Mauritian delights

Mauritius, the paradise island- a land of a diverse cultures and a perfect blend of various cuisines, offers you a unique culinary experience along with its warm Creole hospitality. Credit goes to the fact that the island saw a massive influx of indentured labourers in the 19th century from Asia, and with the existing inhabitants of the island notably the European colonists and slaves from Africa, this resulted in an amazing melting pot nation.

One of the great Creole cuisines, Mauritian food is a combination of native African, French, Chinese and Indian, with many dishes created that are unique to the island of Mauritius. Indian curries, breads and pickles are cooked alongside slow-braised European daubes and stir-fried noodles from China, all using locally available ingredients.

The most common ingredients used in Mauritian recipes are tomatoes, onions, garlic and chillies, which are cooked with spices into a delicious fresh tasting sauce known as rougaille that is widely used. Vegetables, meats and seafood can be cooked in the rougaille and eaten with achards (pickles) and dhal or rice. Spices are also a big part of Mauritian cuisine with turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves used liberally.

Another common dish is vindaye, a dish of fried fish or octopus that is preserved in a combination of mustard seeds, chilli, garlic, oil and vinegar. It was created before refrigeration but even now that whitegoods are widely available it’s still highly popular as an easy and delicious protein hit that can be served hot or cold with rice, pickles and dhal.

While the Indian population has had a huge influence on the cuisine, Mauritian curries are unique. They rarely contain coconut milk and, interestingly, also often feature what are more typically known as European herbs, such as thyme. Curries also often feature more unusual meats and seafood like octopus or duck, along with the more typical meat and vegetable varieties.

Everyone loves the readily available delicious street food of Mauritius, which includes falafel-like spiced, fried split pea cakes called gateaux piment. The other big favourites are dholl puris, a flatbread spread with a thin layer of yellow split peas, which are then rolled up with a variety of pickles, cooked vegetables and chutneys.

Desserts range from elaborate French-influenced tarts filled with banana, almonds or pastry creams to cute pink raspberry shortbread sandwiched with jam called napolitaines. And, of course, there is also abundant tropical fruit to finish a meal

The Mauritian demographic can be classified by different ethnic groups which consist of Indo-Mauritians, Creoles, Sino-Mauritians and the Franco-Mauritians. The Indo-Mauritians make up about 68% of the entire population. They came from different parts of India including Bihar, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and many other parts. This is why you can always find traces of both Northern and Southern Indian cuisine in Mauritius.

The population consumes mostly Indian based dishes such as curry, chutney, rougaille (tomato paste cooked in a Creole style) and pickles which are made with locally grown ingredients. The Mauritian versions of these dishes have a local flavour and differ, at times considerably, from the original Indian recipes.

Besides, the Indian influence there are Chinese based dishes that have not failed in fusing with the Creole cuisine. It is good to know that at the end of the 19th century, Mauritius saw the arrival of the Chinese migrants from the south-eastern part of China. Today they form part of 2% of the entire population.

They came up initially with their traditional Chinese cuisine but eventually adapted with the other cuisines.

You can find a number of Chinese restaurants in Mauritius offering some really delicious fried and steamed food such as noodles and boulettes (dumplings).

Additionally, European flavours have influenced Mauritian cuisine but most predominantly French cuisine which has blended with other existing cuisines on the island over the centuries.

French based dishes have become more popular in the island especially with menus like bouillon, tuna salad, the daube, civet de lièvre or coq du vin served with good wine.

You can definitely see more of its influence in the Mauritian pastries such as petit fours, puffs (deliciously light, flaky pastry made from dozens of layers of specially prepared pastry dough), turnovers (a turnover is made by placing a filling on a piece of dough, folding the dough over, and sealing it), pockets, popovers (a popover is a light, hollow roll made from an egg batter), éclairs (a kind of long custard-filled French doughnut), and shells.

Being among the reputed countries that produce their own rum, Mauritius’ rum production dates back to the colonial period. It was in 1638 that sugarcane from Java was first introduced in Mauritius by the Dutch. Even then, the propensity of making rum out of sugarcane was strongly recognized. Sugarcane was mainly cultivated for the production of ‘arrack’, a precursor to rum. Today both industrial and agricultural rum are produced in Mauritius. The agricultural rum is a high quality rum known and appreciated for its specific aroma and flavour. Another locally produced beverage is Phoenix Beer which has a light taste and mostly preferred by the locals and tourists visiting.