Tag: East African

What to eat in Seychelles

Mélange of Indian, Creole, and French on a granite paradise

La Digue, Seychelles
La Digue, Seychelles

People visit Seychelles for the breathtaking beaches. The food isn’t as amazing. It’s either generic food, like pizzas and fried chicken, or homegrown Creole food. No prizes for guessing which one is worth eating.

Seychellois Creole food is island food with Indian influences and a touch of French. In Africa, Creole refers to any person of mixed ancestry from Africa and colonial Europe. Americans may associate Creole with Louisiana, but it’s really spread out from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean.

The best place to get local food is on Mahé island because that’s where most of the population is. Unfortunately, it’s not where most tourists linger. They head to Praslin and La Digue, with more gorgeous landscapes and luxurious accommodations. So, this guide will cover those islands as well.

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Chakula Hut

This restaurant closed on 29 November 2020. Thanks for the memories!

Satisfying East African Indian meals and a wide range of deep-fried snacks

Outside of Ethiopia and Zanzibar, East Africa doesn’t have great food. It’s a good thing Indian migrants arrived and diversified the food landscape away from overdone boiled and grilled meats. They settled along the coast of Kenya and Tanzania, adopted local produce and created a variant of Indian cuisine. You can sample this sub-cuisine at Chakula Hut on the outskirts of East York.

Exterior of Chakula Hut
Chakula Hut

Although the focus is on East African Indian food, they also offer some traditional Tanzanian and Kenyan treats like mandazi (doughnuts). Also look out for their weekend specials.

The food

One such weekend treat was naryal vaaro mogo (coconut cassava) with beef. Mogo is the Swahili term for cassava/yuca. The mogo was boiled and mashed with coconut milk and spices. Chunks of beef were added, resulting in a hearty lunch stew that is unlike anything in other cultures. It’s a cross between khichdi and coconut curry.

Coconut mogo with beef from Chakula Hut
Coconut mogo with beef

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