Garudiya

Garudhiya, garnished and ready to be served.

Traditional Maldivian cuisine is often based on fish species native to the nation's oceans.

Garudiya (ގަރުދިޔަ) is a clear fish broth. It is one of the basic and traditional food items of the Maldivians.

In order to cook garudiya tuna fish (skipjack (kandumas or goda), yellowfin tuna (kanneli), little tunny (latti), or frigate tuna (raagondi) are cut up following a traditional pattern. After having had the gills and some of the innards thrown away, the fish is then carefully washed and boiled in water with salt, until it is well cooked. The foam or scum (filleyo) is carefully removed while boiling and is later discarded.

Despite the introduction of new items in the Maldivian cuisine, garudiya is still favoured on every Maldivian table, as it has been for generations.

Garudiya is usually eaten with rice, but it can also be eaten with roshi (chapati). When eaten with taro (alocassia), or breadfruit, grated coconut is added.

Variants and derivatives

Some Maldivians use chilies, curry leaves and onions to flavor the garudiya according to their taste, however, mostly garudiya is cooked simply using fish, salt and water.

Garudiya could be also obtained using other fishes like wahoo (kurumas), Coryphaena hippurus (fiyala) or bluefin jack (handi), among others, but the favored fish for garudiya is tuna and related species.

When the tuna-based garudiya is cooked until all the water evaporates, it forms a thick brown paste called Rihaakuru.