Khanji Maldives – For Pakistani Delicacies

The weather in the evening in Maldives these days is beautiful and perfect for outdoor parties, events, for kids to play and also to fly kites. It’s filled with beaming rays along with chilly winds. On a perfect evening like this, we just decided to go to Hulhumale to take a stroll on the beach. It was a lovely day to watch the sunset and to slowly witness the stars being visible in the sky.

 (If you don’t have activities in Maldives, try star gazing! You will love it. But make sure to go to a quiet place.) So, after spending some time at the beach we wanted to try out a new restaurant to have dinner. So we headed over to Khanji Maldives.

Ambience

The walls of the restaurant were painted in a bright orange. And had amazing artwork of local trucks, rickshaws and buses that you see in the streets of Pakistan. The decor was so colorful and intricate. Hats off to each and every detail they had in the decor. It was mind blowing. If you’re here, I’m sure you can get some Insta worthy pics! The restaurant also had Queen Anne chairs which was something unique and something you don’t usually see in restaurants in Maldives.

The menu was extensive with various Pakistani traditional foods and it also had one section which had Chinese food, which confused us a little. The waiter was kind enough to explain all the dishes to us, the staff were friendly and welcoming. After a good amount of time we placed our order.

The Food

The chicken biriyani (MVR 150) which serves two  people also came in a very generous portion. It was cooked with fine, long grains of Basmati rice. The flavour of the biriyani was so different. It had a slight sour taste which was lit and combined well  with all the flavours of the spices, cilantro and herbs. It was a whole new Biriyani experience we had. It was packed with flavours and was a mouth watering dish. There were three huge pieces of spicy chicken hidden in the rice. The rice was cooked so well and it was fluffy. The traditional Dum way they had cooked it, added the whole essence to it. A very creamy and light Raita was served with the Biriyani and we just loved the combination of this.

The Butter naan (MVR 15) we ordered was impressively big. It was thick and soft. It was as if we ate good naan after a while. One naan will fill a person generously. The buttery goodness was fluffy, and the taste was just beyond perfect.

We also tried the Chicken Malai Boti (MVR 140) which was boneless chunks of chicken with a thick marination with various mouth watering herbs and grilled to perfection. The dip that came along with the chicken was also spicy and had all the flavours on point! We absolutely loved it and went so well with the butter naan.

Finally, we also had  Doodh Patti tea (MVR 20). It was a milk tea infused with ginger, cardamom and cinnamon. The aroma of the tea was amazing. The tea was steaming hot and just the perfect cuppa tea on a chilly night. We enjoyed every sip of it.

The whole ambience at Khanji was lively and dynamic. Loved the food there. It was a bit pricey but you wouldn’t complain once you’ve tried the food because then you’ll know that it’s worth the penny you spent. Would definitely go again and would recommend it to others as well. Kudos to the team for all the effort. Hope they keep up the standard!