Skip to Content

Traditional Mauritian Food – An Amazing Mauritian Curry Recipe

Looking for cooking lessons in Mauritius? So were we. Watch and learn how to cook traditional Mauritian food with this delicious Mauritian curry recipe. Video and recipe included!


On our relaxing vacation in Mauritius, we were seeking out the best local food. One thing we learned, at the Aapravasi Ghat, is that the food in Mauritius is very Indian based, with curries and dhal and rice.

We love the curries, the spices, the tropical fruits, all of it. We wanted to bring a recipe home to add to our repertoire. Luckily our hotel, the incredible beachside Recif Attitude, was offering this cooking lesson for free. We couldn’t wait to learn how to make traditional Mauritian chicken curry, then gobble it up for lunch before another swim.

In this Mauritian food guide, you will learn about:

Jump directly to the Mauritian Curry recipe.

Traditional Mauritian taster plate with lentils, curries, and biryani.
Lentils, biryani, and curries make up this tasting plate of Mauritian cuisine.
Grown in Mauritius: A basket of peppers for sale.
Lots of peppers are needed in spicy Mauritian cooking.

Traditional Mauritian Food

It’s all about the spice in traditional Mauritian food! Walking through the market in Port Louis, we noticed many spice vendors and piles of chiles. We also know that vanilla is grown on the island along with sugar cane, pineapples, and coconuts. It all sounds very tropical and delicious, doesn’t it? We couldn’t wait to try all of this delicious food in Mauritius.

Seafood curry, a Mauritian dish staple and traditional Mauritian food.
Seafood curry.

Traditional Mauritian Food and Dishes Include: 

  • Dholl Puri
  • Mine Frites
  • Seafood
  • Curries
  • Biryani
Dholl puri vendor making one for a worker in Port Louis Central Market.
Dholl Puri stand in the Port Louis Central Market.

Dholl Puri – A Traditional Mauritian Food

Not sure what to eat in Mauritius? Then try this! It’s a Mauritian snack food, derived from paratha in India. A flatbread spread with yellow beans and the Mauritian chili sauce, called mazavaroo. You can usually find them in markets and town squares. This stall is located in the Port Louis Central Market. The dholl puri costs about 80 US cents, so it’s cheap and tasty.

Mine frites, a Chinese derivative of fried noodles.
Mine Frites quickly became one of my dishes of choice.

Mine Frites

Living in central Europe, I expected this to be some type of potatoes or French fries. Boy, was I wrong. Derived from the Chinese immigrants, it’s a fried noodle with cabbage, onion, and in this case chicken. This dish can be found all over the island, but the best one we found was near Riambel Public Beach in the south.

Seafood

It stands to reason that seafood is a staple of the island. While we were there, we got our fill of fish, mussels, and shrimp. It was always on the spicy side, but we loved every bite.

Chicken curry and biryani.
Lunch of curry and biryani.

Biryani

Also derived from India, we were served biryani mostly as a side dish in many of the restaurants we tried. Who doesn’t love a spicy rice?

Traditional Mauritian drink vanilla and almond alouda.
Vanilla and Almond Alouda.

Alouda

A milky drink with tapioca balls, this became our favorite snack and drink of the trip. Various flavors are on offer. We tried almond, strawberry, and my favorite vanilla. It’s made fresh and served cold, so it’s welcome on a hot Mauritian day.

We found stands all over the island, and I don’t think we passed even one without stopping. It’s amazing, almost addictive.

Mauritius Food Products:

  • cane sugar and rum
  • vanilla
  • pineapples
  • coconuts
Mauritius foods: vanilla, which is infused in these creme brulee.
Our delectable Crème Brulée dessert, with local vanilla.

Vanilla

As vanilla is grown on the island, we found a lot of offerings that featured this prized product. Pictured above is a crème brulée, and we’ve also tried vanilla alouda and vanilla tea. 

Sign of Rhumerie de Chamarel - Mauritian rum.
Rhumerie de Chamarel grounds.

Mauritian Rum

With plenty of sugar cane grown all over the island, rum is a major product. We visited the Rhumerie de Chamarel just to taste their rum varieties. I never knew there were so many. My favorite was the cinnamon rum, which really accentuated that tropical, spice island feel; it was truly Mauritian.

Mauritius food: Victoria pineapples.
Victorian pineapples.

Pineapples

A smaller and sweeter variety of pineapple found in most parts of the world, the Victoria, or Queen, pineapples are found for sale all over the island. We came upon this pile in the charming Mahebourg Central Market. How many pineapples can you eat while you are on a tropical island vacation? My experience? A lot!

Mauritian food: Fresh fruit stand in Port Louis.
A fruit and juice stand on the boardwalk of the Port Louis port.

Coconuts

Palm trees and beaches…that means coconuts. Another ubiquitous fruit, it will refresh you on the hottest of days. I loved this fresh fruit stand we found right on the Port Louis boardwalk. 

Cooking in a wok, traditional Mauritian chicken curry.
A wok is the best way to make curry.

Traditional Mauritian Food – Mauritian Curry Recipe

Mauritian curries, although a direct descendent from India, have their own unique taste. We learned that there was more garlic and maybe less tomatoes in a traditional Mauritian curry recipe. 

Ingredients, mise en place, for Mauritian curry.
The ingredients we used in our curry.

We never pass up an opportunity for a cooking lesson, so we signed up immediately with the front desk for the Mauritian curry lesson. It was taught by Kavita, who we had gotten to know from her amazing Creole omelettes we ordered each morning. The omelettes again used the Mauritian yumminess called mazavaroo, making them just spicy enough to wake us up.

Jim stirring the Mauritian curry.
Jim putting on the final touches to our curry.

Kavita’s lesson moved quickly. I don’t think we were there more than 30 minutes. She and her staff had already done the mise en place with all of the ingredients as well as setting up the woks and burners, so all we had to do is dump the ingredients into the woks at the right time, stir, and eat!

It was truly an amazing experience that was easily one of the best things to do in Mauritius.

Our finished dish:  a Traditional Mauritian Chicken Curry and a traditional Mauritian curry recipe.
Our proud plate of Mauritian Chicken Curry.
A wok with the chicken curry.
Yield: 4 servings

Mauritian Curry (Chicken)

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes

Mauritian curries, although a direct descendent from India, have their own unique taste. For instance, there is typically more garlic and ginger and less tomatoes in a Mauritian curry. 

Ingredients

  • 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast cut in 1 inch cubes
  • 1 cup red onion, diced
  • 1 cup tomato, diced
  • 2 tablespoons fresh garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons fresh ginger root, minced
  • 8 or 9 small curry leaves
  • 4 tablespoons curry powder
  • 1 tablespoon turmeric
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 cup water

Instructions

  1. Add the cooking oil to the wok and bring up the temperature on a medium high heat.
  2. Add the diced onion and the bay leaf, stir frying until the onion is transparent and the leafs are soft.
  3. Next add the minced ginger and garlic and stir fry into the onion and curry leaf mixture.
  4. Add the cubed chicken and continue stir frying on medium high heat until the chicken is lightly browned.
  5. Next add the curry powder and turmeric and mix in until the chicken is evenly coated with the curry mixture.
  6. Toss in the chopped tomatoes, bring down the heat to medium and cook until the tomatoes are soft (about 5 minutes).
  7. Add some water, one tablespoon at a time, to start building up the sauce (about 5 or 6 tablespoons).
  8. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
  9. Continue simmering for about 15 minutes to cook the chicken all the way through. Add more water as needed to keep the sauce from getting too thick.
  10. Serve over rice or with naan.

Conclusion

I don’t know about you but I now want to run into my kitchen and whip up this delicious Mauritian curry recipe for myself! This way, I can enjoy some traditional Mauritian food in my very own home. So, use this world food guide to help you travel to one of my favorite destinations any time you like.

Save This Delicious Traditional Mauritian Chicken Curry Recipe For Later!

Author Bio: Jim Vail, is a travel, food, and video creator and a perpetual traveler who has been travel writing for over 15 years. For many years he lived overseas in Germany, Japan, Turkey, South Korea, and the Netherlands, and he’s visited over 90 countries.

Martha Boddie

Thursday 14th of September 2017

I gotta try that!

Corinne Vail

Friday 15th of September 2017

Martha, We have successfully included this dish into our monthly menu planning. We love it. I can't wait to hear your thoughts.

The Thrifty Campers

Saturday 29th of July 2017

This curry dish looks extremely tasty. Thank you for the recipe

Corinne Vail

Saturday 29th of July 2017

I hope you enjoy it!

ourfamilytraveladventures

Friday 28th of July 2017

I love curry and this one looks delicious! I'm looking forward to trying it.

Corinne Vail

Saturday 29th of July 2017

Jen, I love making things from our travels that is simple and tasty. Enjoy!

budgettraveltalk

Monday 1st of May 2017

Wow, I love eating and cooking curries. This one is so simple I've saved it to my Pinterest. We did a cooking lesson in Cambodia in a local's house, but it was 3 courses and not as easy as this one.

Corinne Vail

Monday 1st of May 2017

Jan, I took one in Thailand and we spent so much time grinding the curry in the mortar and pestle...this time it was already powder. Much faster.

travelsewhere

Thursday 20th of April 2017

I'm a big fan of Indian cuisine so it just sounds like yet another reason to visit Mauritius, as if I need more! Yum! #wkendtravelinspiration

Corinne Vail

Thursday 20th of April 2017

Seriously...the curries are just one of many, many dishes we enjoyed....go!

Skip to Recipe