Hedhikaa: Maldivian short eats and tea time

Hedhikaa covers a whole family of bite-sized foods rather than one dish. Most are savoury and built on the same few ingredients the islands have always had: tuna, coconut, onion, chilli, curry leaves, lime and flour. Dried and smoked tuna is the backbone of most of them, which is why they taste so distinctly Maldivian even when the shapes look familiar from South Asia.

Hedhikaa sits between meals: with sweet tea in the late afternoon, when visitors call at a house, and when the fast is broken in Ramadan. Some items also appear at breakfast. If you want the bigger picture of island cooking (curries, mas huni, rice and roshi), start with our guide to Maldivian food and dishes to try.

Dhivehi is written in its own script (Thaana), so English spellings vary on menus and signs. Fillings also change from cook to cook and island to island, so treat these descriptions as typical. Other names you may meet include fathafolhi, a filled pastry.

Bajiya

The Maldivian cousin of the samosa: a triangle of thin pastry, deep-fried until crisp. The usual filling is tuna with onion, coconut and curry leaves, and some cooks add chopped boiled egg. Vegetable versions exist but are less common.

Bondibaiy

Not strictly a snack, but it often shares the table. Bondibaiy is a sweet rice pudding cooked with coconut milk and sugar, often scented with cardamom, pandan leaf or a little rosewater. It’s a celebration food served at weddings, Eid and family occasions, and it is nearly always eaten alongside something savoury, such as a dry curry or crisp smoked tuna chips (valhomas), as The Edition has described. There are breadfruit and sago versions too.

Gulha

The one everyone knows. Gulha are small round dumplings, usually about the size of a walnut, made from wheat or rice flour dough and stuffed with tuna, grated coconut, onion and chilli, sometimes with ginger, turmeric or curry leaves. They are deep-fried until golden. Rice-flour gulha tend to be smaller and crunchier. Traditionally they go with hot sweet tea.

Kavaabu

Round fritters, crisp outside and soft inside. The mix is usually tuna with coconut, onion, chilli and often lentils (dhal), shaped into balls and deep-fried. Expect a little heat.

Keemiya

A rolled, deep-fried pastry, a little like a spring roll. Fillings vary; tuna, onion and cabbage are typical. “Bis keemiya” is the version made with egg (*bis* means egg in Dhivehi).

Kulhi boakiba

A spicy tuna “cake” baked in a tray and cut into squares. *Kulhi* means spicy, and it lives up to the name: tuna, coconut, chilli, onion and curry leaves bound together and baked until firm. It is a favourite at Eid breakfast; see our kulhi boakiba recipe.

Masroshi

A flat, round parcel of roshi dough (the local flatbread) with a filling of smoked tuna, coconut, onion and curry leaves, then baked or dry-roasted on a pan. Some cooks squeeze lime over the filling. Because it isn’t deep-fried, it’s one of the lighter choices.

Sweet bites

Foni boakiba, a sweet set cake (recipes differ between islands), is common in Ramadan, and many tea shops sell small cakes and pastries too.

*Sai* is tea and a *hotaa* is a café, so a *sai hotaa* is a local tea shop. These are simple, lively places with a glass counter of short eats and a steady crowd from early morning to late at night. The Edition, a national news site, has described them as humble, cheerful places where the food is gentle on the wallet.

How tea time works:

• The drink. Tea is usually black tea with plenty of milk and sugar. If you want it without sugar, ask clearly when you order.
• The plate. In many tea shops a plate of mixed short eats is set on the table and you pay only for what you eat. If you’re not sure, just ask how it works.
• The hour. Tea time peaks in the late afternoon and early evening.
• Eating by hand. Short eats are finger food. Use your right hand, as is the custom for eating and passing things.
• Prayer times. Small shops and cafés close for short periods at prayer times, and for longer at Friday midday prayer. Come back a little later.

A tea shop is one of the easiest places to see ordinary island life, in Malé as much as on the smaller islands, and a natural place to try a few words from our Dhivehi phrases for travellers.

This is the honest catch: almost every savoury short eat contains tuna, even when you can’t see it. Smoked tuna is often mixed into the filling of things that look like vegetable snacks, and onion-and-coconut mixes are frequently cooked with fish.

• Ask directly whether something has fish (*mas*). A clear question gets a clear answer.
• Sweet items such as bondibaiy and many cakes are usually fish-free, but check for egg or dairy if that matters to you.
• Guesthouses can sometimes make vegetable fillings with notice.

Our vegetarian and vegan food guide covers what to ask for and how to plan your meals on a local island.

Ramadan is when short eats are at their best. After a day of fasting, families break the fast at sunset with dates, water or juice and fruit, then share plates of short eats such as gulha and masroshi before a fuller meal later in the evening. Kitchens are busy all afternoon preparing them.

For visitors:

• During daylight hours, cafés on local islands may be closed or serve food quietly. Don’t eat, drink or smoke in public in daylight on local islands.
• Around sunset, tea shops fill up fast: a good time to try several kinds.
• If you’re invited to share iftar with a family, accept gratefully, eat with your right hand, and take a little of everything.

Read our Ramadan in the Maldives guide for prayer times, opening hours and etiquette. Ramadan dates move each year with the lunar calendar.

On a local island, short eats are part of daily life rather than something put on for visitors. Most islands with guesthouses have at least one café or tea shop.

Dhiffushi is a good example. It’s a small island on the eastern rim of North Malé Atoll, about 40–50 minutes by shared speedboat from the airport, and the afternoon tea crowd is easy to join. Browse our food and drink listings to find places to eat, and our guide to food in Dhiffushi for what’s cooked on the island. If you visit during the holy month, see visiting Dhiffushi during Ramadan.

A few tips:

• Go in the late afternoon. That’s when the counters are full and the short eats are fresh.
• Eat them warm. Ask what has just come out of the fryer.
• Pay in rufiyaa. Small cafés prefer the local currency for small bills, and US dollar change can be awkward. See our money and costs guide.
• Mind the chilli. Kulhi boakiba and kavaabu can be hot. Gulha and masroshi are usually gentler.
• Expect no alcohol. Local islands are dry. Tea, fresh juice and soft drinks are the norm.

Smoked, dried tuna gives most fillings their deep, savoury taste. Freshly grated coconut adds body and sweetness (read more in the coconut palm in Maldivian life). Chilli, onion, curry leaves and lime bring heat and freshness. Recipes are handed down in families, so the same snack can taste quite different from one island to the next.