Led by local chefs, Maldivian menus are bringing smoked tuna broth, mas huni and screwpine to the fine-dining table.
The last dish to land on the table at Ba’theli by the Reef at the Maldivian-owned resort Milaidhoo, in the Baa Atoll UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, is fihunu bodu ihi, grilled Maldivian spiny lobster in curry. It’s one of a generous family-style spread. There’s garudhiya, a clear skipjack tuna broth scented with pandan and curry leaves; “short eats” like gulha, fried dumplings stuffed with smoked tuna and coconut; and a northern-style lamb curry. The finale is a selection of desserts heaped on a malaayfaiy, a tomato-red, lacquered circular dish used for ceremonial feasts. Throughout, the menu draws on local flavors of screw pine, breadfruit, green mango, plantain, cassava and banana blossom.
A traditional Maldivian feast
Ba’theli turns ten this year, alongside the resort, as the country’s first modern Maldivian fine-dining restaurant. Guests dine aboard traditional dhonis, a nod to the wooden ba’theli boats that carried spices across the islands. Find local seafood, curries, and traditional home cooking dishes meant to be shared family style. Chef de partie Ali Ziyan recommends ordering widely to get a true taste of it.
View of the Lighthouse restaurant
Just a short boat ride from Malé, Maldives, Baros is the third resort opened in the Maldives since 1973 and has always featured Maldivian chefs in the kitchen. The 75-villa resort, known for its understated elegance, is one of the country’s most striking house reefs and had chef Ibrahim Nathif at the helm for 14 years, with a heavy influence on the resort’s Maldivian flavors as chef de cuisine. He previously won both Most Outstanding Chef in Maldives and Best Maldivian Chef at the Food and Hospitality Asia Maldives (FHAM) International Culinary Challenge.
Baros’s chefs’ garden grows Maldivian chili and rocket, pandan, curry leaves and moringa alongside papaya, mango, stone apple, taro, ginger and bitter gourd. Guests can also purchase local delicacies at the resort’s spice boutique and try a daily changing menu of Maldivian dishes at the breakfast buffet and the weekly buffet night.
At Niva Dhigali, in neighboring Raa Atoll, Nasreena ‘Natti’ Ali’s goal is to bring people happiness through her food. She began her career teaching cooking classes and running her own catering company in the mid-1980s and joined Dhigali in 2017. She oversees multiple menus and trains new chefs at the resort, and at the resort’s signature restaurant, Battuta, guests can try a maldivian feast of feast of musamma kukulhu (chicken musamma) and Maldivian-style tuna curry, with onion salad, crisp papadam, sweet potato, and fragrant rice. Guests who want to learn the basics can join a hands-on class in mas huni and garudhiya.
This article was originally published on Forbes.com
Dining and Cooking