Fish, even at breakfast

A trip to the Maldives means forgetting meat for a few days. Maldivian gastronomy features a wealth of recipes with fish as the main ingredient.

Fish is the most common product for lunch and dinner, but it is also eaten at breakfast: sautéed with onion, grated coconut and peppers, it is the food with which the local people start their day. The most popular is tuna, swordfish and octopus, always served with rice and local vegetables. This succulent ingredient is a mainstay of Maldivian gastronomy, and most dishes are very spicy, whether fried, smoked, grilled, steamed or cooked any number of ways.

Among the shellfish, you’ll find shrimp, crab and the usual lobster, which is a staple in coastal destinations. Don’t worry if you are not a great fan of fish, most buffets in the resorts serve international food. Delicious curries are prepared with chicken and beef.

Along with fish, the other star ingredient is coconut, but that requires little explanation if you’ve been around the islands and seen the number of palm trees. It’s used as a condiment in many dishes and, above all, in shakes and non-alcoholic cocktails.

Maldivian cuisine is strongly influenced by neighbouring countries like India and Sri Lanka, from where it gets its traditional dish, fish curry with vegetables, called riha. Indian naan bread, made without yeast, is similar to the bread made on the islands and is served to accompany most dishes. It just has a different name: rosji. If India has its samosas, triangular pastries filled with vegetables or meat, the Maldives have bajiya. They are very much alike, except for the filling: here they are filled with fish and onion. The regional version of the traditional fish soup of several countries of the Hindustan peninsula, a broth served with rice and prepared with onion, lemon and curry, is known as gaudhiya and is consumed almost daily in local homes.

On the menu at most eateries you’ll find kuli boakiba, a mildly spicy, condimented fish cake. A rihaakuru, a tuna paste spread on toast, is usually served first to whet the appetite. Just as popular as rihaakuru are gulha, balls of fish and coconut with turmeric, onion, ginger, chilli and lime. Restaurants also serve them as appetizers, but many guest houses make their own gulha to sell in the street. The local people and visitors buy the ingredients for these delicious dishes in the Malé Local Market, next to the fishing pier. Close by, you’ll find the Fish Market, where you can get quality, freshly caught fish of all kinds. Dhivehi Malafaiy is one of the best known traditional Maldivian restaurants in Malé.

The Maldives is a Muslim country, so alcohol is forbidden. Alcoholic drinks are served only in the resorts, on licensed cruise boats, and at the airport hotel: the Hulhule Island Hotel. The national drink is raa, a juice extracted from palm trunks, and kaashi kiru, coconut milk. The Maldivian people love tea, and it’s customary to drink it at four in the afternoon, prepared in various ways. If you are interested in taking any of the many tea varieties home with you, M Souvenirs, across from the airport ferry terminal, has around 20 different flavours.

Dinner on a Dhoni’

The typical wooden sailboat of the Maldives, known as a dhoni, is the oldest and most popular means of transporting people and goods in the country. They have been handcrafted for centuries and have a distinctive high prow. Proud of this symbol, some restaurants are built with roofs that replicate the structure of the hull of these boats, such as one at the Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa. Some dhonis have even been converted into high-end overwater restaurants, such as the one at Milaidhoo Island resort.

For Submarine Foodies

For those who love underwater life and are not satisfied with just diving and snorkelling, there are restaurants where you can watch undersea life while you enjoy delights from the menu. A few metres under the Indian Ocean, what better décor than brightly coloured fish going about their daily lives in their natural habitat. The transparent walls and ceiling may be curved, like the Ithaa undersea restaurant, or straight, as in Sea Fire Salt Sky, and give you an unprecedented view.