Due to the island’s history, Mauritian cuisine is a unique blend of Indian, Chinese and French dishes. You can get fried noodles, rice, curries, all kinds of puris and seafood here. Thanks to its location, sugar cane cultivation is flourishing, so special cane sugars and rums are also indispensable. We have selected 20 Mauritian gastronomic specialties for you that are worth tasting if you come to this wonderful island for a holiday.
Here is a list of the delicacies of Mauritian cuisine:
- Curry – The most popular dish of Mauritian cuisine. A Creole version of Indian curries, with garlic, onions and fresh curry leaves. They can cook curry from practically anything, just as we Hungarians can cook stew or pull out anything from anything.
- Farata – A typical Mauritian dish. A kind of flatbread that is filled with various things. It can be vegetable, meat, fish, cheese. There are as many types of farata as there are houses. Feel free to try it in any small stall. But make sure they bake it fresh there, it’s really delicious.
- Alouda – The basic alouda is a sweet, vanilla, iced milk drink with tapioca pearls. The turbocharged version includes vanilla ice cream, or almond or strawberry flavoring, or maybe strawberry jelly cubes.
- Bois Cheri Tea – Mauritian tea could rightfully be world famous, but this tiny island only produces enough to enjoy these wonderful flavors here. It’s worth trying the green and black tea, not to mention the tea chutney or tea herb biscuits.
- Dim sum – Dim sum is part of Chinese-Mauritian cuisine. Dim sum is served in every Chinese restaurant in Mauritius. These are small, one or two bite-sized dumplings filled with vegetables or meat, steamed or fried. They are often served with some kind of sauce.
- Biryani – A spicy, rice dish that is made meatless during festivals, with jackfruit. The traditional version is fish or chicken, but sometimes it is also available with mutton.
- Seafood – The ocean surrounding Mauritius offers a diverse range of seafood dishes. Of course, there is fish and octopus curry, but many fish fillets are simply grilled.
- Dhall Puri – This is a flatbread made from yellow peas and/or chickpea flour, which is filled with a spicy potato or bean filling, with the indispensable chili and chou-chou sauce.
- Cane sugar – Mauritians produce versions of cane sugar ranging from white to dark brown. If you go to the L’Aventure du Sucre sugar factory, you can also learn which one is worth using for what during a sugar tasting.
- Mine Frites – Fried noodles with vegetables or chicken or mutton. This dish has a very Chinese influence, it is just as quick, made in a wok. It is tasty and cheap. If you don’t buy it on the beach, it costs 100-150 rupees a portion.
- Rum – Mauritian rum is extremely good. There are several places to taste local rums, the best of which include St Aubin, Chateau Labourdonnais and Rhumerie de Chamarel. Rums are also produced in different flavors, such as vanilla, coffee, spice and citrus. And double-distilled rums can compete with a good brandy.
- Bol Renverse – Fried rice with fried vegetables and eggs. During the preparation of the dish, the fried egg is first placed in the bowl, then the fried vegetables with the chicken, and finally the cooked rice. However, when serving, they are turned upside down on a plate, so that the rice is soaked in the vegetable and meat sauce.
- Boulettes – A wide variety of dumplings, my personal favorite is the Chou-chou dumpling which is a vegetable that tastes like kohlrabi, but it is also available in fish, crab, mutton, chicken versions and you can also ask for a selection of dumplings. All of this is served with a garlic broth, as a kind of soup, but you can ask for it with pasta or just with soy sauce.
- Achard Legumes – Pickled vegetables and fruits. It is typical of Mauritius that not only vegetables but also fruits that are still green – such as mangoes – are made into spicy pickles that are eaten with biryani or curries.
- Gajack – A fried snack that is available almost everywhere. These are mostly vegetables baked in batter, most often potatoes, eggplant, whole chili peppers, or cabbage. But gajack is also a samosa, which is a triangular pastry filled with vegetables, cheese, or chicken.
- Litchi wine – One of the interesting things about the Takamaka winery is the wine specialty made from litchi, which is definitely worth trying if you are looking for something curious.
- Salty and chili pineapple – This type of refreshing fruit salad is available in almost most places. Fresh pineapple or mango is sprinkled with salty or sugary chili. It is a surprising flavor, but you can get used to it very quickly and fall in love with it.
- Rougaille – This is a typical Creole dish. It is very similar to Hungarian stew, only with tomatoes. It is often seasoned with garlic, ginger, thyme, and chili. It is typically made from the less spicy Mauritian sausage, seafood, or chicken. Rougaille is a light, not too spicy dish that is simply eaten with rice. It is something that is not typical of a Mauritian dish – it represents the French influence on the island.
- Sweets – The sweets of Mauritian cuisine are characterized by a strong Indian and French influence. You can find the real French French cream, but also a wide range of sweet potato puddings in different flavors.
- Tamarind sauce – This is a sweet and sour sauce made from a fruit called tamarind, it is eaten with practically everything to make it more spicy. Try it with biryani, or dip samosas in it, but it is also added to ice cream as an extra flavor or made into a cooling soft drink.
Where can you try all this? Local food is sold almost everywhere on the various beaches of Mauritius, but if you want to be truly authentic and taste how the locals cook for the locals, then visit Goodlands, Triolet, Fond Du Sac or any of the smaller towns where there are fewer tourists and sample the offerings of the street vendors. If you want to see Port Louis and eat local food there, then book here!
