The only place where the world’s three great cuisines exist together

The dish

Prawn rougaille, Mauritius

Plate up

What do you know about the cuisine of Mauritius? Perhaps not a lot, if you haven’t been there – which is fair enough, given this is an island nation of only 1.2 million people, a lonely outcrop in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar.

To explain the food here, consider the history of Mauritius: this island has been ruled by the Portuguese, the Dutch, the French and the British. Slaves were once brought here from Africa, an influx of Indian workers arrived in the 19th century and Chinese migrants followed. That’s a lot of influences from a lot of great food cultures, and many of them come together to create rougaille. This is a classic Mauritian dish, a thick sauce made with onions, garlic, ginger, thyme, chillies and tomatoes, often paired with fresh prawns that are given a quick simmer in the sauce, and then served with white rice.

First serve

If you just read the ingredient list for rougaille and thought, hang on, that sounds familiar – you’re right. Rougaille bears plenty of similarity to the classic Provencal dish, bouillabaisse, and indeed it’s thought that this is where the Mauritian staple originated. Over time, however, the various ethnic groups in Mauritius, the likes of Creoles and Indians, added their own touches to that tomato-heavy seafood soup, and the spice-laden stew rougaille was born. The classic Creole version uses salted fish; however, the prawn version, as well as others using crab, lobster, and even smoked sausage, is also very popular.

Order there

In the town of Grand Baie, at the northern end of Mauritius’s main island, La Rougaille Creole is a much-loved institution worth calling past (no website).