For those who haven’t been there yet, it’s everything you can imagine: turquoise seas, palm-fringed beaches and glorious golden sunsets. Those who have been will have fond memories. Who knew that paradise was virtually on our doorstep?

Yes, it’s commercialised and yes, if you want something more intimate, more unique or more authentic then Mauritius would probably not be your first choice.  But for all the love in the world, I don’t see how a Mauritian holiday wouldn’t be just what the doctor ordered, especially now when winter is still holding us in its grip. Oh, and don’t forget, once we leave behind icy July, we will be heading head first into the August winds.  Now doesn’t an island holiday sound like a good idea?

I’ve been fortunate enough to visit Mauritius with good friends and also just with my husband.  We love travelling and are lucky enough to indulge our love by travelling to many different parts of the world.  However, my favourite type of holiday has always been an island holiday and I cannot see that changing any time soon.  Our Indian ocean holiday destinations of Mauritius, Zanzibar, Mozambique and Seychelles hold my heart.

Why write about a holiday destination in a cooking blog? Today’s recipe brings the wonderfully complex flavours of Mauritian cooking to our South African kitchens. 

The recipe comes from the late Lannice Snyman, author of the recipe book Posh Nosh.  I love all my recipe books (some more than others of course), but this is one of those that has a special place in my heart.  It’s more than an instruction manual on how to prepare food.  It’s a celebration of food and life and the joy that cooking brings – even if it’s something really simple like a beautiful green salad.

Lannice passed away on 9 May 2010 after a battle with stomach cancer.  May her recipes live long in the kitchens of this country!

POSH NOSH – MAURITIAN BEEF ROUGAIL WITH CUCUMBER DHAL

Lannice describes Mauritian cuisine as “a ladleful of French flair and a pinch of Chinese mystery, add a dash of Indian spice and African allure”.  A rougail, I’ve discovered after making this recipe, is basically a mix between a stir-fry, a curry and a stew.  This one sings with Creole flavours and is sure to banish the winter colds and let the warmth of the Indian ocean in.

Serves 4 

Cucumber Dhal

½ English cucumber

250 ml thick, plain yoghurt

½ small, green chilli sliced, seeded and finely chopped

Small bunch of coriander, finally chopped

Grate the cucumber coarsely (leave the skin on) and pile into a sieve placed over a bowl.  Leave for about 30 minutes to drain; shake occasionally.  Tip into a bowl, season with salt and mix in the yoghurt, chilli and coriander. Cover and chill in the fridge.

Beef Rougail

600 g fillet, rump or sirloin steak

6 garlic cloves (this is a bit garlic-heavy for me, so I used only 3 cloves)

2 cm piece of fresh ginger, scraped and roughly chopped

5 curry leaves

About 3 tablespoons of thyme leaves (I used about a tablespoon of dried thyme)

2 ml turmeric (borrie)

30 ml tomato purée

Vegetable oil

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 large onion, finely sliced

400 small, ripe tomatoes, chopped

250 ml beef stock

Small bunch of coriander, roughly chopped

4-5 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced

Trim the steak and cut into chunks.  Pound together the garlic, ginger and chilli in a pestle and mortar (I grated the garlic and ginger to make this a little bit easier).  Mix in the curry leaves, thyme, turmeric and tomato purée.

Heat a little oil in a frying pan and brown the meat over very high heat.  Set aside and season lightly with salt and pepper.  Add a little more oil to the pan if needed and fry the onion until golden.  Add the garlic and ginger paste, tomatoes and stock and cook uncovered for about 5 to 8 minutes until the sauce thickens.  Check the flavour – you may like to add more salt and pepper as well as a little sugar to balance the acidity of the tomatoes.

Return the meat to the sauce and simmer gently uncovered for about 5 minutes (don’t let the steak overcook!).  Remove from the heat and mix in the coriander.

Serve with rice and cucumber dhal and top with the sliced spring onion.

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ooOoo