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🥤 DRINK

Karaa Fani (Maldivian Watermelon Drink)

Ripe watermelon diced into tiny cubes, not blended, and stirred into sweetened cold water, the classic Maldivian drink for breaking the fast in Ramadan.
Maldivian · easy · serves 5
prep 15 min · cook 0 min · plus 30 min hands-off time
~118 cal · 0g protein · 31g carbs · 0g fat · 0g fiber · 31g sugars · 0g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
↓ Jump to Recipe
Tall glasses of pale pink sweetened water full of small diced watermelon cubes
AI-generated illustration
Karaa fani, watermelon juice, is one of the most traditional Maldivian drinks, and above all a drink of Ramadan, when it sits on the table to break the fast at iftar.
What sets it apart from an ordinary juice is that it is not blended. The flesh is diced into small cubes, half a centimetre or so, sweetened with sugar and loosened with cold water, so every glass is full of soft pieces of melon to drink and chew. Some cooks press the melon and sugar together a little first, and some finish it with a splash of .
Blending it smooth is allowed, and many do on a busy evening, but the diced version is the one Maldivian recipe writers call traditional.
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Make it yours

✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and gluten-, dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
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

Serves 5
  • 1.5 kg ripe watermelon (about a quarter of a large one)
  • 3/4 cup sugar, or to taste
  • 3 cups cold water
  • 1 tsp (optional)

Instructions

  • 1
    Cut the rind off the watermelon and pick out the black seeds. Dice the flesh into small cubes, about half a centimetre across, as even as you can.
    ✎ Chef’s note
    This is the traditional way: the drink is meant to be full of little pieces of melon. If you would rather have it smooth, blend the melon with the sugar and water instead.
  • 2
    Put the diced melon and its juices in a jug with the sugar and stir well, pressing some of the pieces lightly with the spoon.
  • 3
    Pour in the cold water and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Add the rosewater, if using, and taste for sweetness.
  • 4
    Chill for at least 30 minutes and serve very cold, with a spoon for the melon.
Maldivian Ramadan 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. Mas huni is the name written plainly: mas is fish and huni is coconut. Cured tuna is shredded and worked by hand with freshly grated coconut, onion, chilli and lime, and eaten at breakfast with huni roshi, a coconut flatbread. The lime and the raw onion are what keep it from being heavy first thing in the morning.
🌍
Asia. A grain line runs across the continent. Rice dominates the wet south and east, wheat the drier north and west, and the tools follow it: the wok and the steamer where rice is milled, the tandoor and the griddle where wheat is ground. Tea travels the other way, drunk green, black, salted, buttered or with milk depending how far it got from China.
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.
GarudhiyaA clear, fragrant tuna broth served over rice with lime, chili, and onion, the everyday heart of the Maldivian table.
Browse all Maldives recipes →

Good to know

Storing it: Keep chilled and covered, and enjoy within 2 to 3 days.

Make it a Maldives meal

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Foni BoakibaaDessert

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Frequently asked questions

What is Karaa Fani (Maldivian Watermelon Drink)?

Ripe watermelon diced into tiny cubes, not blended, and stirred into sweetened cold water, the classic Maldivian drink for breaking the fast in Ramadan.

Where does Karaa Fani (Maldivian Watermelon Drink) come from?

Karaa Fani (Maldivian Watermelon Drink) is a Maldivian dish from Malé, Maldives.

Can Karaa Fani (Maldivian Watermelon Drink) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?

This Karaa Fani (Maldivian Watermelon Drink) 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 Karaa Fani (Maldivian Watermelon Drink) 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 Karaa Fani (Maldivian Watermelon Drink) take to make?

About 45 min in all: 15 minutes prep and 0 minutes cooking, plus 30 min of hands-off waiting the method needs, serving 5.

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