Salted Fish Rougaille, served with rice and salad at a local restaurant in Trou-aux-Biches.

What is Rougaille?

Rougaille or rougail is one of the classic Mauritian dishes that everyone on the island loves. It is essentially a tomato-based dish, with incredibly rich flavours thanks to the combination of spices used. Since this recipe is passed down from generation to generation, there are quite a few variations of spice combinations: onions, garlic, ginger, thyme, chilies, cilantro / coriander, spring onions, curry leaves, etc. The point is, feel free to adapt your rougaille recipe and really make it your own.



Once you have the base sauce, you can add anything you want to it: meat, fish, seafood, eggs, vegetables or tofu, the choices are endless. So whether you are a carnivore, pescatarian, pollotarian, vegetarian, or vegan, there is a rougaille for you! My personal favourites are salted fish and dried shrimp, so salty but so yummy!

Here is a recipe you can try:

Creole Smoked Sausage Rougaille

Ingredients:

  • 4 creole sausages, sliced
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 3-4 large tomatoes, diced or pureed (or a can of whole tomatoes, pureed), depending on how saucy you like it
  • 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp ginger paste
  • 10 sprigs of thyme
  • 2 tbsp spring onions, chopped
  • 2 chilies, chopped or sliced in the middle
  • 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
  • Salt, according to taste



Instructions:

In a frying pan, cook the sliced sausages without any additional fat, and then remove and set aside once cooked.

In the same pan, add the onion, and let it cook in the fat for two minutes. Then add the garlic, ginger, thyme, spring onions and chilies, and let it took for another two to three minutes, on medium heat.

Then add the tomato purée, salt and cook for another 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Incorporate the cooked sausages into the rougaille and cook for a minute or two.

Sprinkle the chopped cilantro on top, and serve with rice and a lentil.

Here is a photo of the Rougaille Poisson Salé (salted fish rougaille) that we recently tasted at Ippocampo Restaurant in Trou-aux Biches. They served it with rice and a fresh salad, and it was delicious!