The Maldives – Traditional Long Eats

by Fariha Saeed

About the dish

Long eats is not basically a dish but a combination of different dishes. So this includes many dishes and that is why it is called Long eats. This is very famous in the Maldives and many people came from around the world to have this goodness and explore the country. The important part of the dish is it always includes fish dish. The fish dishes can be considered fish curry, fried fish, fish soup, fish gravy, and many other fish dishes. The other most important thing is the Raa. This is the most famous drink in the Maldives. There are many more delicious drinks but Raa is the most famous and Long eats are incomplete without this drink. Some people also like to eat rice as breakfast because rice is a light meal and goes very well with breakfast. You can have any kind of rice but the popular are in Long eats in the Maldives are:

• Brown rice
• white rice
• onion rice
• coconut rice
• rice with tuna
• milky rice

Now which dish is very important is Fihunu mas. Fihunu mas is grilled fish with a special Maldivian touch. Without Fihunu mas long eats are not complete, it is a very important part of the dish and this has to be perfect because this is the main dish.

Famous rice

Brown rice is brown in color and is very famous in the Maldives. They are very simple to make. You can make it with just onion and tomatoes and some people like to add chili in it too.

White rice as you can see with the name is white in color. They are also called boiled rice in many regions. They are fluffier and very light.

Onion rice is made by adding a big amount of sliced onions to it. The onions are caramelized and then mixed with the rice. The onion enhances the flavor of the rice.

Coconut rice is made of coconut but you can use any form of coconut in it like coconut milk, coconut cream, shredded coconut, coconut slices, and many other forms of coconut. Some people like to have some fresh-cut fruits on top of rice so it can add more texture to the dish.

Rice with tuna is made by adding can tuna in the rice while making the rice. So rice will have all tuna flavor and will taste appetizing.

Milky rice is made in two ways the first is that you can replace water with rice and cook the rice in the milk. The second way is you can make white rice and then add milk to it.

Drinks in the Maldives

There are a lot of drinks and all of them are very famous and play a very important role in Maldivian cuisine. The drinks are of two types usually in the Maldives people call cold drinks summer rinks and hot drinks winter drinks. The reason why these are called summer and winter drinks are the cold drinks fresh you up on hot summer days or you can have some drink at the beach and can enjoy the sunset. The winter drinks are basically some kind of teas and coffee or similar to those but the taste is amazing. There is a saying in the Maldives which is:

Hot drink for a cold night

Cold drinks

• Maldivian lady
• Raa
• Biyadhoo
• Lucky and Al

Maldivian lady is the very famous and delicious drink of the Maldives. It is basically made up of orange and pineapple juice with some rum and a hint of apricot brandy. This drink is a must-try.

Raa is also very popular in the Maldives. It is also called the island drink because it is a toddy that is tapped from palm trees.

Biyadhoo is an island of the Maldives and biyadhoo is also a drink from the Maldives. it is a drink of combination of fresh juice and alcohol. You can use any juice and also any kind of alcohol according to your taste.

Lucky and Al is the most expensive cocktail in the Maldives. It is made of many special and secret ingredients.

Hot drinks

• Masala chai
• sai
• Hot chocolate
• caramel coffee

Masala chai is called spice tea in English. It sounds weird that tea is sweet and how can u put spices in it but when you combine these two things together this tastes so delicious.

Sai is tea. This is just simple tea or you can also call it kahwah. You can replace white sugar with jaggery and can also take it without any sweetness. This is up to the person who is taking sai.

Hot chocolate is so delicious and very famous in the Maldives. It is a favorite drink of almost every person on the Earth. You can use any kind of chocolate in it which you like. That can be dark chocolate, milk chocolate or white chocolate, etc.

Caramel coffee is also one of the favorites of most people. Coffee is not really famous in the Maldives but caramel coffee is very popular. Caramel can be used salted or just simple caramel.

History

In the ancient times of the Maldives, long eats were not discovered so people call it big breakfast. Now, these big breakfasts are called long eats. In early times which dishes and drinks were must in long eats were Sai or coffee as a drink, fish curry, gulha, Maldivian lobster as the main course, and aluvi baokibaa as a desert but now can add dishes or you can replace dishes according to your taste.

Nutriton list

• calories 132
• protein 7 g
• carbohydrates 202

Ingredients of Fihunu mas

• seabass fish 1 whole (cleaned)
• salt 1 tbsp
• red chili powder 2 tsp
• lemon juice 4 tbsp
• cumin 1 tbsp
• dry coriander 1 tsp
• garlic 4 cloves(finely chopped)
• ginfer 1 inch cube (finely chopped)

Ingredients for salsa

• mango 1 (ripe and chopped)
• lemon juice 5 tbsp
• salt 1 tsp
• red chili flakes 1/2 tsp
• fresh green coriander 4 tbsp

Cooking

First of all, preheat the grill. Now take the fish and wash it very well and then put it on the paper towel. Now take a bowl and add the lemon juice, cumin, dry coriander, red chili powder, salt, ginger, and garlic and mix all the spices very well.

Now take the fish and cut it in half and then take the spices mixture and put it on the fish. Make sure that spices cover the whole fish and then take a bowl and put the fish in it and wrap it with a foil until the grill is heated.

Now take a bowl and add all the salsa ingredients in it and mix it very well. Now frill the fish until cooked and brown. Now serve fish with some salsa on the side.