Agatti travel guide

Fresh seafood

The Andaman Islands' oceanic bounty—Red Snapper, Barracuda, Giant Trevally and Rock Lobster from the Andaman Sea, landed daily at Port Blair's Aberdeen Bazaar fish market; restaurants at Havelock Island char-grill fish on the beach within hours of catching

Tuna dishes

Lakshadweeps dietary cornerstone—yellowfin and skipjack tuna dominate the island diet; dried tuna (called rice fish soup) with coconut, tuna curry with rice, tuna kofta; for an archipelago with no fresh water, tuna from the Indian Ocean is the primary protein source

Coconut-based curries

South India and Kerala's coconut-cooking tradition—almost every curry base uses grated coconut, coconut milk or coconut oil; the specific variety of coconut maturity (tender, medium or old) changes the flavor of the same preparation; South Indian cooking without coconut is impossible

Mas huni

A Maldivian staple also found in Lakshadweep—raw tuna flaked and mixed with grated fresh coconut, shallots, lime and chili; eaten for breakfast with roshi (flatbread); requires absolute freshness; the combination of raw tuna and coconut is impossibly clean and satisfying

Island fish fry

Lakshadweeps clean simplicity—fresh reef fish pan-fried in coconut oil with minimal spicing; the water around Lakshadweep is so clean and the reef so rich that the fish needs almost nothing added; eaten with coconut rice and raw onion