Aishath Saniya - Slices & Sweets MV

Category: Interviews

by Iyath Adam

For our interview article this time, we have a chat with Aishath Saniya – owner of the Instagram food business, Slices & Sweets MV, which specialises in traditional Dhivehi food made with authentic, olden recipes.

We discuss about how she began this venture, what keeps her going and the trick to getting the quintessential Dhivehi taste in all her goods.

Lonumedhu: First things first, tell us about Slices & Sweets MV. How did you start this venture?

Saniya: My mother was someone who cooked a lot, and I sort of grew up in an environment like that. In February 2019, I wanted to open a page, featuring my mother’s recipes. So, me, my two sisters and one of their daughters launched the business together. My mother passed away in April of the same year, so it’s really a homage to her.

The COVID-19 pandemic started a few months after the page was launched, but we kept it open even then, taking orders. But it wasn’t so popular at that time. Then, in 2021, my sister got really sick, and my other sister and her daughter left the running of the page. My sister passed away in 2022 and I continued with the page after that, cooking and delivering the food myself. That was when the page really started boost in popularity.

So, it all really started with my mum and my sister, and I didn’t want to stop even when they passed. I feel like they would have wanted me to continue, which is what keeps me going.

Lonumedhu: What kind of short eats do you offer?

Saniya: We offer both traditional Dhivehi recipes and other pastries and bakes too. Our Dhivehi offerings include traditional dhandi aluvi boakiba, githeyo boakiba, barabo halwa, kiru boakiba and foni bisgandu. We also have bajiya, gulha and masfathafolhi as well as some other hedhika.

We make other bakes too, including pineapple upside down cake, coconut cake, pavlova, cookies etc… We have Turkish delights too, which was introduced by my husband, who is an Egyptian.

We do have a more detailed menu with all our food, which we share when people ask.

Lonumedhu: How do you maintain the consistent taste of your food, especially the Dhivehi short eats?

Saniya: A lot of the traditional Dhivehi food we offer are my mother’s recipes, just like how Maldivians used to make then in the olden days. A long time ago, she wrote her own cookbook, which even has the olden Dhivehi measurements like laahi, gaa etc… There are things that we don’t even hear about anymore and a lot of traditional recipes, like hithi, murubba, different Dhivehi curries etc…

I prefer to do hedhika and traditional, Dhivehi recipes on my own. There are certain steps to follow when you make these recipes. Things need to be mixed in a certain order for a certain time, which is what gives it that unique taste. For instance, the foni bisgandu, which is really not seen a lot now, is actually a type of caramel pudding with sugar, coconut milk, coconut water, fennel seeds etc… The trick to this one – and I still remember my mother doing it – is to mix it by hand for 40 minutes. That is what gives it that consistent, different flavour.

For our huni gulha too, the coconut is brought from my father’s island in Addu, and is made fresh, which is why you have to pre-order it one day earlier. It’s done by heating the mixture on low heat until it becomes viscous, and then taken off the heat and rolled into balls by hand. I used to manually watch until it heated properly, until my husband came up with the idea to time how long the mixture took to turn viscous, so this has really simplified the process. That’s why we have a set minimum order amount to have your own colours.

Lonumedhu: What’s the most satisfying part about completing an order for customers?

Saniya: When customers reach out and tell me that the food was very good or they enjoyed it, that makes me really happy. The taste of food really matters to me, and it’s lovely to know that people enjoy what I make.

Lonumedhu: What’s the most challenging part about running a home-based food business?

Saniya: Sometimes when equipment breaks down, it’s really difficult, especially when we have larger orders to complete. But last year, my husband and I opened a restaurant in Male’ called Woods Café – so now, we have a bigger kitchen to make the food in. Before, we used to make the food in a smaller, home kitchen – so this doesn’t happen a lot now.

Lonumedhu: What advice do you have for those aspiring to start their own food businesses?

Saniya: I believe that hard work is the secret behind success. If you have a dream and if you want to achieve something, you should keep going. Don’t stop until you reach your goals and become successful.