Characteristic products
The profusion of vegetables on market stalls is a feast for the eyes. Some are marketed in France, but sold here under a different name, such as " bringelle " for eggplant or "pomme d'amour " for tomato. Others are more exotic, such as pipengaille (a type of zucchini), manioc or sweet potato... Lalo, the equivalent of okra, is a green vegetable shaped like a thin gherkin and with a sticky texture. Giraumon, a kind of pumpkin, is eaten mashed, while pâtisson, with its small squash-like appearance, is eaten in soup or stuffed... Brèdes are common and refer to the edible leaves of certain vegetables. Examples include watercress, brèdes songe, brèdes-chouchou with their light-green, spring-like stems, and brèdes-malbar, similar to spinach, which is often stewed. The flavor of palm kernels, on the other hand, has nothing in common with the canned hearts of palm we're used to. In Mauritius, it's a luxury delicacy obtained by cutting the heart from a small palm tree that takes several years to grow. Only the inside, in the form of a thin white cylinder, remains of the trunk. This edible part is used to make just 5 or 6 salads, which are therefore known as millionaire's salads.
The Indian Ocean is also home to a rich underwater fauna, including several species of fish that are delicious to cook. These include sacréchien (a fish with very fine flesh), gueule pavée (a type of sea bream), capitaines, carangues, yellow tunas, tazars (a type of barracuda with fine, delicious flesh) and more. They are simply grilled with a dash of lemon for the finest, or vindaye, rougail, curry or smoked for species requiring more cooking. Territorial waters also abound in marlin, the large, swordfish-like fish that are the stuff of dreams and the pride of deep-sea fishermen. Generally smoked, marlin is best enjoyed as an appetizer, cut into thin slices and accompanied by hearts of palm kernel. Otherwise, it is simply grilled. In Chinese restaurants, you can also taste shark, or rather its fins, which are made into a soup.
In the crustacean family, the camaron is one of the finest and most sought-after species. This endemic crayfish is caught in rivers at dusk. It takes six years to reach adulthood, hence its rarity and price. It is a tasty dish and, along with palm salad and venison and wild boar meat, represents Mauritius's most refined cuisine. However, beware: many restaurants serve large shrimps under the same name - beware! Smaller crabs are served in soup, while the larger ones, carrelets, are served as a stew. You'll also find periwinkles, clams, sea urchins and oysters. Common in the waters of the Mauritian lagoon, ourite (or octopus), prepared as a salad, vindaye or curry, is served in almost every restaurant on the island.
Introduced by Dutch settlers in the 17th century, the rusa or Java deer, like the wild boar (known here as the brown pig), have become common species on the island. Once wild (or rather, returned to the wild after the colonists left), they are now raised on private estates, where a certain quota is hunted each year. Deer or wild boar curry, deer salmis or wild boar civet are all on the menu of the island's restaurants, where the taste is much milder than that of European game. In addition to these two mammals, other game species are occasionally hunted, such as hare, pheasant and francolin (a type of partridge).
The classics of Mauritian cuisine
Rougail, originally from La Réunion, is made from tomatoes, onions, garlic, ginger, pepper and chillies. This rather spicy sauce can be served with meat, salted fish or, as is often the case on Reunion Island, sausages. It is best served hot. Vindaye, on the other hand, can be served with fish or octopus. It's made with oil, mustard, ginger, garlic, onions, green chillies and a little vinegar, in which the main ingredient is sautéed. This delicious dish, originally from western India, can be eaten hot, but is more often served cold. This is the case in the city, where street vendors sell fish or octopus vindaye in the form of colorful salads, spiced with mustard seeds and small green chillies left whole, which are garnished on round buns.
Curry plays an important role in local cuisine. Its origins lie in Indian curries, although Mauritian curries are closer in composition to the massalé of Reunion Island. As in India, it is served with traditional meats (chicken, mutton or beef), but also - and this is a Mauritian speciality - with ourite, pork, venison, wild boar and shrimps. The success of this dish is essentially due to the subtle blend of several spices (coriander, cumin, turmeric, cloves, pepper, nutmeg and cinnamon), to which Mauritians often add onions, garlic, tamarind leaves and tomato. Of Indo-Muslim origin, biryani consists of basmati rice, spiced meat, vegetables or fish, topped with dried fruit. Although quite widespread in Mauritius, this dish, which requires hours of preparation, is rarely served in restaurants, but rather in guesthouses.
Fried mines, on the other hand, are a must. Made up of Chinese noodles fried in a large pan with vegetables, chicken, shrimps, eggs and spices, this popular dish is served everywhere, from gargotes to fine dining establishments. It's good, hearty and economical.
In Mauritius, too, delicious exotic snacks known generically as gajaks can be enjoyed on the go for a modest sum. These are sold all over the island, in snack bars or directly on the street by hawkers stationed near bus stations, markets, beaches, etc. Familiar to all, samoussas are spicy triangular fried turnovers filled with vegetables, meat or fish. They can be accompanied by eggplant or potato fritters, or chilli cakes, lightly spiced and deep-fried dumplings. And don't forget the dholl-puri, a purely Mauritian creation. This kind of Indian pancake, made from crushed grains mixed with wheat flour, can be served with achard, tomato rougail or even curry. The last essential element of any Mauritian meal: the side dishes. During a lunch or dinner of local specialties, the table is always covered with several small saucers containing different sauces or accompaniments designed to spice up a dish and/or enhance the rice. Such is the case with chatinis (chutneys) from India, a sweet-and-sour blend of vegetables, fruit, spices and vinegar. As for achards, these are mixtures of vinegared vegetables (carrots, cabbage, cauliflower) seasoned with hot pepper.
Desserts and drinks
The fruits are countless, succulent and varied: bananas, papayas, mangoes (of which there are 40 varieties on the island) and guavas, with their highly fragrant pulp. Bergamot, a citrus fruit with a tangy pulp, produces a thirst-quenching juice. Pythera apples, once cut into small pieces, can be marinated in lemon, vinegar, salt, pepper and chili pepper. Victoria pineapples are small in size but burst with intense flavor. Native to Réunion Island, they are also grown in Mauritius, South Africa and Madagascar. With the stroke of a machete, street vendors split the young coconuts to give access to their refreshing water, which is sipped through a straw. The nut is then broken into several large pieces to extract the delicate white pulp. The island also abounds in lychees, pomegranates, avocados, lemons, tamarinds, carambola and other passion fruit.
As for desserts and sweet treats, Mauritians make generous use of banana, coconut and rum, these three ingredients often being used together. Among the most popular sweets are napolitains, crumbly shortbread with jam - usually guava - and puits d'amour, tarts filled with mousseline cream and sprinkled with grated coconut. Poudine dipin or bread pudding is made with stale bread flavored with rum. In the absence of wheat, which is difficult to grow on the island, root vegetables are widely used as a substitute. These include poudine manioc, gâteaux patates (sweet potato-based turnovers stuffed with coconut), gâteaux-banane (the equivalent but garnished with banana) and galettes manioc, manioc flour pancakes. Indian influences are expressed in kulfi malaï, ice-cream sticks generally flavored with cardamom and pistachio; gulab jamun (sometimes rasgulla), fritters with spicy syrup; and barfi, a powdered milk cake with cardamom and pistachio.
Mauritius is also known for its surprising diversity of unrefined or special sugars. There are no fewer than 12 varieties, including the famous muscovado and the delicate demerara. These untreated sugars are rich in molasses, which gives them a brown color and a pronounced, almost smoky taste, but also a slightly sticky texture that can be compacted. Unlike white sugar, they still contain significant quantities of magnesium, calcium, potassium and vitamins. Sugar cane juice, or vesou, is cooked and blended until it crystallizes. The mass is then dried and ground.
As for beverages, apart from tasty fruit juices, beer is a must. Phœnix and Blue Marlin are the most common, but other craft beers have recently emerged on the market, such as Flying Dodo and Thirsty Fox. Mauritius also produces several white rums, the most popular of which is Green Island, which are pleasant in cocktails but not necessarily of the highest quality. Prefer rums arranged with fruit and/or spices, dark rums flavored with vanilla or coffee, or, much better, the old rums marketed by the island's 6 major distilleries: Chamarel, Grays, Labourdonnais, Medine, Oxenham and Saint-Aubin.
