Top 12 Seychellois Foods

Ladob is a Seychellois dish based on plantains, breadfruit, and cassava. It can be prepared in sweet or savory versions. The dessert version is prepared by boiling plantains or cassava in coconut milk, along with nutmeg, vanilla, and sugar as flavorings. When properly made, the dessert has a tender and creamy texture. The savory version uses salted fish boiled in coconut milk with plaintains, cassava, nutmeg, and salt. Ladob is very popular throughout the island, and it is served either hot or cold.Expand

Kari koko zourit is a variety of Seychellois curry featuring octopus cooked in coconut milk. It typically comprises of octopus cut into small pieces, which are first boiled, and then cooked with coconut milk. The concoction is flavored with various herbs and spices. Even though in Seychelles the dish varies from one family to another, with each household having their own unique way of preparing it, other ingredients apart from octopus and coconut milk usually include cubed eggplants, garlic, fresh ginger, curry leaves, cinnamon leaves, curry powder, saffron, masala, chili powder, turmeric, and green hot chili peppers. A favorite of locals and tourists alike, octopus curry is usually accompanied by basmati rice, papaya chutney, and chili relish on the side, as well as palm heart salad, another Seychellois specialty. This traditional Creole dish is a staple at celebrations and festivities on the island.Expand

Pwason griye or grilled fish is among the most popular fish dishes on the Seychelles Islands. It is prepared with fresh fish, often a red snapper or rabbit fish, flavored with crushed chili, garlic, and ginger. The fish is grilled in its entirety and typically served over rice, with sweet potatoes and an exotic tamarind-tomato chutney on the side. Piquant grilled fish is a staple at festivities and gatherings of family and friends during weekends.Expand

Bouillon brede is a type of Seychellois soup that is composed of greens and prepared in the same fashion as spinach. A variety of greens or plants (locally called brèdes) can be used, such as bok choy, chum choy, Chinese lettuce, moringa oleifera leaves, or cos lettuce. The greens of choice are cut into pieces and cooked with bouillon and stir-fried onions, ginger, garlic, herbs, and seasonings. The broth can be spiced up with crushed chilis or flavored with chicken or fish stock, and (sometimes) tomatoes. Light and refreshing, this Creole soup is traditionally served as a side to main meals, typically accompanied by steamed rice, beans, lentils, or fried fish. Rice and brèdes used to be a staple dish for many Creole families during financially challenging times.Expand

Salade de palmiste is a Seychellois culinary delicacy that features heart of palms as the main ingredient. Apart from this gourmet item, other typical ingredients in the salad include green mangos, coconuts, avocados, green tomatoes, red bell peppers, coriander, and mint. All ingredients are finely cut and tossed together with a sweet and sour dressing based on ginger and lime. This specialty is often called millionaire’s salad because the removal of palm hearts is quite laborious and involves cutting down whole palm trees. The palm hearts were traditionally removed from an uncultivated or wild, single-stemmed palm trees, which resulted in the tree’s death. These days, however, this gourmet delicacy is commonly prepared with palm hearts from sustainably harvested palm trees.Expand

Chatini seychellois is a variety of Seychellois chutney that combines ginger, garlic, and chilis, which are all three essential staple ingredients of traditional Seychelles cuisine. The unique blend of these three ingredient - each with a distinctive flavor and fragrance - results in an authentic and quite piquant mixture that is typically used as a condiment or as a side dish. This spicy chutney is a typical accompaniment to a variety of fish and meat dishes.Expand

Pwason sale or salted fish is a traditional dish on the Seychelles Islands dating back to the times when food preservation involved basic means such as pickling and salting. Freshly caught fish is preserved through salting and sun-drying, a process which lends the fish a strong, distinctive flavor. Salted fish is often used in a variety of Seychellois dishes, including chatinis (chutneys) and fish curries, as well as in a local delicacy known as rougail, which is a type of piquant tomato-onion sauce. The salted fish is sometimes fried and it is typically accompanied by rice and a side of papaya chutney. It is usually available at roadside fishermen’s stalls, fish markets, but it can also be bought in some supermarkets.Expand

Soupe de tectec is a type of soup made with shellfish - an essential part of traditional Seychellois cuisine. Tectec shellfish and pumpkin are the key ingredients in this dish. Small in size and with a distinctive white color, tectec shellfish are plentiful on the Seychellois sandy shores from where they are gathered for the preparation of this local soup. Creamy and packed with flavors, tectec soup is beloved by locals and tourists alike, and it is commonly served as an appetizer.Expand

Boiled and mashed shark meat, lime juice, bilimbi fruit, and fried onions are combined with a variety of spices (including turmeric) to create a local delicacy known as chatini requin or satini rekin. The shark chutney is usually served cold, garnished with chives, and accompanied by shredded green papaya, rice, and lentils. It is typically used as a side to various dishes or even as a filling for samosas. Rather salty and with a typical fishy flavor, this Seychellois chutney can often be bought from Creole takeaways.Expand

Grilled red snapper, locally known as bourgeoisie grille or bourzwa grillé, is a fish specialty on the Seychelles Islands. The whole fish is seasoned well and covered with a mixture of lemon juice, garlic, chilis, ginger, parsley, and thyme before it is grilled over low heat. Red snapper’s white, firm, and succulent flesh is delicate and should, therefore, not be overcooked or exposed to very high temperatures. This exotic fish is plentiful on the island and readily available at local markets, but it is also sold at fishermen’s stalls along the roads. White rice, fresh salads with mangos, avocados, or tomatoes, a variety of chutneys, and Creole sauce are just some of the typical accompaniments to this dish. A star among local barbecues and beloved by locals and tourists alike, grilled red snapper is a must on celebratory occasions on the island.Expand