Foreword

PRESIDENT 

REPUBLIC OF MALDIVES 

27 January 2000

I wish to congratulate Aishath Shakeela for compiling Classical Maldivian Cuisine which covers a range of cooking techniques, classes of dishes and representative samplings of indigenous delights from each atoll. The variety of recipes presented here reflect the rich culinary heritage of our multi-island nation. Indeed, the author has done a splendid job.

The ethnic homogeneity, cherished by Maldivians today, is indeed an enduring blend of a diversity of cultural influences that were felt due to the country’s strategic location and a long history of contact with the outside world. Protective but flexible, our ancestors had preserved our uniquely Maldivian traditions and tastes, adapting to new trends while at the same time tinting them with local colour and flavour.

In addition to being extremely delicious, Maldivian dishes display these precious and laudable traits. As the islands were once a major way-station for the lucrative spice trade, spices, condiments and foods ferried across the Ocean added prismatic colour, aromatic flavour and texture to the palette of Maldivian cuisine.

As the compilation show, Maldivian cuisine is versatile and imaginative. With intriguing delicacies and delectable confections, it can cater to a wide range of dining pleasures. It can also respond equally well to the demands of the health-conscious with fibrous and protein-rich dishes.

Classical Maldivian Cuisine is going to fill a void in our culinary library.  It is going to be a useful cookbook for those who take pleasure in home-cooking. It will also attract chefs in our booming tourist industry who wish to add national delights to their motley menus from different continents of the world. I am sure that the book will not only increase diner’s choice, but will also contribute to the preservation of our traditional cuisine, which, admirably, is often based on local catch and produce.

Thank you, Shakeela.

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom