Mauritian recipe: prawn rougaille

Posted by Sarah Duff on 27 September 2012

Delicious rougaille combines the flavours of Mauritian Creole cuisine: tomatoes (known as pommes d’amour – the apples of love – in Mauritius), onions, thyme, garlic, ginger and chillies. It’s a spicy tomato dish that can be made with seafood, meat or paneer for a vegetarian version.

Rougaille is probably the easiest Mauritian dish that I learned to make on my recent trip to the island. All the ingredients for rougaille (apart from incredibly delicious Mauritian prawns, of course) are easily available at home – so this is perfect to make when you’re missing sun-drenched tropical Mauritius.

 

Mauritian rougaille

You can make this dish with chicken (use 60g per person), beef (130g per person), a firm fish like dorado (120g a person), sausages (two per person) or a vegetarian version with paneer (100g a person). This version is made with prawns.

Serves four

  • 1 tsp finely chopped fresh chilli (add more if you like spicy food)
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh thyme
  • 3 tbsp ginger paste (buy ready-made or crush ginger to make your own)
  • 2 tsp garlic paste (buy ready-made or crush garlic to make your own)
  • 3 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1 finely chopped onion
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh curry leaves (you can use dried ones if you can’t find them fresh)
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped spring onion
  • 3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
  • 300g diced tomato
  • 300 ml fish stock (or vegetable stock if you’re making a vegetarian version)
  • 8 king prawns
  • sunflower oil

Mix together the prawns with a tablespoon of thyme, a tablespoon of ginger paste, a teaspoon of garlic paste, a tablespoon of curry leaves, a tablespoon of coriander, and a tablespoon of sunflower oil. Season with salt and pepper and leave to marinate for half an hour.

Once marinated, heat a tablespoon of oil in a large saucepan. Add a tablespoon of onion, a tablespoon of curry leaves, a teaspoon of ginger and a teaspoon of garlic paste and fry on medium heat for two minutes. Then add the prawns and cook for a further four minutes. Take the prawns out of the pan and set aside.

In the same pan one teaspoon of chopped chilli, and then one tablespoon each of garlic, ginger and thyme, and the 300g of diced tomato, along with 200ml of fish stock and 3 tablespoons of tomato puree. Simmer for five minutes and then add a tablespoon of coriander and cook for a further five minutes. At this point, add the prawns back in and add another two ladles of stock. Season with salt and pepper and simmer on a low heat until prawns are cooked (about another four minutes).

Sprinkle over a tablespoon of coriander and the spring onion.

In Mauritius, people serve rougaille with rice, lentils and chutneys (such as coconut chutney).

 

I learned to make this prawn rougaille on a cooking lesson with the fantastic chefs at LUX Belle Mare.  For more on LUX Belle Mare, click here.

 

Love Mauritian food? Find out the best 25 things to eat and drink in Mauritius. 

To see my Mauritius foodie assignment in photos, check out my blog post.

 

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