A handful of ingredients recur across nearly every traditional Maldivian dish covered elsewhere on this site — this page pulls them together as a single reference, rather than repeating them dish by dish.
The core flavour base
- Coconut — grated fresh, or as milk, the backbone of both savoury cooking and traditional sweets; see our tropical fruit guide.
- Chilli and lime — the acidity and heat that cut through the richness of coconut-based dishes, present in everything from mas huni to garudhiya.
- Curry leaves — central to riha-style curries; see our curries guide.
Two distinctly Maldivian staples
- Rihaakuru — a dark, intensely savoury tuna paste, reduced down over hours; used sparingly as a condiment rather than a dish on its own.
- Dhiyaa hakuru — palm syrup, the traditional sweetener behind desserts like bondibaiy; see our desserts guide.
Everyday starches
Rice and roshi (a thin, unleavened flatbread) are the two standard accompaniments across nearly every meal — simple, neutral bases built to carry the richer coconut-and-chilli flavours of whatever's served alongside them.