This Eid, Serve Your Guests This Kandu Kukulhu-Style Red Snapper

Name: This Eid, Serve Your Guests This Kandu Kukulhu-Style Red Snapper
Prep time: 60
Cook time: 30
Total time: 90
Ingredients: 500 g Whole red snapper; 12 piece Cardamom pods; 2 tbsp Cumin powder; 2 tbsp Fennel powder; 5 piece Garlic cloves; 4 piece Onions; 0 g Ginger (2-inch piece); 24 piece Dried red chillis; 5 piece Curry leaves; 0.5 tsp Turmeric; 0 g Raanbaa leaf (5-inch piece); 0 g Cinnamon 93-inch piece); 1 cup Thin coconut milk; 0.5 cup Thick coconut milk; 0.3 cup Grated coconut; 2 tbsp Oil; 1 tsp Salt; 0.6 g Water

This Kandu Kukulhu-style whole red snapper prepared with a rich, spiced coconut curry is perfect for a your Eid feast. Curated by Chef Mohamed Nimal, the dish is best paired with Fenfolhi or traditional Maldivian pancakes

Contributed By

OT Staff

March 19, 2026

Celebrate Eid with this Kandu Kukulhu-style red snapper

With the holy month of Ramadan culminating with Eid, the time of restraint and fasting is all set to give way to a time of indulgence, generosity, and meals that bring people together. And only few dishes capture this spirit quite like this Kandu Kukulhu-style whole red snapper. Inspired by the coastal kitchens of the Maldives and crafted by Chef Mohamed Nimal of the Four Seasons Resort, Maldives, this recipe is a celebration of bold spices, coconut richness, and festive flair. It is best paired with Fenfolhi, a traditional Maldivian dish consisting of thin, delicate crêpes or pancakes made from flour, eggs, and water (sometimes coconut milk)

At the heart of it lies a beautifully prepared whole fish, infused with an aromatic curry paste of dried red chillies, fennel, cumin, and coconut, then gently simmered and finished in the oven for that perfect texture. The addition of fenfolhi and the fragrance of curry leaves and cinnamon elevate it into something truly special. The preparation is sure to leave your guests impressed as you invite them for a feast, this Eid.

Serve this as the centrepiece of your table, surrounded by loved ones, and let its vibrant flavours mirror the warmth and joy of the occasion.

Quick Info

Prep Time 60 min

Cook Time 30 min

Total Time 90 min

Servings 3

Difficulty medium

Ingredients

Whole red snapper - 500 g
Cardamom pods - 12 piece
Cumin powder - 2 tbsp
Fennel powder - 2 tbsp
Garlic cloves - 5 piece
Onions - 4 piece
Ginger (2-inch piece)
Dried red chillis - 24 piece
Curry leaves - 5 piece
Turmeric - 0.5 tsp
Raanbaa leaf (5-inch piece)
Cinnamon 93-inch piece)
Thin coconut milk - 1 cup
Thick coconut milk - 0.5 cup
Grated coconut - 0.3 cup
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Water - 0.6 g

Instructions

Step-1

Roughly chop 2 onions, 3 garlic cloves, and ginger

Step-2

Using your mixer, blend the grated coconut, salt, fennel and cumin, seeds of 8 cardamom pods, 3 curry leaves, turmeric, dried chilli, a little piece of your cinnamon along with the 2 onions, 3 garlic cloves and ginger that you chopped

Step-3

Slice the remaining onions and garlic thinly

Step-4

Take the fish and clean the scale, gills and guts. Cut open from the belly side. Remove the middle bone of the fish. Keep the fish in whole shape

Step-5

Cut the Raanbaa leaf vertically into thin strips

Step-6

Place a teaspoon of curry paste apply inside the fish nicely. Secure the fish by tying it with a Raanbaa strip

Step-7

Heat the oil in a large pot

Step-8

Add the sliced onions, remaining curry leaves, cardamom pods with their ends snipped off, and cinnamon.

Step-9

Once the onions begin to soften and take on a brownish tint, add the garlic and cook until the garlic becomes soft

Step-10

Remove half of the mixture from the pot and set aside

Step-11

To the pot, add the thin coconut milk, water, and the remaining curry paste and cook for around 2 minutes

Step-12

Place the whole fish inside the gravy

Step-13

Turn the heat to low, have a taste and adjust salt (we had to add an additional teaspoon)

Step-14

Cook until the fish gets all the flavours into it. Keep it for 10 minutes

Step-15

After cooking remove the fish from the pot and roast in the oven for 10 minutes

Step-16

Add and combine the onion mixture that you set aside and garnish with roasted grated coconut with sea almonds (kanamadu) and curry leaves.

Recipe