Maldivian Cuisine

Maldivian cuisine, known as Dhivehi cuisine, is the cooking of a coral archipelago nation of roughly 1,200 islands scattered across the Indian Ocean, where the bounty of the sea and the limitations of island agriculture have created one of the world's most distinctive fish-and-coconut-centered food cultures. Tuna, particularly skipjack tuna, is the foundation of Maldivian cooking, consumed fresh, dried, smoked, and cured in preparations that have sustained islanders for over two thousand years. Coconut is the second pillar, providing milk, oil, flesh, and toddy (raa) in virtually every meal.

The earliest Maldivian settlers likely came from Sri Lanka and southern India, bringing Dravidian and Sinhalese food traditions that remain visible in curry preparations, flatbread techniques, and spice usage. Arab traders, who facilitated the islands' conversion to Islam in the twelfth century, introduced Middle Eastern flavoring and certain preservation methods.

The proximity to the Indian subcontinent ensured ongoing influence from South Indian and Sri Lankan cuisines, including the use of curry leaves, pandan, and specific spice combinations. Portuguese, Dutch, and British colonial contact left minimal culinary impact, as the islands' isolation and Islamic culture created a strong culinary identity resistant to European influence. Skipjack tuna (fresh, dried as Maldive fish/hikimas, and smoked as valhomas), coconut (milk, oil, grated flesh, and toddy), curry leaves (the defining aromatic), chili (used generously in most preparations), and rice (imported but essential to every meal).