Episode V: Mauritius

Bean slicing up the pineapple

Today we took a new step on our trans-continental culinary trip: cooking.  Mauritius, while one of the greatest places on earth, does not have much to offer in terms of restaurants in the Twin Cities, so we decided to make a Mauritian meal ourselves.  A quick google search of Mauritian recipes made it clear that chicken curry would give us the best sample of what we'd be eating if we were actually 300 miles off the coast of Madagascar.

Z working on not messing up the curry

We began with a trip to Whole Foods to lock down some previously unknown spices, such as chopped coriander stem and cumin seeds.  We were unable to find curry leaves, which the recipe demanded we include ten of, but we decided to roll the dice and power through without them.  We also stumbled upon a recipe for a Mauritian cocktail featuring rum, coconut cream, and pineapple juice. 

After the grocery expedition, Christina began work on the beverage by clearing out the inside of a pineapple so we could place our cocktail contents inside, while Zack chopped the onions, chicken, garlic and ginger root. 

Mauritian cocktail!

The first attempt at the drink, while valiant, did not produce the results we were looking for, mostly because the organic pineapple juice we purchased tasted like a jar of salsa left out in the sun.  The pineapple-coconut combo was scratched and the decision was made that Mauritians would be just as happy drinking rum and coke out of a pineapple, which we were too.

Enjoying the curry

Christina proceeded to slice and dice the potatoes while Zack started the curry cooking process.  The recipe called for everything to cook for at least 45 minutes.  After 25 minutes, C-Z checked in on the curry and determined it to be outrageously spicy.  Several attempts were made to balance out the kick, including the addition of pineapple, coconut milk, sesame seed oil, and salt.  Lots of salt. 

Despite a hearty helping of rice and some Mauritian-ish spinach, the spice proved to be a bit too over-powering for C to fully enjoy the meal.  Z, on the other hand, downed his curry in about six minutes and was scavenging on C's left-overs before she'd set her plate down. 

CAT in a BAG, eh?

As with many aspects of life, the process of making this meal proved to be much more enjoyable than the meal itself. 

Obvious next step: go to Mauritius and see what their food and pineapple beverages are truly about.

Thoughts of Mauritius bring happiness to our chilly St. Paul/Minneapolis.