Mauritian Cuisine

Mauritius is recognised for its own typical cuisine with its unique synthesis of several culinary traditions. Mauritian cuisine reflects the culture of the island which, based on its cosmopolitan and heterogeneous composition, automatically implies a gastronomical around-the-world tour. The most common varieties are Creole, European, Chinese and Indian, with seafood. In addition, a typical Mauritian buffet might include a Muslim biryani, Indian chicken curry with faratas (a common homemade bread made with white flour) or dholl puris, Chinese pork dish, Creole roast beef and French-style vegetables. Boiled rice is common among Mauritians served mostly at dinner. Common dishes include a Mediterranean dish of tomatoes, meat or fish, and daube, an octopus stew. Contemporary cuisines consisted of menus such as Fish Curry, ‘rougaille poisson sale’, ‘gato piment’ ‘du riz fricasse’. Favorite local beverages includes lassi, a refreshing yogurt and alouda, a syrupy brew of agar, milk and flavourings. Locally produced beer and rum (produced at Mauritius Breweries Ltd situated at Phoenix and Union Beverages Ltd at Nouvelle France respectively) are abundant and cheap.

Below are a list of typical Mauritian recipes:

• Alouda

Ingredients for 1 Litre of milk

2 tablespoons ‘Toukmaria’
1 Litre milk
1 can of condensed milk
Agar Agar
Fine/Icing sugar
Vanilla/Amande Essence (Moirs)

1. In around 30 cl of boiling water, place the agar agar and stir till it completely

liquidifies.

2. Then put it aside to cool and put it into the refrigerator for a night

3. Put the ‘Toukmaria’ also in 10 cl of water for a night

4. In a bowl, pour some fresh milk and the condensed milk and mix them thoroughly, slowly adding to it half teaspoon of the vanilla/amande essence.

5. Then add the ‘Toukmaria’ and grated solid gelatin obtained .

6. Mix well while adding to it 10 tablespoons of fine/icing sugar.

7. Put it in the refrigerator and serve chill

• Gateau Piment

Normal 0

’Gateau Piment’

For 8 persons

- 250 gr dholl
- 2 or 3 chopped green chillies
- some spring onions
- some chopped coriander leaves

- 1 chopped onion
- 1 teaspoon of powdered yeast
- Half teaspoon of cummin powder

- Salt
- Oil for frying

1. Clean and soak the dholl in cold water for 3 hrs.
2. Drain and blend the dholl till it becomes a paste

4. Make small balls with the mixture and flatten it slightly
5. Fry the balls in hot oil till golden brown
6. Drain from the oil and serve hot.

• Farata

Faratas

Ingredients
750g white flour
3 table spoons oil
Half teaspoon salt
A quarter cup melted ghee or vegetable oil
About 1 glass hot water

1. Sift flour and salt. Rub in oil and mix well.
2. Add the hot water and mix well with a wooden spoon. When cool, knead to a soft dough.
3. Divide dough into eight portions.
4. Roll each out to about 15 cms diameter.
5. Brush or smear each with melted ghee (or oil). Fold over into a semi-circle. The fold over again. Sprinkle each with a little flour and set aside for 30 minutes.
6. Roll out again but not too thinly.
7. Put on a hot griddle or wide frying pan. Turn over when slightly freckled.
8. Brush freckled side with ghee (or oil) and allow to puff up. Turn and brush the other side too. Both sides should be very pale brown before you remove from heat.
9. Serve hot with curry.

• Fish Curry

Normal 0

Ingredients
2kg of fish
5 to 6 tomatoes
2 medium onions
3 cloves of garlic
Thyme
Coriander leaves
Oil
30g powdered turmeric
Salt and pepper

1. Chop the fish
2. Put over some salt, and pepper and leave it to rest for some 15 minutes

3. Heat oil on a big frying pan and fry the chopped fish till they are golden brown.
4. Prepare the following sauce/gravy: put the ginger paste, chopped onions, the tomatoes cut into small pieces, the powdered turmeric and the salt in the hot oil.

5. Add to it a teaspoon of lemon juice
6. Place the fried pieces of fish one by one into the sauce
7. Sprinkle the thyme and the coriander leaves over it
8. Add half of a glass of hot water to it and allow it to simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes.

• Rougaille Poisson Sale

Ingredients

100 g salted fish, also known as ‘poisson sal�’
4 tomatoes
1 onion
1 clove of garlic
2 small chillies
2 shoots of coriander leaves
Oil


Preparation

1. Wash the salted fish with hot water to remove the excess salt

2. Fry the salted fish and let it cool

3. Wash and chop the tomatoes

4. Put the onions, ginger paste and chillies cut into 2 to fry.

5. Then add the tomatoes and put some salt (a little bit since the oil in which the salted salt has been fried already contains some salt in it)

6. Add some water if necessary and cover it.

7. Check from time to time while the tomatoes are cooking (Do not let it burn, lol)

8.Break the salted fish into small pieces and remove all spines

9. The small pieces of salted fish can now be added to the sauce, “rougaille”

10. Let it simmer well

Rougaille Poisson Sale is served hot with rice and ‘bouillon brede’

Bon appetit

• Biryani

Normal 0

For about 6 persons

6 chopped pieces of chicken meat
2 onions sliced
1 onion chopped and fried
1 can of tomato puree
400 g de cooked Basmati Rice
2 cloves of garlic
1 piece of fresh ginger of about 2 cm
Some sliced coriander leaves)
Some sliced menthe leaves
1 yogurt
1 glass of cold water
2 curry leaves
1 sticj of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of cumin powder
2 teaspoons garam massala
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon black pepper
4 cloves
4 green cardamons
Salt
1 teaspoon of powdered safran
Rose water
Ghee (or oil)

1. Cut the chicken into medium pieces and then marinate it with yogurt, salt and 1 teaspoon of garam massala. Let it marinate for at most 4 hrs or preferably one whole night.

2. Heat the ghee in a casserole. Add the spices, cinnamon stick, cummin powder, curry leaves, cloves and cardamons

3. Add the two sliced onions together with the garlic and ginger and let it cook for around 1-2 minutes.

4. Then add the tomato puree and extend the cooking time to 2 or 3 minutes.

5.Add to this sauce/gravy the marinated and mix all.

6. Pour a large glass of water into the mixture and add the paprika and pepper and mix everything, then allow it to cook for 10 minutes.

7. As soon as the sauce/gravy is reduced, it starts to get detached from the bottom of the casserole. Add the rice and equalize.

8. Add the fried onions, chopped coriander leaves and menthe leaves.

9. Dissolve the safran in the glass of cold milk. Make sure to prepare the milk in advance for better infusion

10. Pour half of the milk mixed with turmeric into the casserole and add 1 teaspoon of masala and some teaspoons of ghee almost everywhere in the mixture

11. Sprinkle some rose water over it and allow it to simmer to not more than 5 minutes.

12. Mix the rice with some sauce taken from the bottom of the casserole and turn the casserole over a big plate and serve hot.

• Dholl puris

500g yellow split peas
750g white flour
2 teaspoons powdered cumin seeds
Turmeric powder
Salt to taste

1. Boil the yellow split peas in water with a pinch of turmeric powder and salt to taste, until well cooked but not sticky.

2. Strain the boiled yellow split peas and reserve the boiling water for pastry use later.

3. Blend the strained yellow split peas until well blended but not watery. The blend must be on the dry side rather than wet.
4. Sift the flour with some salt to taste into a mixing bowl. Using the warm reserved boiling water in small quantities, gradually work the pastry until very soft but not stickly. Wrap in cling wrap and allow to rest for one hour.
5. Add the powdered cumin seeds to the blended yellow split peas. Add some more salt to taste if necessary.

6. Mould the dough into small balls of a size sufficient to out into the pooris.

7. Using a finger, make a hole into the centre of the dough balls and carefully place in one teaspoon of the yellow split peas mix. Close the hole by pushing in the sides. Roll out the dough balls in flour and carefully roll out into as thin circular pooris as you possibly can.
8. Heat up a flat saucepan of a size sufficient to hold the pooris.

9. Brush the pan with oil and place the pooris in. Cook on one side until slightly risen and flip onto other side until just cooked. About half a minute in all. Do not overcook or the pooris will harden.
10. Serve hot with blended tomato or coriander chutneys.