🥙 LUNCH
Garudhiya
A clear, fragrant tuna broth served over rice with lime, chili, and onion, the everyday heart of the Maldivian table.
Maldivian · easy · serves 4
prep 15 min · cook 30 min
~507 cal · 53g protein · 64g carbs · 2g fat · 2g fiber · 2g sugars · 1g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Garudhiya is the cornerstone of Maldivian home cooking, a clear, aromatic fish broth that has sustained the atoll nation for centuries. In a country built on tuna, this simple soup of little more than fish and water is comfort, sustenance, and identity in a bowl.
Fresh tuna is simmered gently in water with just a few aromatics, , onion, and perhaps a dried chili, into a clean, savoury broth. It is traditionally ladled over rice and eaten with an array of accompaniments that each person adds to taste: a squeeze of lime, chopped onion and chili, and often boiled or . Humble and pure, it lets the quality of the fish shine.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, egg-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
- 1 1/2 lb fresh tuna, cut in chunks
- 1 onion, sliced
- 2 sprigsHard to find? a shredded makrut lime leaf, about one for every five or six curry leaves - the closest match for tempering, since both release their oils instantly in hot fat; expect a sharper citrus-peel note. For a long simmer a bay leaf works better
- 2 dried chili
- 2 lime
- 4 cups cooked rice, to serve
Instructions
- 1Bring water to a simmer with the onion, curry leaves, and dried chili.
- 2Add the tuna chunks and poach gently until just cooked, skimming any foam for a clear broth.✎ Chef’s noteKeep it at a bare simmer and skim well; garudhiya is prized for its clean, clear broth, so a rolling boil that clouds it is the enemy.
- 3Season the broth simply with salt.
- 4Ladle over rice and serve with lime, chopped onion, and chili to add at the table.
Maldivian everyday tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Malé. Male is a dense atoll capital that starts the day with mas huni, smoked tuna shredded with coconut, onion, and chili, eaten with flatbread. Maldivian cooking is tuna, coconut, and starch in endless variation, from the clear tuna broth garudhiya, the national dish, to coconut-milk curries like mas riha.
🗺️
Maldives. The cured tuna itself is an old export industry. Skipjack is boiled, smoked and sun-dried until it is as hard as a piece of wood and will keep indefinitely without refrigeration, then pounded to flakes; Sri Lanka has bought it for centuries and calls it umbalakada. The stock left from the boiling is reduced into rihaakuru, a dark savoury paste eaten with rice and chilli.
🌍
Asia. Fermentation is the thread that runs the whole way across: soy sauce and miso, Korean doenjang and kimchi, Southeast Asian fish sauces, the soured batter behind an idli. Chilli is the newcomer among them, arriving only after 1500 with Portuguese and Spanish traders, which makes the heat in Sichuan, Thai and Korean cooking far younger than the fermenting underneath it.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Maldives
Mas HuniShredded smoked tuna tossed with grated coconut, onion, chili, and lime, the Maldivian breakfast, with roshi flatbread.
Mas RihaA Maldivian tuna curry in a fragrant coconut sauce with curry leaves, pandan, and dried chili.
Foni BoakibaaA dense baked pudding-cake of rice, coconut, and rosewater, a sweet Maldivian favorite for Ramadan and celebrations.
Browse all Maldives recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Soup keeps 3 to 4 days refrigerated and freezes well. Reheat gently and loosen with a little water or stock if needed.
Make it a Maldives meal
Karaa Fani (Maldivian Watermelon Drink)Drink
Foni BoakibaaDessert
Kukulhu RihaDinner
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Frequently asked questions
What is Garudhiya?
A clear, fragrant tuna broth served over rice with lime, chili, and onion, the everyday heart of the Maldivian table.
Where does Garudhiya come from?
Garudhiya is a Maldivian dish from Malé, Maldives.
Can Garudhiya be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Garudhiya recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Garudhiya safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Garudhiya take to make?
About 45 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 30 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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