Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Maldives recipes, part of Southeast Asia. This page provides links to all the Maldives recipes presented on this site, with 15 recipes in total.

These recipes, for the major part, originate in the Maldives. Otherwise they are fusion recipes with major Maldives influences.

Maldives officially the Republic of Maldives (ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa), is a country and archipelagic state in South Asia in the Indian Ocean.[9] The Maldives is named after the main island and capital of Male. The word 'Maldives' means 'the islands (dives) of Male'. The name may derive from the Sanskrit word 'maladvipa' meaning 'garland of islands'. Dhivehi Raajje in Dhivehi means 'Kingdom of the Dhivehi people'. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, about 750 kilometres (470 miles; 400 nautical miles) from the Asian continent's mainland. The Maldives' chain of 26 atolls stretches across the equator from Ihavandhippolhu Atoll in the north to Addu Atoll in the south.

The Maldives is the smallest country in Asia. Including the sea, the territory spans roughly 90,000 square kilometres (35,000 sq mi), and a land area of 298 square kilometres (115 sq mi). The Maldives is one of the world's most geographically dispersed sovereign states, and the smallest Muslim-majority country by land area. With a population of 515,132 in the 2022 census, it is the 2nd least populous country in Asia and the ninth-smallest by area. Malé is the capital and the most populated city, traditionally called the 'King's Island', where the ancient royal dynasties ruled from its central location.[10] The Maldivian Archipelago is located on the Chagos–Laccadive Ridge, a vast submarine mountain range in the Indian Ocean; this also forms a terrestrial ecoregion with the Chagos Archipelago and Lakshadweep. The Maldives has an average ground-level elevation of 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) above sea level, and a highest natural point of only 2.4 metres (7 ft 10 in), making it the world's lowest-lying country. Some sources state the highest point, Mount Villingili, as 5.1m.

The Maldives has been inhabited for over 2,500 years. Documented contact with the outside world began around 947 AD when Arab travellers began visiting the islands. In the 12th century, due to the importance of the Arabs and Persians as traders, Islam reached the Maldivian Archipelago.[13] The Maldives was soon consolidated as a sultanate, developing strong commercial and cultural ties with Asia and Africa. From the mid-16th century, the region came under the increasing influence of European colonial powers, with the Maldives becoming a British protectorate in 1887. Independence from the United Kingdom came in 1965, and a presidential republic was established in 1968 with an elected People's Majlis. The ensuing decades have seen political instability, efforts at democratic reform,[14] and environmental challenges posed by climate change and rising sea levels.[15] The Maldives became a founding member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

The Maldives is a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the Non-Aligned Movement. The World Bank classifies the Maldives as having an upper-middle income economy.[16] The Maldives is a Dialogue Partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.[17] Fishing has historically been the dominant economic activity, and remains the largest sector by far, followed by the rapidly growing tourism industry. The Maldives rates 'high' on the Human Development Index,[18] with per capita income significantly higher than other SAARC nations.[19] The Maldives was a member of the Commonwealth of Nations from July 1982 until withdrawing from the organisation in October 2016 in protest of allegations by other nations of its human rights abuses and failing democracy. The Maldives rejoined the Commonwealth on 1 February 2020 after showing evidence of functioning democratic processes and popular support

Etymology: According to legends, the first settlers of the Maldives were people known as Dheyvis. The first Kingdom of the Maldives was known as Dheeva Maari. During the 3rd century BCE visit of emissaries, it was noted that the Maldives was known as Dheeva Mahal. During c. 1100 – 1166, the Maldives was also referred to as Diva Kudha and the Laccadive archipelago which was a part of the Maldives was then referred to as Diva Kanbar by the scholar and polymath al-Biruni (973–1048).

The name Maldives may also derive from Sanskrit माला mālā (garland) and द्वीप dvīpa (island),[24] or මාල දිවයින Maala Divaina ('Necklace Islands') in Sinhala.[25] The Maldivian people are called Dhivehin. The word Dheeb/Deeb (archaic Dhivehi, related to Sanskrit द्वीप, dvīpa) means 'island', and Dhives (Dhivehin) means 'islanders' (i.e., Maldivians). In Tamil, 'Garland of Islands' can be translated as Mālaitīvu (மாலைத்தீவு).

The ancient Sri Lankan chronicle Mahavamsa refers to an island called Mahiladiva ('Island of Women', महिलादिभ) in Pali, which is probably a mistranslation of the same Sanskrit word meaning 'garland'.

Jan Hogendorn, Grossman Professor of Economics at Colby College, theorised that the name Maldives derives from the Sanskrit mālādvīpa (मालाद्वीप), meaning 'garland of islands'. In Malayalam, 'Garland of Islands' can be translated as Maladweepu (മാലദ്വീപ്).[citation needed] In Kannada, 'Garland of Islands' can be translated as Maaledweepa (ಮಾಲೆದ್ವೀಪ).[citation needed] None of these names are mentioned in any literature,[citation needed] but classical Sanskrit texts dating back to the Vedic period mention the 'Hundred Thousand Islands' (Lakshadweepa), a generic name which would include not only the Maldives, but also the Laccadives, Aminidivi Islands, Minicoy, and the Chagos island groups.

Medieval Arab travellers such as Ibn Battuta called the islands Maḥal Dībīyāt (محل ديبية) from the Arabic word maḥal ('palace'), which must be how the Berber traveller interpreted the local name, having been through Muslim North India, where Perso-Arabic words were introduced to the local vocabulary. This is the name currently inscribed on the scroll in the Maldives state emblem.[30] The classical Persian/Arabic name for the Maldives is Dibajat. The Dutch referred to the islands as the Maldivische Eilanden (pronounced [mɑlˈdivisə ˈʔɛilɑndə(n)]), while the British anglicised the local name for the islands first to the 'Maldive Islands' and later to 'Maldives'.

In a conversational book published in 1563, Garcia da Orta writes: 'I must tell you that I have heard it said that the natives do not call it Maldiva but Nalediva. In the Malabar language, nale means four and diva island. So that in that language, the word signifies 'four islands', while we, corrupting the name, call it Maldiva'.

Food and Cuisine:

Maldivian cuisine, also called Dhivehi cuisine, is the cuisine of the Republic of Maldives. The traditional cuisine of Maldivians is based on three main items and their derivatives: coconuts, fish and starches.

The most important curry in the cuisine of the Maldives is cooked with diced fresh tuna and is known as mas riha. Kukulhu riha (chicken curry) is cooked with a different mixture of spices. Vegetable curries in the Maldives include those that use bashi (eggplant), tora (Luffa aegyptiaca), barabō (pumpkin), chichanda (Trichosanthes cucumerina) and muranga faiy (moringa leaves), as well as green unripe bananas and certain leaves as their main ingredients. Pieces of Maldive fish are normally added to give the vegetable curry a certain flavor. Curries are usually eaten with steamed rice or with roshi.[