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174 recipes

Bourzwa grilléGrilled red snapper

Bourzwa, the red snapper pulled from the reefs off Mahé, is the fish Seychellois choose for a beach barbecue or a Saturday family grill at Anse Royale. It goes on the coals whole, slashed and rubbed with a rough Creole paste of garlic, ginger, chilli, thyme and lime, and comes off with crackling, smoky skin and sweet, moist white flesh. Serve it with Creole rice, lentils, a tomato satini and a dish of breadfruit or green banana, with extra lime and chilli at the table. The usual mistake is moving the fish too soon: if it sticks, wait another minute and it will release once the skin has crisped. Chef's tip: oil the fish, not just the grill, and cook it in a hinged fish basket if you have one, so turning it is easy.

40 minMauritianFishGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Rougail mangueGreen mango chilli relish

On a Réunion table the rougail is the sharp, cold thing that cuts through a pot of cari, and rougail mangue is perhaps the best loved: sour green mango grated into crisp strands and pounded with bird's-eye chilli, a little onion and salt. It is crunchy, mouth-puckering and hot all at once, and it sits in a small bowl next to the rice and grains for people to add a forkful at a time. It is made fresh and eaten the same day, from Saint-Denis to Saint-Pierre, when mangoes are still hard on the trees. A ripe or half-ripe mango is the classic mistake, giving a sweet, soggy mush; the fruit must be fully green, hard and sour. Chef's tip: pound the chilli with the salt first so it spreads evenly, then only bruise the mango, so the strands keep their snap.

15 minMauritianChutneys & DipsVeganGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Salade palmisteHeart of palm salad

Hotel menus around Praslin once called it millionaire's salad, because a whole native palm had to be felled for the single pale heart at its crown. That is no longer how it should be made: buy fresh hearts from farmed peach palm, which regrows from the base, or a good jar of hearts of palm, and you get the same cool, crunchy ribbons with a faint sweetness like young coconut and artichoke. Seychellois serve it as a starter at celebrations or beside grilled fish and Creole rice, dressed simply so the palm stays the star. Chef's tip: dress it no more than 15 minutes before eating; left longer, the lime softens the crunch and the salad goes limp.

15 minMauritianSaladsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Langouste à la vanilleLobster in vanilla cream

Anjouan and Grande Comore grow some of the world's most fragrant vanilla, and the islands' grandest dish pairs it with spiny lobster from the surrounding reefs. Served at weddings and in seafront restaurants in Moroni, it brings sweet, firm lobster to the table in a pale cream sauce where the vanilla tastes warm and floral rather than sugary, sharpened with lime and a touch of chilli. Frozen raw spiny lobster tails, thawed overnight in the fridge, work beautifully; a ready-cooked lobster just needs warming through. Serve it with plain white rice or fried green banana. Chef's tip: the classic mistake is overcooking, which turns lobster rubbery, so take it from the pan the moment the flesh turns opaque and let the sauce finish the job.

45 minMauritianFishGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Massalé cabriGoat curry

Massalé came to Réunion with Tamil workers in the nineteenth century, and the dark, earthy spice blend still perfumes the island's temple festivals and the big family meals that follow them, where massalé cabri is served from huge pots. Goat on the bone is rubbed with toasted, freshly ground coriander, cumin, fenugreek, pepper and cloves, then simmered with onion, garlic, ginger, tomato and curry leaves until it falls from the bone into a thick brown sauce with a lingering heat. Eat it with white rice, lentils and a rougail. The classic mistake is burning the spices while toasting them, which makes the whole pot bitter; take them off the heat the moment they smell warm and turn a shade darker. Chef's tip: marinate the goat overnight in the fridge if you can, as the massalé gets right into the meat.

120 minMauritianMeatGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

MacatiaSweet breakfast buns

Bakeries in Saint-Denis and Saint-Paul fill their shelves with macatias before dawn, and they go fast: plump, shiny buns with a close, cotton-soft crumb and just enough sugar to taste sweet with black coffee. Children take them to school, workers tear one open on the bus, and people split them and fill them with butter, cheese or even a spoon of cari for a quick lunch. Some bakers add grated coconut and call them macatia coco. The commonest mistake is using milk that is too hot, which kills the yeast; it should feel just warm on your wrist. Chef's tip: brush the buns with a little milk as soon as they come out of the oven and cover them with a cloth, which keeps the crust soft rather than crisp.

150 minMauritianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Poulet à la vanilleVanilla chicken

The east coast around Saint-André and Bras-Panon grows the island's famous Bourbon vanilla, and this gentle braise is how families there show it off when guests come for lunch. Chicken pieces are browned with onion, garlic and ginger, then simmered with split pods until the sauce smells of warm vanilla, and a spoon of cream at the end turns it pale gold and silky. It is savoury, not sweet, with the vanilla rounding out the onion. Serve it with white rice and a simple green salad. A common mistake is scraping out the seeds and throwing the pod away: most of the flavour is in the pod, so simmer it in the sauce. Chef's tip: never let the sauce boil once the cream is in, or it can split; keep it just below a simmer.

60 minMauritianChickenGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Breadfruit chipsBreadfruit crisps

Roadside kiosks on La Digue and the Victoria market sell paper cones of chips friyapen, still warm, to people walking back from the beach. Breadfruit fries up lighter than potato, with a faintly nutty, bready taste and a crunch that shatters, and islanders say whoever eats breadfruit will come back to the Seychelles. Use a fruit that is mature but still firm, with green skin and no soft patches; ripe, yielding breadfruit is too sweet and wet and the slices go leathery. Breadfruit has no gluten at all, so the chips suit coeliac friends if the oil is fresh. Eat them as they are with a cold drink, or alongside grilled fish and a sharp tomato chutney. Chef's tip: rub a little oil on your knife and hands before cutting, because the white sap is sticky and hard to wash off.

30 minMauritianSnacks & StartersVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

MtsololaFish with green banana and cassava

Mtsolola is the dish Comorians on Grande Comore and Anjouan miss most when they live abroad: chunks of green banana and cassava simmered in coconut milk with steaks of firm fish laid on top, cooked in one big pot for family meals and big gatherings. The vegetables turn soft and creamy at the edges and soak up the coconut, while the fish stays in moist pieces seasoned with garlic, lime and a little chilli. Eat it on its own from deep plates, with a fresh chilli and lime relish on the side, and mkatra foutra to mop up the sauce. Cassava must always be peeled and boiled thoroughly before eating; buy sweet cassava, fresh or frozen, and discard its first cooking water. Chef's tip: add the fish only once the banana is nearly tender, because fish put in at the start breaks into shreds.

75 minMauritianFishGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

LadobPlantain in sweet coconut milk

Sunday lunch on Mahé often ends with a pot of ladob carried warm to the table: thick slices of ripe plantain, sometimes breadfruit or sweet potato, stewed in coconut milk until they turn soft and amber. The sauce reduces to a pale, silky cream scented with vanilla, which grows on the islands, and a scrape of nutmeg. Families eat it warm in bowls, or cold from the fridge the next afternoon, and children like it best with the sauce spooned over a little extra. Pick plantains with black-speckled or nearly black skins; yellow-green ones stay starchy and never go sweet and tender, which is the most common disappointment. Chef's tip: simmer gently and never let the coconut milk boil hard, or it splits and the sauce turns oily instead of creamy.

40 minMauritianDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Cari ti jacquesYoung jackfruit curry

When the jackfruit trees around Saint-Louis and Saint-Joseph drop their small green fruit, Réunion cooks turn them into cari ti jacques, long-simmered until the flesh shreds into soft, meaty strands soaked in turmeric, tomato, garlic and thyme. The island's classic version is cooked with smoked pork, but this one leaves the meat out entirely and lets the tomato and slow cooking carry it, with a pinch of smoked paprika for the smoky note. Serve it with white rice, beans or lentils and a sharp rougail. The common mistake is stopping too early: jackfruit that is only just tender tastes rubbery, and it needs a full hour for the pieces to fall apart when pressed. Chef's tip: if you use tinned young jackfruit, rinse it well and squeeze it gently, as the brine tastes sour and metallic.

90 minMauritianCurriesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

BouchonsSteamed pork dumplings

Chinese families brought bouchons to Réunion, and today every snack van and camion bar in Saint-Pierre and Saint-Denis sells them by the half-dozen, usually next to samoussas and bonbons piment. They are small open-topped dumplings of seasoned pork mince with garlic, ginger and spring onion in a thin wheat wrapper, steamed until juicy and served in a cardboard tray with soy sauce and a dab of chilli, or stuffed into a baguette as a pain bouchon. The filling should be springy and moist, not dense. People tend to cram the wrappers too full, so the filling cooks unevenly and the parcels burst; a heaped teaspoon is plenty. Chef's tip: use pork mince with some fat in it, around 20 per cent, as very lean pork steams dry and crumbly.

60 minMauritianSnacks & Starters
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Gratin chouchouChayote cheese gratin

Chouchou vines scramble over fences all over Réunion's highlands, especially around Salazie, so the island has plenty of ways with the pale green squash, and the gratin is the one that comes out for Sunday lunch beside a cari or a roast. Cooked chayote is soft and mild, a bit like courgette crossed with pear, and under a nutmeg béchamel and a browned cheese top it becomes rich and comforting. The great danger is a watery gratin, because chayote gives off a lot of liquid; boil it first and leave it to drain properly before it meets the sauce. The cheese is traditionally an Emmental-style one, often made with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian hard cheese if that matters to you. Chef's tip: make the béchamel a little thicker than you think, as the chayote will still loosen it slightly in the oven.

60 minMauritianVegetarian
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Lentilles de CilaosMountain lentils

High in the volcanic cirque of Cilaos, farmers grow tiny brown-green lentils on terraces, and the whole island prizes them: they hold their shape, taste nutty and mineral, and turn up beside every kind of cari, with a mound of white rice and a spoon of rougail. The village holds a lentil festival each autumn, and a pot of lentilles is a fixture of family Sunday lunches across Réunion. Outside the island, use small French green or brown lentils, which behave in the same way. Don't let them boil hard; a fierce boil splits the skins and turns the pot into mush, so keep it at a gentle bubble. Chef's tip: take the time to brown the onions properly before the lentils go in, because that slow, sweet browning is what gives the sauce its depth.

60 minMauritianCurriesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mkatra foutraCoconut milk flatbread

Before dawn in Moroni, women set heavy pans over charcoal to make mkatra foutra, and during Ramadan stacks of it appear at every iftar table. The dough is soft and sticky, raised with yeast and made rich with coconut milk instead of water, then patted into a thick round, scattered with sesame and baked slowly in a covered pan. It comes out golden and speckled outside, with a fluffy, slightly sweet, faintly coconutty crumb. Tear it with sweet spiced tea for breakfast, or use it to mop up a fish curry or mtsolola. Chef's tip: keep the heat low and the lid on; a hot pan burns the base long before the thick middle has cooked through, which is the most common mistake.

120 minMauritianBreads & ParathasVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pâté créolePork and chicken pie

Christmas Eve, New Year and big christenings in Réunion are not complete without a pâté créole, a deep, golden shortcrust pie filled with pork and chicken that have spent a night soaking up garlic, ginger, thyme, parsley and four-spice. It bakes slowly so the meat cooks in its own juices into a tender, fragrant filling that slices neatly, and it is served warm or at room temperature with a green salad. Families often order one from the local baker or traiteur, but it is a satisfying weekend project at home. Because the filling goes in raw, the usual mistake is cutting the meat too large and taking the pie out too early; dice it small and check the centre with a thermometer. Chef's tip: keep a little hole in the middle of the lid; it lets steam escape so the crust stays crisp, and it is exactly where the thermometer goes.

180 minMauritianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

CortaditoEspresso with steamed milk

Havana runs on small cups of coffee: a cafecito standing at a ventanita, a colada shared in tiny plastic cups at work, and in the afternoon or with breakfast, a cortadito, which is Cuban coffee cut (cortado) with roughly as much hot milk. The coffee is brewed in a stovetop cafetera, and the first dark drops are whipped hard with sugar into a pale, thick espumita that floats on top of the cup. The result is rich, very sweet and caramel-like, with a velvety milk body and a strong, bitter edge underneath. It is high in caffeine, so it is not one for children. The common mistake is adding sugar to the pot or stirring it in at the end; without the espumita you get a thin, flat drink. Beat the first concentrated coffee with the sugar until it turns light tan and holds soft folds, then pour in the rest. It is ready when a pale foam floats on the cup and the milk has been heated until steaming, with small bubbles around the edge but not boiling. Chef's tip: catch only the first 2–3 teaspoons of coffee for the foam; later coffee is too thin to whip.

10 minCubanDrinksGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Prú orientalSpiced root drink

In Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo and Baracoa, prú is sold from plastic bottles at the kitchen door and poured at every birthday, often next to a slab of cake. The recipe came from Haitian and French-Caribbean coffee planters who settled in the east, and families still keep a "madre", a starter jar from the last batch. Roots of raíz de China and bejuco ubí are boiled with pine, cinnamon and allspice, sweetened and left to ferment for a few days. It tastes like a wild, earthy root beer: woody, spiced, a little bitter, with a soft prickle. Fermentation makes a trace of alcohol, well under 1% if drunk young. Outside Cuba use dried sarsaparilla root, a close relative of China root. The common mistake is sealing bottles too early and leaving them warm, which builds dangerous pressure; use a plastic test bottle and chill once it is firm. It is ready when tiny bubbles rise and it smells sweet-sour, not yeasty. Throw it out if it grows fuzzy mould, turns slimy or smells rotten. Pregnant people should skip the pine needles, and anyone on medication should check with a doctor about herbal roots. Chef's tip: keep 250 ml back as the madre for your next batch.

70 minCubanDrinksVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pan con lechónRoast pork sandwich

Cuba's great feast is a whole roast pig for Noche Buena on Christmas Eve, and the next best thing is pan con lechón: slices of juicy roast pork stuffed into soft Cuban bread with onions and plenty of mojo. In Havana it is sold from cafeterías and street windows in Centro Habana and along Calle Obispo, especially at weekends, and it is a favourite lunch or late-afternoon bite. This home version uses a boneless pork shoulder marinated overnight in sour orange, garlic, cumin and oregano and roasted until it falls apart, with crackly edges. Chef's tip: keep a few spoons of fresh mojo aside before the raw pork goes in, so you have a clean sauce to spoon over the sandwiches.

240 minCubanMeat
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mojito

In Old Havana the mojito is the answer to three o'clock heat: made at bar counters along Obispo Street, on the Malecón and at home on the patio, often with a plate of tostones or chicharritas on the side. It is a drink for adults only, though its cool, fresh taste can fool you; sip it slowly and drink responsibly. A real Cuban mojito is fragrant and grassy from hierbabuena, the mild local mint, sharp with lime, gently sweet and lightly sparkling, with the rum giving it backbone rather than burn. The common mistake is shredding the mint with heavy muddling: the leaves turn black, bitter and stick in your teeth. Press the leaves softly against the sugar and lime just until you can smell them strongly, then stop. It is ready when the sugar has dissolved, the glass is fully frosted and the mint leaves are scattered bright green through the ice. Outside Cuba, use spearmint; peppermint tastes like toothpaste here. Chef's tip: slap the garnish sprig between your palms before tucking it in beside the straw; every sip then comes with the smell of fresh mint.

5 minCubanDrinksVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Café con lecheCoffee with hot milk

Every morning from Havana to Miami's Little Havana, breakfast is a big cup of café con leche with a length of buttered, pressed Cuban bread (tostada) to dunk in it. A moka pot of dark espresso-style coffee is whipped with sugar into a pale foam, the espumita, and poured into a mug of hot, lightly salted milk. The usual mistake is boiling the milk, which gives it a skin and a cooked taste; heat it only until it steams. Coffee contains caffeine, so this is a grown-up drink; children traditionally get a cup that is mostly milk. Chef's tip: whisk the first few drops of coffee hard with the sugar to a thick paste before adding the rest; that is what makes the creamy espumita on top.

10 minCubanDrinksGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pizza cubanaThick street pizza

Havana's own pizza is nothing like a crisp Neapolitan one. Sold from house windows and tiny cafeterías along Calle 23 in Vedado and around the University of Havana, it is a thick, soft, bready round about the size of a side plate, spread with a sweetish tomato sauce and smothered in mild melted cheese right to the edge. Students fold it in half and eat it on a square of paper for lunch or a late snack. Cuban vendors use a local gouda-style cheese; traditional cheeses of this type may be made with animal rennet, so choose one labelled vegetarian (microbial rennet). Chef's tip: bake it in small oiled tins or a frying pan with an ovenproof handle, so the base fries a little in the oil and turns golden.

90 minCubanPizza
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pan con minutaFried fish sandwich

Minuta is what Cubans call a quick-fried fish fillet, cooked "in a minute" while you wait, and in a soft roll it becomes one of Havana's simplest street lunches. Look for it at kiosks along the Malecón near La Punta and in the fishing village of Cojímar, east of the city, where small boats bring in snapper. The fish is marinated briefly in lime and garlic, dipped in a light batter and fried until the crust crackles, then tucked into bread with sharp raw onion and another squeeze of lime. Chef's tip: keep the lime marinade short; after 15 minutes the acid starts to turn the fish chalky.

30 minCubanFish
by KrazyBadal 0 views

CancháncharaAguardiente, lime and honey cocktail

In the colonial town of Trinidad, in Sancti Spíritus province, the canchánchara is served in little clay cups to the sound of a son band in the late afternoon. Its roots are in the independence wars of the 1860s and 70s, when the mambí fighters drank cane aguardiente mixed with honey, lime and water, warm or at camp temperature. Today it comes with crushed ice, but it is still a drink for adults only, rustic and honest: floral honey, sharp lime and the raw, sugary heat of young cane spirit, cold and only slightly diluted. The classic mistake is pouring honey straight onto the ice, where it sets into a hard lump at the bottom and the drink tastes of nothing but sour spirit. Stir the honey into the lime and water first until no streaks remain, then add the ice and spirit. It is ready when the honey has disappeared into a cloudy, even mixture and the outside of the cup sweats with cold. Drink it slowly and responsibly. Outside Cuba, use unaged white rum or cachaça for the aguardiente; a short tumbler is fine if you have no clay cup. Chef's tip: soak the clay cup in cold water for ten minutes first; it keeps the drink cold for much longer.

5 minCubanDrinksGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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