Giant Crab Soup With Citronelle And Sweet Potatoes

http://www.airseychelles.net/creole/soupCrabe.html

The Giant crab soup with citronelle and sweet potatoes has been prepared by the Seychelles' chef of the restaurant “Café des Iles” in Paris.

Ingredients:

• 2 giant crabs
• 1 liter of water
• 1 spoon of soja sauce
• 3 branches of citronelle
• 2 spoons of gratted ginger
• 1 or 2 sliced chilis
• 2 zests of lime
• 1 1 boiled sweet potato
• Fresh mint leaves

Directions:

• Cook the crabs in boiling water for 5 minutes.
• And cut in 4 pieces.
• Put the 4 pieces of crabs in a frying pan with moderate heat.
• Add the water, leave it to boil, let simmer for a few minutes and scum the surface.
• Pour the broth in a pan and heat for 5 minutes with moderate heat, add the soja sauce, the citronelle finely scliced, the gratted ginger, the chili and the zests of lime.
• Slice the sweet potatoes and dispose them in a plate with the mint leaves.
• Immerse the crabs in the broth for 2 minutes.
• Then add the crab and the broth.

Tuna Fish With Safran And Coconut Milk

http://www.tastycooking.com/seychelles.html

Ingredients:

• 1.5kg of fresh tuna fish
• 3 spoons of sunflower oil
• 1 sliced big onion
• 3 garlic gloves
• 1 1/2 spoon of fresh gratted ginger
• 3 sliced chilis
• 1 spoon of curcuma (safran)
• 1/2 spoon of grinded cardamome grains
• 1 1/2 spoon of salt
• coconut milk of 2 coconuts plus the gratted flesh or a tin of coconut milk of 400g
• a few curry leaves

Directions:

Slice the fresh tuna fish in cubes. Add some salt.

Gently colour the cubes of fish in a frying pan with the oil. Reserve.

And in another pan make the safran & coconut milk sauce.

Put the onion, the garlic gloves, the ginger, the chilli, the safran and leave it to colour.

Add the coconut milk. Put the tuna fish in the sauce and season with salt, cardamome and curry leaves. Cover and cook gently for 10 minutes.

Remove the cover and cook for a few minutes more until the sauce becomes creamy.

This dish is served with basmati rice, tomato chutney or mango and vegetables achards.

Seychellois Stewing Beef With Peppers

http://seychellessensation.blogspot.com/2007_11_01_archive.html

As winter nights are here, there is nothing more comforting than a bowl of steaming rice and beef slow cooked.Using stewing steak makes a beautiful thick sauce. The fat through the steak is very important in the sauce.

I find that stewing steak is not really used which accounts for the very economical aspect of this dish. My butcher has said more customers prefer roasting joints and steak rather than stewing or braising meat. I suppose its a sign of the times. We live in a fast moving world, where we don't have the time to cook these dishes. My argument is that this dish can quite happily sit on the stove or sit in the oven for 40-50 mins whilst you have a bath, or do something else.

I often vary this dish by adding carrots instead of the peppers, is also tastes good with baby potatoes fried and added at the end .Despite the list of ingredients this is a simple easy leave it alone dish.
The ingredients can be doubled or trebled and can be frozen for an even easier supper dish.

Ingredients:

• 500g stewing steak,
• 1 onion sliced in half moons,
• 1 tomato chopped
• 1tsp thyme
• 2 cloves garlic chopped
• thumb sized piece of ginger
• 1 tbsp non flavoured oil
• 2tsp dark soy sauce
• 1tsp cumin seeds
• salt
• pepper
• 2 red chilli's. finely chopped
• 1tbsp flat leaved parsley

Method:

• Add the oil to a pan heat up , when its hot add the cumin seeds, it should pop. Seal the meat and then set aside when crusty and brown. Fry together onions, garlic, ginger,chilli,
• Add the meat to the veg and add the tomatoes, add the soy sauce. Stir fry and then lower the heat and place the lid on and cook slowly, until meat is soft. You don't need any water the meat cooks quite happily without it.
• Add the peppers when the meat is tender and cook to your preference. I love them with a crunch. Add the parsley, cracked black pepper. Serve with plain steamed rice. In Seychelles we don't have brussel sprouts but at this time of year these are perfect.The resulting sauce is thick gelatinous and very tasty.

Bouillon

http://seychellessensation.blogspot.com/2007/10/bouillon-recipe.html

Bouillons are very refreshing. For me they are a comfort food, they are wonderfully quick to prepare. I often have leftover bouillon for brunch and I add the rice to the broth which creates the most satisfying "soup". For families who dont have lots of money this is a very satifsying meal and cheap meal.

Ingredients:

• 1 whole chinese leaves (not one leaf but the whole head),
• 1 medium onion, peeled cut in half and thinly sliced halfmoons,
• 2 garlic cloves , peeled and chopped,
• 2inch of ginger, peeled and grated,
• 1 tsp of thyme ,
• 1 handful of flat leaved parsley,
• 1tsp cumin seeds,
• 1tsp veg/sunflower/rapeseed in fact any flavourless oil,
• 2tbsp chicken stock,(not essential but i do love adding it as it adds a depth to the broth),
• 1/2 pt of hot water from a kettle ,
• salt

Method:

• Cut the chinese leaves in slices (as pictured)
• Heat oil in a deep pan, add the cumin seeds, they should pop and release their unmistakable aroma
• Add the onions, garlic, ginger,parsley,thyme and fry soften these ingredients.3 or 4 minutes. it should smell pretty good
• Add the leaves and coat in the aromatic flavoured oil, before adding the water and stock if using.season with salt and pepper
• Cover and let it simmer for 10 min until the leaves are soft

Seychelles Fish Curry

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/seychellesfishcurry_66231.shtml

Preparation time less than 30 mins
Cooking time 10 to 30 mins

Ingredients:

For 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 chilli
1 tsp grated nutmeg

For curry:
900g/2lb snapper or monkfish
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp sunflower oil
2 onions, chopped
2 tbsp massalé
½ tsp ground turmeric
2 cloves garlic, chopped
small piece ginger, chopped
3 tbsp tamarind water
leaves from 2 sprigs thyme
½ tsp anise
450ml/¾ pint fish stock or water

Method:

1. Dry roast the whole spices until lightly coloured and set aside to cool. Grind finely and stir in the chilli and nutmeg. It can be stored for up to 2-3 months in an airtight jar.
2. Cut the fish into bite-sized pieces, season with salt and pepper, and set aside.
3. 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.
4. Serve with rice.