Seychelles’ culinary specialties
The Seychelles archipelago is a unique travel destination. Apart from its legendary charm and numerous relaxation activities, it boasts an extraordinary gastronomic heritage. The Seychelles cuisine is rich in colour and flavour, a real discovery and a pleasure for the eyes and the taste buds. Know that you can taste all the country’s culinary specialities during a catamaran cruise.
What are the ingredients used by the Seychellois?
Seychellois cuisine is composed of Indian dishes with spices of oriental origin. It was born from the fusion of French, British, Indian, African and Asian cuisines. It is a mixed gastronomy. It is called Creole cuisine.
The cuisine of the Seychelles is a land and sea association. This gives it a unique appearance and an unparalleled flavour. The ingredients used are varied. Since the archipelago lies at the heart of the ocean, seafood is present in most recipes.
The natives of the country use about 800 species of fish and crustaceans. The freshness of the products is guaranteed since they are caught in the surrounding waters. Some of the best-known are the captain, the tuna, the sea bream, the barracuda, the king mackerel, the shrimp, the lobster and the squid.
Sharks, octopuses, shoemakers, spiny elk, tec-tec and clams are also eaten in large quantities in the Seychelles. The same applies to beef and chicken.
Roots with tubers also have a prominent place in Creole cuisine. The Seychellois mostly use cassava and sweet potato. For the accompaniment, rice is omnipresent.
As mentioned earlier, Creole dishes are served with exotic spices and aromatic herbs. Cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, coriander, ginger, lemongrass, red peppers and tamarind are the most popular.
What are the iconic dishes of the Seychelles?
To begin with, we need to talk about rougail. It is a seafood dish served with spicy tomato sauce. Fish curry is also a traditional dish eaten regularly by indigenous people. It is prepared with fresh fish and curry.
Bernic curry or grilled bourgeois are also popular dishes. For seasoning, a drizzle of lime is enough. This helps to soften the taste of seafood.
Tectec, small shells hunted on fine sandy beaches, are used to make a delicious soup. It can be enjoyed at will on all the archipelago islands, and you can also enjoy it on a catamaran cruise in the Seychelles.
Now we’re going to talk about some pretty original dishes. The Satini rekin or chutney shark is at the top of the list. It’s a shark-skin recipe. The preparation is quite delicate. The shark skin is boiled first. Then it is finely chopped and cooked in the juice of a pressed bilimbi. It’s a pickle-like fruit. It tastes tangy. Following this preparation, the skin becomes tender. All you have to do is consume it with fried onion combined with a few spices. Chutney shark is mostly served as an accompaniment to a main course. In any case, its flavour is authentic.
Also, in the Seychelles, sea snails are used to prepare an exceptional dish. To enhance their taste, a flavoured fruit called jackfruit or garlic is used. It depends on the season.
Add zourite curry to the list of the most popular dishes in the archipelago. Small octopuses cut into dice are the main ingredients of the recipe. They are mixed with grated coconut, a few cloves of garlic, spices, herbs, salt, sugar and concentrated tomato.
If you haven’t tasted bat meat, it’s used to make a well-known Seychellois dish, including curry bats. It tastes like beef. The dish is savoured with mazavarou, a sauce made with red peppers, ginger, garlic and boiling oil.
The eggs of tarns or swallows are still on the list of unusual dishes. You should also talk about coconut curry, a meat or fish stew cooked in a spicy sauce and coconut milk, without forgetting the dhal, a purée of yellow lentils.
The Seychellois produce different vegetables like eggplant, tomato, pepper, cabbage and pumpkin. They use them to make several typical Creole recipes. The best known is the vegetable tart eaten with a spicy sauce. There is also the bredes broth based on Chinese cabbage.
In this mixed cuisine, salads are also a substantial dish. They are served with fish, sweet potatoes, rice or tapioca. Palm kernel salad is highly recommended. It is based on coconut hearts. The billionaire’s salad made with palm hearts is also worth a visit.
We also have to talk about Ladob. The dish is made with simple ingredients available in abundance on all the archipelago islands. Examples include fish, cassava, plantain and breadfruit.
What do the Seychellois have for dessert?
The Seychelles produce various tropical fruits such as mangoes, coconuts, papayas, pineapples, corossols, jamalacs and beef hearts. Local people often turn them into juices, marmalades or sorbets.
But they are also used to make salads, mousse, tarts and other delicious desserts. Recipes to try include pumpkin fritters coated with vanilla syrup and flambé bananas.
Banana kat-kat is also a typical Seychelles dessert. It is prepared with banana and tuna, dipped in salted and peppery coconut milk. The Seychellois love boiled bananas or coconut milk fries.
Also to be discovered during your stay in Seychelles, the ladob sweet version. It is a famous dessert. It is prepared with ripe plantain, sweet potatoes, breadfruit, corossol and cassava root. The ingredients are boiled with sugar, coconut milk, vanilla and nutmeg.
Finally, don’t forget to try the cassava pudding or cake. It is a popular dessert in the country. It is prepared with tapioca cooked with grated coconut, sweet potatoes, wild raspberries and honey.
The typical Seychellois drinks
Above all, it should be noted that the Seychelles does not produce wine. That’s why this product is expensive. Wines served in restaurants and sold in local shops are often imported from South Africa.
However, the country has many traditional drinks that delight your taste buds. Start with the Seybrew, a local beer regularly consumed by locals. It is served in restaurants and hotels.
The Coco d’Amour liqueur is also a flagship drink in the Seychelles. It is based on sweet coconut milk.
If you spend time with the locals, you can taste the calou, a wine with a sweet or tangy flavour and toddy. These are alcoholic beverages made with fermented coconut syrup. There is also pineapple rum or bacca.
Lemonade, ginger beer, tonic water and bitter lemon are also eaten in large quantities in the Seychelles.
For those not too fond of alcohol, cocktails made with fresh fruit are a real treat. There is something for everyone. Finally, just like the British, the Seychellois also drink tea. Even if it is a popular beverage.
The main places to discover Seychellois cuisine
Do you want to make a gastronomic stay and taste all the Seychellois culinary specialities? You have to book a table in a restaurant. Most establishments opt for the buffet option. You won’t have a hard time finding fares within your reach.
It is also a good idea to prepare meals yourself with a guide from a native of the archipelago. However, it takes time and will. So for a short stay, it’s not practical.
To discover the archipelago while enjoying its culinary specialities, the solution is to take a cruise by boat with a skipper. The iconic Seychellois dishes are served during the walk. Moreover, it is an original and pleasant way to spend the stay.
A gourmet cruise with Aquatic II
The catamaran cruise promises to be an unforgettable adventure with our Aquatic II. Not only can you enjoy the scenery and all the water activities available in Seychelles, but you will also have the chance to savour the local dishes.
When you arrive on board the Aquatic II, a Lagoon 440 built by an expert, the skipper will welcome you with a welcome cocktail. At the same time, you can develop the route.
During the trip, cooking on board the catamaran will introduce you to the dishes that are the reputation of the Seychelles. They will prepare meals with the fish you just caught from the ocean.
While waiting for lunch or dinner, you can relax and have fun. Alternatively, you can attend the preparation to learn a few lessons.
The cruise will be according to your desires and your rhythm. The skipper and the cook are only there to guide you and serve you to make the journey more pleasant and secure. Do you want to taste the best specialities of the archipelago? Book your catamaran cruise with a skipper online now!
