Sunday, 8 November 2026 · 28 Jumada I 1448 AH

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Maldivian Food

Fresh fish curry

Cubed fresh fish is cooked with havadhu, pandan, curry leaves and finished with coconut milk.

A bowl of curry.
A bowl of curry. Photo: inazakira / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Fresh fish curry is a fragrant curry of cubed fish cooked with havadhu, pandan and curry leaves, finished with coconut milk.

Ingredients

  • 2 pieces fresh fish, cut into cubes

  • 2 onions, finely chopped

  • 4 garlic cloves, grated

  • 1 tablespoon ginger, crushed

  • 1 githeyo chilli, chopped

  • 1/2 cup curry powder or roasted havadhu, ground

  • 5 pieces pandan leaf, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

  • 1 small tin tomato paste

  • 3 curry leaves

  • 1 cup coconut milk

  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin

  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and cardamom

  • 1 teaspoon mustard cream

  • 3 cups water

  • A little salt

  • A little oil

Method

  1. Put the pan on the stove and add a little oil.

  2. When it is hot, add the onion, githeyo chilli, curry leaves and pandan leaves together.

  3. Keep stirring with a spoon until the onion browns.

  4. When the onion is soft, add the fish, salt, ginger and garlic together.

  5. Cook on low heat until the colour of the fish changes.

  6. Add all the remaining ingredients except the coconut milk.

  7. When the raw smell has gone, mix in the coconut milk.

  8. When it boils, take it off the heat.