Skip to main content

Spice up your life at Ile Maurice... the Paradise Island!


      
As colorful as the sarees, churidars and bangles worn by the women of Mauritius is their rich culture and heritage.

Religion? A vibrant mix of Hindus, Tamils, Muslims and Christians. 

Language? There is mainly Creole, Hindi, Bhojpurri, and English.

Cuisine? A tantalizing combination of dishes from different nations- From fried noodles (Mauritian specialty), dumplings, curry, sachini, bouillon, pomme frite and gateaux branzelle it goes on and on and on... Cannot enumerate everything or else I will relive the taste and my mouth will start watering... my stomach will start grumbling.... and then... Okay stop it! Let's continue... 

Everywhere you go, your eyes will be drawn into that something uniquely different in this island- and that is not just their colorful culture as I have described above or the untamed beauty of Mauritius' landscape .... I guess it is the feeling that despite of the visible differences in culture and ethnicity they all seem to be working out fine. And thus, I feel at peace when I am here. I feel as if I am in PARADISE.


I tried my best to capture the beauty that I saw in Mauritius, put it in my hard drive and print it so once in a while I will be reminded of the things, the feelings and the experiences that captured my heart while I was here. But alas, these pictures do not give enough justice. You must come here and experience it for yourself. 

Picnic under the trees would be a nice idea, isn't it?
View from Casela's Safari Adventure.
Chamarel Falls.

Chamarel's Seven-colored earth.
Isle Aux Cerfs (Island of Deers)







Belle Mare Beach.
Cascade (waterfall) at Grand River South East.
Can you see the rainbow?



Aside from making your eyes full with the beauty of Mauritius let me make your stomach full with Mauritian cuisine. Why not try some of the age-old recipes that exist in their day-to-day life? This way, you will feel as if you have been here yourself. Believe me, they are really mouth-watering.. and as I have mentioned above these dishes are influenced by a blend of Chinese, French and Indian cuisine.. It is indeed an array of flavors with only one thing predominant in almost all of them... 

Guess what it is?? 

CHILI.

But not to worry, Mauritians are kind enough to adjust according to your heat preference- may it be mild, moderate or very spicy. Just tell them in advance and they will do something for you.

Now, here is a brief overview of what Mauritian cuisine has in store for you.. But warning guys, only one month in this island and my pants no longer fit!! haha Girls do not worry it is okay to over-indulge sometimes!
SAMOSA IN THE MAKING..


Potato filling
Rolling out the dough


Dough rolled into very thin sheets, brushed with oil then pan-fried

Home-made samosas


SWEETS SOLD ON THE STREETS TO SATISFY YOUR CRAVINGS

Ladoo, Jollibee and other gateaux


TO QUENCH YOUR THIRST

Juice stalls with a variety of tropical fruits


Now try these recipes at the comfort of your own kitchen and let the taste and aroma transport you to the volcanic island nation, known for its white-sand beaches and mesmerizing  waterfalls.


SACHINI COCO "Coconut Chutney"




Ingredients:

 Grated Coconut (1/4 of a whole)
Mint leaves (1 bunch)
Garlic Cloves (2 pcs)
Tamarind paste (1 tbsp)
Chili (2 pcs)
a bit of water for grinding

 Procedure:

 Grind all the above ingredients into a paste. Add salt accordingly. **But remember to add this only to the portion you will consume so the sachini won't spoil as fast.
ROUGAILLE SOYA 

 This recipe is very special to me because it is my husband's favorite. Try this recipe at home guys! There is a reason why my husband loves it so much. You may also cook different rougaille varieties by changing the main ingredient- instead of putting soya try to mix in peas or tofu for vegetarians or seafood for non-veg. Use your creative juices and let your taste decide!

 Ingredients:

 Water
Salt
Soya
Oil
Onion, brunoise
Garlic, brunoise
Tomatoes, big cubes or wedges
Curry leaves
Thyme leaves
Chili

 Procedure:

 - Boil soya in water with a bit of salt until it is tender and cooked. Drain out.
- Heat up oil in the pan. Add chopped onion and garlic. Saute. Add thyme, curry leaves and chili.
-Add tomatoes and cook until it is very soft, almost like a paste. Once in a while, add a bit of water if needed.
- Put in cooked soya and simmer for a little bit. Remove curry leaf.
-Season with salt according to taste.
- Serve hot.


Well... I hope you enjoyed your brief trip to Mauritius. Hope to see you there next time!!






















Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cooking with Clay Pots (a.k.a. Palayok)

Before anything else, kudos to my dad for showing me how to make fire out of a pile of wood! If that job was left to me, I would have toiled for hours with no avail! Well... I am just being honest ;) But anyway, I am very excited to show you what we cooked earlier, using an earthenware popular in the provinces, but unfortunately (and as far as I know), not here in Manila- especially now that electric stoves/ovens and induction cookers are the trend. Please do contradict me on this if you find my statement quite untrue. But what's amazing is that clay pots have been used for decades all over the globe- from Europe, Africa, Southeast and East Asia. It has been called different names and made into different shapes and sizes, but all of which have one basic purpose- to cook a tender and flavorful dish that would hopefully delight ones taste buds. The Philippine version of the clay pot is called "palayok" in Tagalog or "kulon" in some parts of Visayas. We used to...
Post a Comment
Read more

Philippine Independence Day Special: Salad Made from Pako (Fern) and Arosep/Lato (Seaweed)

Most of the time when it comes to making salad or ordering salad, we are not very interested as to where it came from. Most of us think that it is just pieces of leaves tossed in your choice of vinaigrette or dressing. All we are concerned about is that:  it is healthy (depends on how much dressing you put into it and the ingredients of that dressing... if it is full of mayonnaise then it's not as healthy as you think, my dear!) it cools us down (especially during a hot summer day where it is very nice to eat fresh salad cooled down in the fridge) it tastes divine (depending on your taste preference- the combination of ingredients and its special dressing/vinaigrette). But really... these salads have an origin. Just look at the way of preparation as well as the ingredients feautured in that salad- you will know! From Waldorf Salad of England to the Caesar Salad of Mexico* down to the Raita of India and the Greek salad of... obviously, Greece! But wait... how about...
Post a Comment
Read more

... and Yes! I have a lot of things to be grateful for. So do you.

I used to be contented with my life. I don't have too much 'wants' because I feel that I have everything I have ever needed. But lately, I don't know why- I feel inferior, lacking or not good enough. Have you ever felt the same way too? I'm sure at one point in life, you did. I am writing this blog just to release this awful feeling in me. Sometimes... to be honest with you, I feel like I am becoming the jealous type of person- and I don't want that. So as a counter-measure let me count my blessings. And let's focus on that instead of focusing on what I am missing. I will enumerate my top 10 blessings. Things I am really really grateful for in this life. Please note that the ones enumerated below are arranged in no order of importance! 1. Thankful that I have work. I am earning, saving and with that I have the ability to buy things that I need and want. With that I also have the ability to help out others in a way that other people can't. 2. Th...
Post a Comment
Read more