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When "fusion" cuisine came into vogue many Seychellois
could have been forgiven for raising an eyebrow at such faddishness.
The tables of the archipelago had long been enlivened by the
likes of curries from India, explosively chili'd and smoothed
with coconut cream; Chinese stir-fries and grilled or steamed
fish; and aromatic blends of garlic, ginger and herbs from
La Belle France.
Added to the abundant seafood of the Indian Ocean, and a
cornucopia of tropical fruits and vegetables, Creole cuisine
is fusion without the fuss - simply gorgeous fresh produce,
cooked in a myriad mouth-watering ways.
Specialities of the Seychelles
The Indian Ocean's fish are large, meaty, and packed with
flavour, so seafood is a natural first choice in the Seychelles'
eateries. The rounded red snapper, also called bourzwa, tastes
like extremely tender chicken and is often grilled with garlic
and ginger and served whole with a salad or rice and vegetables.
Tuna and king fish steaks are delicious grilled or
fried in garlic butter, and picturesque parrot fish are usually
deep fried in batter and come with a spicy tomato Creole sauce.
Swordfish is also grilled, while sailfish is often smoked
like salmon. Shark comes as a "chutney" - stir fried
and seasoned with onions, herbs and the savoury bilimbi fruit.
Smaller fish - like mackerel, job fish and rabbit fish - are
grilled or cooked as curry, fish soup or stew. Rabbit fish
- kordonye in Creole - is nicknamed "the fish that makes
women drunk" as one of its glands secretes an intoxicant.
It tastes quite normal, but both men and women may feel tipsy
after eating it.
Octopus, or zourit, is one of the Seychelles' chief
delicacies, and needs to be cooked carefully till it is tender
and can be chopped into a cold seafood cocktail or added to
a hot creamy coconut curry.
Tec tecs - tiny white shellfish - are mixed with pumpkin
and turned into soup. Sea snails are served in their pretty
green-and-white shells, stuffed with their diced meat and
plenty of herbs and garlic. Turtles, once the prime fare of
passing seamen, are now protected by law and so no longer
appear on any restaurant's menu.
Frequently offered as a starter is Millionaire's Salad, so
called because a whole palm tree has to be cut down to harvest
the heart - a slightly sweet, cool, crunchy vegetable which
is the salad's principal ingredient.
Birds' eggs (terns being the most common) are not
always available, but if they are, they are served usually
hard-boiled or as an omelette. They are distinguished by a
bright orange hue that is very different from chicken-egg
yellow. Another typical Seychelles' delicacy, and something
of an acquired taste, is curried fruit bat, which tastes a
little like rabbit. Beware: its many small bones make it tricky
to eat.
Fruits
It's said that eating breadfruit in the Seychelles
will guarantee your return. There's certainly plenty of it
- boiled, cut up as matchstick chips or barbecued with plenty
of butter which adds to its nutty potato taste.
Other fruits abound, naturally. Jackfruit has a slightly
off-putting odour but a distinctively sweet flavour. Avocados,
aubergines (usually served as fritters) passion fruit and
papaya grow everywhere and are similarly ubiquitous on restaurant
tables. Several types of banana are cultivated, including
St Jacques plantains, which are used in savoury dishes. Custard
apples are called "ox hearts" in the Seychelles.
Less well known is the corosol, also known as soursop, which
has a similarly sweet creamy white flesh. The Jamalc, a smooth-skinned,
cone-shaped fruit which tastes like an apple, is much favoured
by both local children and the local tortoises.
Both pineapples and oranges are sometimes turned into
a salad with onions and black pepper. Giant grapefruit, with
thick skins and sweet pink flesh, come into season in April
and May. Bigerades, which are rather like kumquats, are too
sour to eat raw so are juiced or turned into marmalade.
Last, but by no means least of the islands' produce, is the
coconut, which may be eaten raw, thinly sliced and
toasted, grated or as a very sticky nougat. Lopping the top
off a fresh coconut and drinking its juice is amazingly refreshing,
and is reportedly a sure-fire cure for both jet lag and hangovers.
On the subject of drink
Coco d'Amour comes in a bottle shaped like a coco
de mer nut, and has something of the texture of Bailey's Irish
Cream. Local beers include Ecu and Seybrew, both lagers, and
Guinness, which is surprisingly popular.
Toddy and calou, made from coconut sap, may be used
to flavour some Creole dishes, and are sometimes sold by the
bottle in small wayside bars. Overindulge in either of these,
and you'll need a pint or two of the local mineral water,
Eau de Val Riche - or some of that cure-all coconut juice.
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