and water the body needs. This is followed by theiftar, the evening meal, which is a time to regain strength while gathering as a family.
The classics of Maldivian cuisine
On the archipelago, you can start a meal with small appetizers - often fritters and fried food - called hedhikaa. There are various specialties such as bajiya, a kind of triangle-shaped samosa, often stuffed with tuna and spices. Keemiyaa have a similar filling but are rolled into a cigar shape and fried. Bajiya can also be deep-fried rings made of white bean puree. The kulhi boakibaa is a thick patty made of rice, tuna and coconut, finely spiced and then cut into cubes. Kavaabu are fried tuna croquettes. Havaadhulee bis are also filled with tuna, but come in the form of small filled dough balls, cooked in boiling water and then topped with a curry sauce. The delicate riha folhi are thin turmeric pancakes filled with dried tuna. Finally, masroshi are naan-like flatbreads filled with a mixture of chopped tuna, grated coconut and spices.
The other central element of Maldivian cuisine is curry, as India is indeed very close. It is served with rice, although this grain is not grown on the island. The most popular curry is the mas riha or tuna curry, which is prepared with fresh tuna that is simmered in a very aromatic coconut milk sauce. If the breeding is very modest in the archipelago, we find for example chicken, whose meat is appreciated in curry (kukulhu riha). Vegetable curries in the Maldives are prepared with bashi (eggplant), tora (loofah squash) or barab (pumpkin). In the absence of rice, these dishes are served with flat breads called roti.
Other dishes include kulhi mas, a spicy tuna fricassee, sometimes accompanied by a fried egg. Garudhiya is a very light broth, flavoured with coriander and chilli with poached tuna cubes. Very tasty, kandu kukulhu is a recipe of tuna marinated with a curry paste, wrapped in coconut leaves and simmered in coconut milk. At breakfast it is not uncommon for locals to enjoy mas huni (chopped canned tuna, grated coconut and spices served with flat bread). Fathu mas huni is very similar but also contains finely chopped Chinese cabbage.
Desserts include dhandialuvi boakiba (a soft cassava cake), kiru boakibaa (a semolina, coconut milk and cardamom cake), saagu bondibai (a sago pudding made from the fruit of a palm tree), and dhonkeyo kaju (small banana fritters). Halfway between a dessert and a drink, falooda contains milk flavoured with rose syrup, vermicelli, basil seeds, tapioca pearls and pieces of gelatine. In the Maldives, people usually drink Sri Lankan black tea. It is the national drink, although coffee is gaining in popularity.
