Maldives

Plain boiled or steamed short-grain white rice, unseasoned, that serves as the obligatory neutral starchy base of every traditional Maldivian main meal.

A Maldivian everyday household curry of starchy, underripe breadfruit simmered in spiced coconut milk with curry leaves, green chili, onion, and turmeric until the breadfruit is tender and the sauce is fragrant and lightly thickened.

A Maldivian deep-fried triangular pastry with a thin wheat dough shell encasing a filling of hard-boiled egg, shredded cabbage, and spring onion, eaten as an everyday short-eat.

A dense, moist Maldivian steamed cake made from ground rice and fresh coconut, sweetened and perfumed with cardamom and rose water, traditionally prepared for feasts and celebrations.

Fresh-tapped sap drawn from the flower spathe of the coconut palm in the Maldives, drunk sweet or left to ferment into a mildly alcoholic toddy.

Fihunu Mas is a traditional Maldivian dish of whole tuna or reef fish coated with a spiced chili paste and grilled over an open fire, producing a smoky, spicy crust while keeping the flesh moist.

Foni Boakibaa is a traditional Maldivian steamed rice cake flavored with rose water and coconut milk, served as a festive dessert.

A crystal-clear, minimally seasoned skipjack tuna broth simmered with pandan leaf, served as the centrepiece of the Maldivian table alongside steamed rice, fresh lime, raw chilli, and sliced onion.

Gulha is a spherical deep-fried dough dumpling filled with a savory mixture of smoked tuna, grated coconut, and chili, characteristic of Maldivian cuisine.

A Maldivian flatbread (roshi) folded around a filling of sweetened grated coconut and cooked on a griddle.

Maldivian deep-fried savory parcels of smoked tuna mashed with rice or lentils, coconut, and spices, shaped and fried into golden bites.

A Maldivian savory baked cake of cooked rice and spiced tuna bound together, sliced into firm wedges and eaten as a snack.

A raw Maldivian breakfast preparation of hand-shredded smoked tuna tossed with freshly grated coconut, finely diced onion, and green or red chilli, assembled cold and served immediately with flatbread.

The everyday Maldivian tuna curry — chunks of fresh tuna simmered in a spiced coconut-milk gravy fragrant with curry leaves, pandan, chilli, and turmeric.

A Maldivian stuffed flatbread of thin wheat dough sealed around a spiced filling of smoked dried tuna, fresh or desiccated coconut, and chili, cooked on a dry griddle until lightly blistered.

Rihaakuru is an intensely reduced, dark tuna‑based fish sauce that serves as a cornerstone condiment in Maldivian cuisine.

Roshi is a Maldivian unleavened flatbread made from wheat flour and coconut milk, cooked on a dry griddle.

A Maldivian sweet pudding of sago pearls cooked in sweetened coconut milk and perfumed with cardamom and rose water.

Maldivian tuna slices marinated in chilli and turmeric, then shallow-fried in oil.