{"id":2334,"date":"2012-08-07T20:37:00","date_gmt":"2012-08-08T00:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/veganlovlie.com\/2012\/08\/rougail-or-rougaille-morisyen-mauritian-rougaille-2\/"},"modified":"2019-03-19T22:05:31","modified_gmt":"2019-03-20T02:05:31","slug":"rougail-or-rougaille-morisyen-mauritian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/veganlovlie.com\/rougail-or-rougaille-morisyen-mauritian\/","title":{"rendered":"Rougail (or Rougaille) Morisyen (Mauritian Rougaille)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This Tofu and Mushroom Rougaille<\/strong> or rougail<\/em> is a vegan version of the Mauritian Creole-style tomato based sauce with aromatic herbs like thyme, parsley and coriander.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“What\u2019s Mauritian cuisine like?”, this is a question that I get quite often when I come across people from other countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, Mauritian cuisine is primarily an exotic mix. All continents gather to offer a myriad of colours and flavours. Infact it is more than common for a combination of cuisines to form part of the same meal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mauritius, by default, is composed of a mix of cultures and races that came from mainly Africa, Asia and Europe. A little bit of history would take us back to the days of slavery (the years preceding 1835<\/a>) when the first African slaves were brought to the island, by the English and French, to work in the fields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later, after the abolition of slavery, indentured labourers were brought from India. Then, some Chinese migrants came as well and opened businesses. Nowadays, we have a mix of all these races and cultures along with a few Europeans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best thing about this mix is undoubtedly the rich food culture! Over the years, the cuisines from these different continents have adapted to give the Mauritian cuisine its picturesque aspect and authenticity while still keeping some of their vivid origins. From the French patisserie and other delicacies to the Indian curries without forgetting the ever so popular Chinese noodle, rice and dumpling dishes and tasty African dishes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many<\/a> other<\/a> Mauritian<\/a> dishes<\/a> have been featured on this blog before, although as you may have noticed already, I do not exclusively write about Mauritian food. Well, quite simply because I love food, and for everything new and that seems attractive, I will give it a try or two, then adopt or adapt!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, I’m presenting the Mauritian Rougail (or Rougaille, pronounced ‘roo-guy’). The rougail is undoubtedly a dish that wins the heart of every Mauritian and is sure to win yours too!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Creole-style tomato based sauce with the common addition of sausages, fish and other meat, the rougail also presents itself in a popular vegetarian version too (which happens to be vegan).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The vegetarian version<\/a> is locally called “rougail touni”, literally translated as “naked rougail”. Naked because nothing else is added to the base which basically consists of tomatoes, garlic, onions, ginger and fresh herbs. Then some people like to add their own twist to it like peas and different herbs and other spices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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While the origin of this dish is not exactly known, variations of it can also be found in Reunion island (which is a French island, neighbour to Mauritius), where they make a raw fruity green mango rougail<\/a> and in Madagascar where they also make a delicious raw version<\/a> used as a condiment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Mauritian rougail however, is a cooked dish and the best part is that it is ridiculously easy and quick to make and does not require a long list of ingredients. Most ingredients would be staples in your kitchen I would think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plain “naked” version is made in less than 20 minutes (including preparation time), quicker that it took me to write up this post and the recipe!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rougaille is commonly served over rice or with bread but a lot of Mauritians (including myself) enjoy it over plain boiled noodles as well. And there you have a great combination of different cuisines as part of the same meal!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One more thing, since I personally have reduced the consumption of onions and garlic for probably almost a year now, I have adapted the recipe for myself without them. However, I have included onions and garlic in this recipe as I used to make it before, to keep the authentic version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ve also used tofu in this one but really anything can be added to the tomato base: beans, veggies or even some coarsely crumbled dal chilli cakes<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are more rougaille recipes from the blog that you may like:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Red Kidney Beans and Mushroom Rougaille<\/a> (video below)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plain Rougaille Sauce<\/a> (with video on the post)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Video for Red Kidney Beans and Mushrooms Rougaille.