What's Cookin'?

With the smallest population of any sovereign state of Africa, The Republic of Seychelles is an archipelago in the heart of the Indian Ocean, northeast of Madagascar.

Their cuisine, ranging from hints of French cooking to exotic Indian dishes and flavors from the Orient, features seafood along with their national staple, rice.

The creole cuisine, as it is called, is  rather simple, using mainly fish, especially red snapper, rice, vegetables and exotic fruit. This is not to be confused with  the Louisiana-style of cooking.

Bouillon Poisson
(Fish Stew, Creole Style)
1 lb. of fresh fish, right out of the water, if possible
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 tomatoes, chopped
3 cups of boiling water
Fresh parsley and thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
Fry the onions and garlic in olive oil until transparent.
Add fish and tomatoes. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add boiling water, salt, pepper, parsley and thyme. Cook for 15 minutes.
Serve steaming hot with boiled rice.

Seychelles fish curry    
Massalé:
2 Tbsp. coriander seeds
2 tsp. cumin seeds
2 tsp. black peppercorns
1 tsp. cardamom pods
1 tsp. cloves
Small piece of cinnamon
1 tsp. ground chili
1 tsp. grated nutmeg
Curry:
2 lb. snapper or monkfish
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. sunflower oil
2 onions, chopped
2 Tbsp. massalé
1⁄2 tsp. ground turmeric
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Small piece ginger, chopped
3 Tbsp. tamarind water
Leaves from 2 sprigs thyme
1⁄2 tsp. anise
3⁄4 pint fish stock or water
Dry roast the whole spices until lightly colored and set aside to cool. Grind finely and stir in the chili and nutmeg. It can be stored for up to 2-3 months in an airtight jar.
Cut the fish into bite-sized pieces, season with salt and pepper, and set aside.
Heat the oil in a heavy pan and fry the onion until golden. Stir in the massalé and turmeric and lightly fry. Add the pieces of fish, and all the other ingredients. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes until the fish is ready. Serve with rice.

Daube de Banane
1 vanilla pod, split, or 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 pint coconut milk
6 cinnamon leaves or 3 cinnamon sticks
3 large, ripe, plantains
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
Peel the plantains, cut in half and then half again lengthwise. Place the cinnamon leaves or sticks in the bottom of a pan.
Place the cut plantains on top (with the cut side uppermost) then sprinkle the sugar, salt and nutmeg powder on top.
Add the split vanilla pod then cover with the coconut milk. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for a further 35 minutes. Arrange on a plate and serve.

What’s Cookin’? will run every Wednesday in 2008. A different country’s foods will be featured each week. Next week: Slovenia.