Bambukeyo Bondibaiy (with Aroy-D Coconut Milk)

Bambukeyo Bondibaiy is a traditional Maldivian sweet made with breadfruit, coconut milk, sugar, and fragrant spices. It's a simple dessert that's surprisingly easy to prepare at home and is especially delicious served with some Hanaakuri mas or Valhomas (smoked tuna) on the side.

We have previously shared a version of this bondibaiy where the cooking water was not drained when cooking the breadfruit. This time, we have made it by draining the cooked breadfruit first, resulting in a slightly different texture.

For our recipe, we have used Aroy-D Coconut Milk provided to us by one of our partners, KDM. This coconut milk is rich, creamy, and full of natural coconut flavour, making it perfect for traditional Maldivian desserts like kandhi and bondibaiy.

Yield: 2

Ingredients:

To cook the breadfruit

• 2 cups of peeled, diced breadfruit (½ cm small cubes)
• 3 cups of water

To make the bondibaiy

• 1 cup sugar
• 5-inch piece of pandan leaf (cut into large pieces)
• 3 cardamom pods (ends snipped-off)
• 1 clove
• ¾ cup Aroy-D Coconut Milk
• ¼ tsp rose water

Instructions:

1. To boil the breadfruit, add 2 cups of peeled, diced bread fruit (½ cm small cubes) and 3 cups of water to a medium-sized pot. Cook on high heat for 15 to 16 minutes or until the breadfruit is softened, but not very mushy. Stir occasionally while cooking.
2. Drain the boiled breadfruit and give it a rinse. Then, add the drained breadfruit to a new, medium-sized pot.
3. To the pot, add 1 cup sugar, 5-inch piece of pandan leaf (cut into large pieces), 3 cardamom pods (ends snipped-off), and 1 clove. Give it a mix using a spatula and cook the mixture on low heat for around 4 minutes, until most of the sugar has started to melt. Make sure to stir every once in a while, so the sugar doesn’t burn.
4. Add in ¾ cup Aroy-D Coconut Milk and mix well and cook for another 10 minutes on low heat while stirring occasionally. Then turn up the heat to medium-low and cook the bondibaiy while continuously stirring with your spatula until the mixture thickens and gets sticky. This took us around another 20 minutes of cooking. The stirring will make the bondibaiy thick and sticky.
5. Lastly, turn off the heat and add ¼ tsp rose water. Stir well and you’re done.