Notes about Recipes in this book

• Spicy aubergine baja

  • Ro_ on March 29, 2023

    Aubergines are my favourite ingredient, so I had to try this recipe out. I used a regular aubergine and sliced it chunkily lengthways, since the original recipe was for finger aubergines. I loved the crispy batter and silky aubergine. The red chilli I used was very mild, I wish I had had the birds eye chillies specified to get a really spicy exterior. I wasn't a fan of the satchini pomme d'amour recommended as a side dish though, I think next time I'd make something with a bit more depth of flavour to dip in.

• Gâteaux piments with crab

  • Ro_ on March 08, 2020

    Well these turned out a bit disastrously, but I'm not sure if it's a problem with the method (after another recipe in this book that suggested that 50 mins was adequate time to cook beef shank I do have my doubts) or with some of the deviations I made. I used green split peas instead of yellow & good quality tinned crab meat instead of fresh, but think both of these things were OK. However, I didn't have time to pre-soak my split peas overnight so I soaked for a few hours then boiled them for 5 minutes: they still had a good bite to them so I thought it was fine, but this may have been an issue. Also I may have over-mixed the batter. Either way, the little crab balls were looking great as I lowered them into the deep fryer, but when I pulled up the basket a couple of minutes later, they had COMPLETELY disintegrated. I did the others in a frying pan with shallow fry, the flavours were great but they weren't crunchy. Flour coating next time maybe? Good flavours, bad texture.

• Chicken with red onions

  • Ro_ on March 23, 2023

    This predominant taste here was the dark soy sauce: I think next time I'd just add one tbsp instead of the directed two, so the onions could come through more. It was a pleasant dish though, and easy to make. Note that it does not serve 4-6 unless you want tapas-sized portions because you're serving with a lot of other dishes too. It serves 2 normal size dinner portions when served on its own with a simple side.

• Spicy Mauritian coleslaw

  • Ro_ on August 16, 2020

    Now, I ended up enjoying this dish but a) I think there are some fundamental issues with the recipe, as I've found with others in this book too, and b) mine looked absolutely nothing like the photo (which to be fair is probably partly because I grated the cabbage and carrots quite finely as oppposed to julienning, but still doesn't explain the colour issue). The recipe calls for 100g cabbage, 100g carrots and 100g green beans and this is supposed to feed 6-8 people. I just don't think this is the case unless you're serving miniscule portions. I cut a tiny piece off my whole cabbage and weighed it: it was 200+ grams, so I scaled up the carrots too. I ended up getting about 4 portions out of this practically doubled recipe. Another thing: she says to cook the seasonings in 5 tbsp oil, this is loads, and I think is another reason the dish did not end up as crunchy and fresh-looking as the version in the photo. All that said, I enjoyed the flavours of this.

• Spicy beef patties

  • Ro_ on February 05, 2020

    These were easy and pretty quick to make, and a big hit with my family. One normal red chilli added the perfect amount of heat, not too much. I omitted the egg as I didn't have any, and it didn't seem to cause any problems - the texture was good and they held together well (I did chill the patties for about 20 mins before frying them to firm them up). I served them with sweet potato fries from an Ottolenghi recipe, but in the summer they'd be really nice with coleslaw or a crunchy salad. The only thing I'd change next time would be to squeeze some lime over before serving.

• Red mullet and fennel

  • mjes on September 29, 2019

    Aaargh! Do you have any idea how hard it is to figure out what Northern Pacific sustainable fish to use instead of a warm water fish you've never eaten? So maybe what I made was "Center-cut black cod fillets and fennel" rather than the red mullet of the original recipe. This recipe produces a fennel slaw with a chili-shallot-lime-fish sauce dressing which is an excellent recipe in its own right. However, break the cod fillets on top, add a crisp crusted rustic bread, a glass of wine and you have a luxurious lunch.

• Grilled swordfish with pomegranate

  • mjes on September 29, 2019

    This exquisite recipe has flavors I think of as Near Eastern - sumac, pomegranate, saffron. I made half a recipe but went a bit heavy on the lime to match my taste and to have a bit more sauce. Yes, there is an error in the instructions in that you are told to add the lime juice twice. I am slightly suspicious that an ingredient has accidentally been left out as the amount of sauce seems skimpy. But the flavor is well balanced, I have no sense of "something missing".

• Chicken fricassee with sweetcorn

  • Ro_ on January 31, 2020

    A bit plain. Though to be fair this is probably the type of recipe that depends a lot on the quality of your ingredients (I used fresh herbs and good chicken, but tinned sweetcorn and a ready made stock gel). It was also very liquidy, the sauce didn't thicken. I wouldn't bother making it again.

• Daube de boeuf

  • Ro_ on February 02, 2020

    Main problem here is that the recipe instructs a total of 70 minutes cooking time, but for me this was nowhere near long enough to tenderise the beef shanks. I was sceptical from the outset that it would take so little time, but I rarely use shanks so gave the benefit of the doubt. In the end I cooked it for 2 hours, and they still weren't properly tender. In the future I'd allow a three hour cooking time. Other than the above problem, the flavours were very nice, and the sauce had a nice gelatinous element to it from the shank bone. I'd just add a little bit of sugar or something else sweet to balance out all the richness a bit.

• Tandoori chicken

  • TLouise on July 20, 2021

    I used a whole chicken for this recipe and adjusted the cooking time accordingly. I marinated the chicken for three hours but didn't feel that the flavour permeated the meat well enough even with the deep slashes in it. The marinade was nice however so if I made again I would be sure to leave it over night.

• White cabbage with cannellini beans

  • Ro_ on November 27, 2022

    I enjoyed this: a simple but healthy recipe with the flavours of cumin and fennel going well with the cabbage and beans. However the rest of my family were not fans, so I probably won't repeat it. I think they just don't like cooked cabbage unless it's disguised in a gratin with loads of cheese.

• Chickpea and potato curry

  • Ro_ on March 09, 2023

    This was a nice curry, but not standout enough to be a "must-repeat". I think it would have been nice with a squeeze of lime at the end to give it another dimension. I have to say: this in no way serves enough for 6 unless they want two tablespoons each. I was serving three and the portions weren't that big.

• Potato and kidney bean daube

  • Ro_ on February 21, 2023

    This was a nice vegetarian curry. Make sure to cut the potatoes fairly small else they will take too long to cook and the sauce will start simmering away. Overall this was a good dish that I would make again if I had the ingredients to use up, but it lacked the wow factor to become a regular staple in our house.

• Spicy quinoa salsa

  • Ro_ on August 06, 2022

    This was a "nice enough" dish, the dressing was definitely the best thing about it, I really liked the combination of lime and paprika. However, I felt like more of the dressing was needed to really lift this salad to the next level.

• Butter bean curry

  • mjes on September 29, 2019

    Can I rate this 6 stars out of 5? I generally prefer curries without tomatoes but this one converted me. I generally prefer my butter beans with mustard and sour cream but this one converted me. As usual, I substituted Kashmiri chilies for the bird's eye chili ... then compensated by making a hot sauce available (okay I even went Mexican in my efforts to avoid making Satchini Pomme d'Amour in a very scaled down quantity.) I suggest letting it sit awhile for flavors to meld as I enjoyed the supper leftovers even more than the lunch original.

  • Ro_ on April 23, 2020

    I thought this was a bit average, but yes as other poster commented it would probably have been better if left to sit a bit. I also used regular curry powder instead of making my own Mauritian powder, and added some red lentils. The chutney with it was very nice but I think something with some citrus/crunch would have been even better.

• Green mango salad

  • mjes on September 29, 2019

    Yes, I have a thing for Mauritian cooking and for green mango salads. The De Young museum in San Francisco once served a nearly "perfect" green mango salad. I've been seeking perfection ever since. This recipe is near the top - mangoes, beansprouts, onion, mint, coriander - is a solid basis of the salad. The carrots work well but I've replaced them with jicama and enjoyed the result. I came to the conclusion that "molasses sugar" refers to jaggery but cane, palm or date, I don't know. I went for palm because that is what I had on hand. I replaced the bird's eye chili with a milder Kashmiri pepper. I went with soy sauce rather than fish sauce. The salad is worth repeating and experimenting with e.g. peanuts rather than cashews, the fish sauce rather than soy, . . .

• Egg rougaille

  • Ro_ on February 19, 2023

    I enjoyed this, but it's not knockout and I'm not sure I'd make it again. It's the kind of thing I'd like for breakfast with some bread, but it's a bit long for a breakfast recipe. Partner thought it was too spicy, so added some greek yoghurt on top of his which I think really enhanced it actually.

• Roti

  • Ro_ on February 17, 2020

    Really quick and easy roti recipe. For minimal effort, I was pleased with how these turned out. Just need to watch the heat: my first attempt burned too much, so I used a medium heat rather than a high heat for the rest. Roll them out v thinly in order to get them cooked and puffy without burnt spots.

  • TLouise on December 28, 2020

    Makes perfect Roti. I thought a tablespoon of salt was alot but they were perfect. I cooked each Roti for two minutes on each side at a relatively low heat.

• Dal puri

  • Ro_ on March 09, 2023

    These were delicious, the texture was really lovely: light and flaky. I didn't add enough of the dal to each dough ball, because I ended up with quite a lot left over, so next time will add more. I see that in a video Shelina also recommends using quite a bit more oil in the cooking than she does in this recipe.

• Satchini pomme d'amour

  • Ro_ on March 29, 2023

    It was nice and fresh tasting, but lacked a zing and depth of flavour for me. Not the sort of thing I'll make again.

• Garlic water

  • TLouise on May 04, 2026

    This is amazing!!

  • TLouise on May 04, 2026

    This is amazing