Staple food

Rice is a staple food of Mauritius; it is available in different forms such as fried, boiled, or cooked.^[1] It is eaten along with other dishes made of vegetables, meat, and seafood.^[1]

Main and side dishes

Chinese noodles (fried or boiled), fried rice ("diri frir"), "bol renversé", "boulettes" (i.e. fish balls, vegetables and meat balls in broth), Sino-Mauritian spring rolls, chop suey, "halim" ("haleem"), "biryani" (also "briani" or "brié"), "dholl puri", roti served with tomato sauce and pickles, curry, and "sept caris" (thali) are popular form of dishes for the Mauritians regardless of their ethnicity.^{[3][9][10][11][6]} Another popular dish is "vinnday" (or "vindaye");^[12] the spicier version of vinnday is made by using a mixture of vinegar, mustard seeds, and turmeric.^[1]

Mauritius is known for its sauces and curries which are typically served with meat, seafood, and vegetables dishes.^[1] Other common preparations are chutney, Achaar, and pickles.^[3] The Mauritian curries are unique as they rarely contain coconut milk, typically uses European herbs (e.g. thyme), and uses more variety of meat (e.g. duck) and seafood (e.g. octopus).^[2] The Rougail (also written as "rougay") is a tomato sauce cooked with onions, garlic, chillies, ginger and variety of spices, which is popular; it can be eaten with fish, meat and vegetables.^{[1][2][9][10]} The Mauritian versions of curry, chutney, Rougail, and pickles have a local flavor and differ, at times considerably, from the original Indian recipes.^[5]

Snacks

Desserts and pastries

Alcoholic drinks

Non-alcoholic drinks

Dutch influences

During the Dutch Period (1598-1710 AD), sugarcane (from Java) was first introduced to the island.^[18][19][5] At the time, Sugarcane was mainly cultivated for the production of arrack, a precursor to rum.^[19][5] It wasn't until 60 years later that sugar as we know it was produced.^[5]

In 1639, deer from Java island were brought to Mauritius by the Dutch governor, Adrian Van Der Stel, for livestock purposes.^[20] Following a cyclone, the deer broke free and returned to the wild.^[20]

French and British influences

Sino-Mauritian cuisine

Sino-Mauritian cuisine includes both Chinese cuisine (transmitted from their ancestors and recently learnt through journeys to China) and localization of Chinese cuisine.^[22] Sino-Mauritian cuisine typically consist of fried vegetables, oyster sauce, fried rice, meat, and fish.^[1]

The 19th century saw the arrival of Chinese migrants, who came mostly from the south-eastern part of China;^[6] these Chinese migrants were mainly Cantonese from Guandong, Hakka from Meixian and Chinese people from Fujian.^[23] Chinese migrants mainly lived in harmony in the Chinatown in the capital of Port Louis and shared their culture with other communities.^[23] They are largely credited for making noodles, both steamed and fried, and fried rice popular.^[1][9] Sino-Mauritians also follow and/or have maintained some Chinese food traditions and customs. For example, the tradition of Chinese red eggs which are shared with family members.^[23] It is customary for Sino-Mauritians to eat fried noodles on birthday celebrations.^[12]: 104

Between the 20th and 21st century, some Sino-Mauritian returned to China to learn new culinary dishes and returned to Mauritius introducing new dishes in their restaurant in Mauritius.^[24] In the 21st century, Sino-Mauritians, who resided overseas (e.g. in China, Taiwan) for a few years before returning to Mauritius, also introduced new Chinese food and drinks culture in Mauritius. For example, Bubble tea drinking culture was introduced by Fabrice Lee, a Sino-Mauritian, who in lived in Taiwan for 8 years before returning in Mauritius.^[25] The first bubble tea shop in Mauritius opened in late 2012; since then, there are bubble tea shops in most shopping malls on the island, becoming a popular place for teenagers to hangout.^[17]

Sino-Mauritian festival foods

Furthermore, Chinese and other Asian restaurants are present all around the island, and offer a variety of chicken, squid, beef and fish dishes, most typically prepared in black bean sauce or oyster sauce.^[5] Mauritian families often consider a dinner at an Asian restaurant as a treat.^[5] Delicacies such as shark fin soup and abalone soup can only be found in specialized Chinese restaurants.^[6]

Indo-Mauritian cuisine

Following the abolition of slavery, Indian workers who migrated to Mauritius during the 19th century brought their cuisine with them.^[6] Those indentured labourers came from different parts of India, each with their own culinary tradition, depending on the region.^[6] Traces of both northern and southern Indian cuisine can be found in Mauritius.^[5] As they are the majority population in Mauritius, they are largely contributed for making rice the staple dish.^[1] Dholl-puri and roti which are Indian-origins delicacies have become a common popular form of food for all Mauritians regardless of ethnicities.^[6]

Indo-Mauritian cuisine used common ingredients, such as dals (i.e. yellow-split peas), vegetables, beans, and pickles to accompany the dishes. It also uses extensive amount of spices; common spices include: saffron, cinnamon, cardamon, and cloves.^[6]

Mauritian Creole cuisine

The creole cuisine is eaten by most Mauritians and has its influences from African, Indian, and French cuisine.^[12] Mauritian Creole dishes typically involves the consumption of seafood, fresh vegetables, pulses, beans, and corn.^[1]

Rum industry

During the French and English administration, sugar production was fully exploited, considerably contributing to the economic development of the island.^{[citation needed]}

François Mahé de Labourdonnais was the first person to support the development of rum industry in Mauritius.^[18] When Mauritius became a British colony, the plantation economy was mainly sugar cane.^[18] It was Dr. Pierre Charles François Harel who in the 1850s initially proposed the concept of local distillation of rum in Mauritius.^[18] Mauritius today houses four distilleries (Grays, Medine, Chamarel and St Aubin) and is in the process of opening an additional three.^{[citation needed]}

Tea industry

Tea plant was introduced in Mauritius in 1760 by a French priest, Father Galloys. In 1770, Pierre Poivre planted tea plants on large scale. However, it was only in the 19th century under British rule that commercial tea cultivation was encouraged by Robert Farquhar, the Governor of Mauritius. Robert Farquhar had a tea garden at Le Reduit; however when he left Mauritius, no one was interested in his project. Sir John Pope Hennessy, the 15th Governor of Mauritius, later revived local interest in tea cultivation and a tea plantation at Nouvelle France and at Chamarel.^[16]