COPPERWhat is the national dish of the Maldives?
The Maldives has no official national dish, and two answers are given. Garudhiya, a clear broth of tuna boiled in salted water and eaten with rice, lime, chilli and onion, is the one most often called the national dish. Mas huni, smoked or canned tuna rubbed with grated coconut, onion, chilli and lime, is the national breakfast and is also listed as the national dish.
Why there are two answers
Sources do not agree. Wikipedia's article on Maldivian cuisine describes garudhiya as "the national dish of Maldives", while its list of national dishes names mas huni. Both are built on the same two things the Maldivian kitchen rests on: tuna and coconut, with rice or flatbread as the starch.
In practice they fill different places in the day. Mas huni is the breakfast, eaten with roshi flatbread and sweet tea. Garudhiya is the everyday lunch or dinner, a dish that, in the words of the Maldivian food site Lonumedhu, is "quintessentially Maldivian".
Maldivian cooking rests on three things: coconuts, fish and starches. Coconut is grated on a hunigondi, a long, low seat with a serrated steel blade at its end, or squeezed into coconut milk. Fish means above all skipjack tuna, eaten fresh or cured. Rice, taro, sweet potato, cassava and breadfruit supply the starch. Garudhiya and mas huni are both made from this short list.
What is garudhiya?
Garudhiya is a clear fish broth. It is made with tuna species caught in Maldivian waters: skipjack (kandumas), yellowfin, little tunny or frigate tuna. Other fish such as wahoo or mahi-mahi can be used, but tuna is the favourite.
Most households keep it strikingly simple: fish, salt and water. Chilli, curry leaves and onion are added only to taste, and a spiced version is called kekki garudhiya.
Fish heads are often cooked in the pot, which gives the broth a richer flavour. Common add-ons are whole dried chillies, curry leaves and bilimbi, a sour fruit called bilimagu in Dhivehi.
Garudhiya is typically eaten for lunch or dinner with white rice. Lonumedhu lists its usual companions: thelli faiy (fried moringa leaves), thelli mas (fried fish) and other condiments. It can also be eaten with roshi, and when it is served with steamed taro or breadfruit, grated coconut is added. At the table, each person seasons their own bowl with chopped onion, chilli and a squeeze of lime.
How garudhiya is made
The fish is cut up following a traditional pattern, the gills and some of the innards are discarded, and the pieces, heads and bones are washed carefully. Our garudhiya recipe gives the method step by step:
- Cut 600 g of very fresh skipjack into thick chunks and keep the head and bones, which carry most of the flavour.
- Rinse the pieces thoroughly to wash out the blood, or the broth will taste muddy.
- Slide them into 1.5 litres of boiling water with 2 teaspoons of salt.
- Skim off the grey foam, called filleyo, as soon as it rises, and keep skimming. This is what keeps the broth clear.
- Simmer gently for 20 to 25 minutes, never at a rolling boil.
What is mas huni?
Mas huni is the Maldivian breakfast: flaked tuna, finely chopped onion and chilli, lime juice and salt, mixed with freshly grated coconut. It is eaten with hot roshi and sweetened tea.
The tuna was traditionally valhoamas, Maldives fish, which is boiled, smoked and sun-dried until black and hard. Many Maldivians now use canned tuna. When fish was scarce, chopped leaves of local plants such as moringa replaced part or all of it.
Our recipe asks you to rub everything together by hand for 3 to 4 minutes. The rubbing releases the oil from the coconut and colours the mixture, which a spoon cannot do. The official tourism board, Visit Maldives, publishes a version made with a Scotch bonnet chilli (githeyo mirus) and served with roshi or farata.
Other dishes to know from the Maldives
Fihunu mas is a whole reef fish slashed to the bone, packed with a red paste of chilli, curry leaves, garlic, ginger and grated coconut, then grilled over charcoal for 10 to 12 minutes per side.
Garudhiya also has a by-product. When the broth is cooked until all the water evaporates, it becomes rihaakuru, a thick brown paste eaten almost daily in Maldivian households. Mas riha, a curry of diced fresh tuna, is the most important curry of the islands.
The nearest comparison is Sri Lanka, where rice is eaten with fish curries and coconut relishes: see our guide to Sri Lanka's national dish. You will find all three Maldivian recipes on our page about the food of the Maldives, and the wider region in our guide to South Asian food.
The recipes
- Garudhiya🇲🇻 Maldives · 40 minutes
Mas huni🇲🇻 Maldives · 15 minutes
Fihunu mas🇲🇻 Maldives · 1 hour and 15 minutes
Questions people ask
What is the national dish of the Maldives?
There is no official one. Garudhiya, a clear tuna broth eaten with rice, is most often called the national dish; mas huni, the tuna and coconut breakfast, is the other answer.
What is garudhiya served with?
Steamed rice, with chopped onion, chilli and lime added at the table. It can also be eaten with roshi flatbread, or with steamed taro or breadfruit and grated coconut.
What is mas huni made of?
Tuna, finely chopped onion and chilli, lime juice, salt and freshly grated coconut, eaten with roshi flatbread for breakfast.
Do Maldivians eat raw fish?
No. Unlike Pacific islanders, Maldivians have no tradition of eating raw fish; tuna is boiled, smoked, dried, grilled or curried.
What is Maldives fish?
Valhoamas: tuna that is gutted, boiled, smoked and sun-dried until it is hard and almost black. It is used in mas huni and many snacks.
Keep reading
- Traditional food of the Maldives: 14 dishes to know
- What is the national dish of Bangladesh?
- What is the national dish of Bhutan?
- What is the national dish of India?
- What is the national dish of Nepal?
- What is the national dish of Pakistan?