Seychellois cuisine facts for kids
Seychellois cuisine is the special way people cook and eat in the Seychelles, a beautiful country made of 115 islands. Because the Seychelles are in the middle of the Indian Ocean, fish is a super important part of their food! Over time, the food here has been shaped by many different cultures, like African, British, French, Indian, and Chinese cooking styles.
People in Seychelles love using lots of spices. You'll often find ginger, lemongrass, coriander, and tamarind in their dishes. It's common to see fresh fish and yummy fruits being sold by street vendors all around the islands.
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What Do Seychellois People Eat?
The main foods in Seychelles include fish, seafood, and shellfish. These are almost always eaten with rice. Fish is cooked in many ways, like steamed, grilled, wrapped in banana leaves, baked, salted, or even smoked. Curry dishes, also served with rice, are very popular too.
Other common foods are shark, breadfruit, mangoes, and different kinds of fish.
Popular Dishes to Try
- Chicken dishes: You'll find tasty chicken curries often made with creamy coconut milk.
- Coconut curry: Many dishes use coconut milk to make rich, flavorful curries.
- Dhal: This is a dish made from lentils, similar to what you might find in Indian food.
- Fish curry: A classic dish, combining fresh fish with aromatic curry spices.
- Saffron rice: Rice cooked with saffron for a lovely color and unique taste.
- Fresh tropical fruits: The islands are full of delicious fruits like mangoes, bananas, and soursop.
- Ladob: This is a super interesting dish that can be either sweet or savory!
- The sweet Ladob is made with ripe plantains and sweet potatoes. Sometimes it also has cassava, breadfruit, or soursop. These are all boiled in coconut milk with sugar, nutmeg, and vanilla until soft and creamy.
- The savory Ladob uses salted fish instead of sugar. It's cooked with plantains, cassava, and breadfruit, just like the sweet version, but with salt for flavor.
- Shark chutney: This dish is made from boiled and mashed shark. It's mixed with juice from a fruit called bilenbi and lime, then cooked with fried onions and spices.
- Vegetables: Fresh local vegetables are used in many meals.
Special and Unique Foods
Some dishes in Seychelles are considered very special or unique.
- Bat curry (kari sousouri): This is a very unique dish made with bat meat, considered a special treat.
- Bouyon bred: A tasty fish soup made with green leafy vegetables.
- Bourzwa griye: This is simply grilled red snapper, a type of fish.
- Kari bernik: A curry made with a type of shellfish called bernik.
- Kasava pudding: A sweet dessert made from cassava.
- Satini Reken: Another name for shark chutney.
- Fruit bat: The meat from fruit bats is sometimes eaten as a special food.
- Kat-kat banane: This dish features green bananas and fish cooked together in coconut milk.
- Salad palmis: A refreshing salad made from the tender heart of the coconut palm tree.
Drinks in Seychelles
When you're thirsty in Seychelles, you can enjoy refreshing coconut water straight from the coconut, or fresh fruit juices. For grown-ups, there are local alcoholic drinks like calou (a palm wine) and bakka rum. You can also find local beers like Seybrew and Eku. Most restaurants in Seychelles also offer wine.
Food Industry
The Seychelles is home to one of the biggest tuna canneries in the world! It's called the Indian Ocean Tuna company and is located in Victoria, Seychelles, the capital city. This plant processes a lot of tuna that is then sent all over the world.
