Mauritian cooking is influenced by three great world cuisines: Indian, Chinese and French. This delicious rougaille draws on all three. Serve this to your guests with heaps of moist split-pea flatbread and a zingy fish salad

Some countries, like some people, are natural entertainers. Mauritius, which supplies today’s recipes, is one of them. Mark Twain famously swooned over the island’s physical beauty: “You gather the idea that Mauritius was made first and then heaven, and that heaven was copied after Mauritius.” But it is more likely the endless waves of immigration than the landscape that makes the island a nation of such hospitable people.

Today, two-thirds of the Mauritian population are descendants of the Indian workers who arrived in the 19th century, almost a third are African Creoles, and the balance is made up by Franco-Mauritians and Chinese. This makes for an intoxicating culinary scene: Mauritius is the only place in the world where the three great world cuisines – Indian, Chinese and French – coexist. Each wave of settlers brought dishes from their home cultures to the island and adapted them to local ingredients.

Under the same roof, you might be served hot curries from the south of India, mild curries from the north, Chinese dim sum, a French boeuf bourguignon, and a variation on a spicy Creole gumbo. Indeed, if you are lucky enough to be invited to a traditional Mauritian Sunday lunch, where each family member brings their own dish, you could be served all of these at the same meal. (The only vestige of English cooking appears to be the crustless, sliced white bread sandwiches many Mauritians have for lunch. Ah, we should be proud.)

Each wave of settlers brought dishes from their home cultures to the island and adapted them to local ingredients.

The ubiquitous rougaille, a rich tomato and thyme sauce used as the base for many dishes, has its origins in southern France, but when mixed with salt fish and a little chilli, it has a distinctly African Creole feel. Add more ginger and serve it with prawns (as here) and it turns Indian, particularly when eaten with chutney as it often is.

Prawn and mussel rougaille

Serve this with soft flatbread, such as dholl puri and a watercress and tomato fish salad, the recipes for which both follow. If you want to do the Mauritian thing and push the boat out for your guests, make some fresh coconut chutney the day before. It will go wonderfully on the side.

Serves 4-6

1 tbsp olive oil, for frying

1 onion, finely chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1cm cube of ginger, grated

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp paprika

A sprig of thyme

400g chopped tomatoes

Salt and black pepper

1kg mussels, cleaned

100ml white wine

500g raw prawns, peeled or unshelled

1 tbsp olive oil

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1 The day before: Prepare the rougaille tomato base by preparing all of the sauce vegetables. Fry the onion and pepper over a medium heat for 10 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, spices and thyme and cook for 1 minute. Tip in the tomatoes and stir well. Cook over a medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure the sauce doesn’t catch. Season well.

2 Divide the sauce in half. Blend one half to a smooth puree then recombine.

3 On the day: Heat a large frying pan (choose one that has a lid) until very hot. Tip in the mussels and quickly pour in the wine. Shake the pan and cover. Leave for a few minutes over a high heat, before checking the mussels to see if they are opening. If they are still closed, leave for another minute. When all the mussels have opened, pour them into a sieve or colander over a bowl, collecting any mussel juice. Remove most of the mussels from their shells and pass the mussel cooking liquor through a fine sieve.

4 In a large pan, heat 1 tbsp oil until hot, then tip in the prawns. Colour the prawns on both sides before quickly adding the rougaille tomato sauce. Stir well and thin it down a little with some of the reserved mussel juice (don’t add all of it if you feel it will make the dish too thin). Simmer for a minute to cook the prawns. Turn off the heat and fold through the mussels. Season well.

Dholl puri

100g yellow split peas

1 tsp ground cumin

250g plain flour

150ml water

A pinch of ground turmeric

Salt

Rapeseed oil, for frying

1 Bring the split peas to the boil, then simmer for 30 minutes, or until just cooked or al dente, but not mushy. Drain well, reserving the liquid.

2 Grind the peas in a coffee grinder, by passing through a mouli, or if these aren’t available use a food processor. Mix in the cumin, season well and set aside.

3 Combine the flour in a large bowl with the turmeric and salt. Make up the reserved cooking liquid to 150ml with warm water. Add to the flour and use your hands to make a soft dough. Knead for a few minutes and leave covered for 30 minutes.

4 Divide into 10-12 balls. Using your thumb make a large indentation in each ball and fill with 1 tsp pea mix. Pinch closed, turn over and flatten each ball. Roll out on a floured surface as thinly as possible. (You may find it easier to roll out the next puri while your first one is cooking.)

5 Heat 1 tsp oil in a nonstick frying pan. Fry each puri for 2 minutes a side until golden. Brush a little oil on each uncooked side as you go. Keep warm in a low preheated oven.

Watercress and tomato fish salad

You can use any leftover fish you might have or simply leave it out if you like.

300g cooked white fish, flaked

2 red chillies, finely chopped

4 spring onions, chopped

2 tbsp chopped coriander

100g cherry tomatoes, quartered

½ cucumber peeled, seeded and cut into 1cm dice

100g watercress, trimmed, thick stems removed, washed and dried

Salt and black pepper



For the dressing

3 tbsp olive oil

Juice of ½ lemon

A pinch of turmeric

Grated zest of 1 lemon

A pinch of ground cumin

1 In a large bowl, gently fold together all the main ingredients, except the watercress, and season well. Arrange the watercress on a serving plate.

2 Whisk together the dressing ingredients and season. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and serve.

Henry Dimbleby is co-founder of the natural fast-food restaurant chain Leon;

@HenryDimbleby. Jane Baxter is a chef and food writer based in Devon; @baxcooka