Shrimp Condiment-Mazavarou– is an authentic Seychellois sweet, spicy , sour and fiery condiment, made with shrimps and dominated by chilli. It is used as an accompaniment to enhance, and add that extra heat to, curries, grilled fish and bouyon .
The main ingredients in the Shrimp Condiment- Mazavarou-is the small river shrimps locally known as sevret, derived from the French ‘chevrette’ . These shrimps were at one time present in abundance in all the streams and rivers of the Seychelles. They are quite small and are of many varieties. They are referred to in Réunion as ‘chevaquine’ or ‘petites crevettes d’eau douce’.
Freshwater shrimps were abundant once.
During the days of slavery, the slaves were often fed leftover meals by their masters, which they ingeniously spiced up and adapted to make them appetising. Pungent seasoning and spicing were essential to make ‘poor’ foods palatable. They would also invent spicy condiments including the mazavarou to enhance their meals. The slaves adapted their own home cooking with the joys of lively ingredients and flavours inherited from their new island life.
The slaves would have been able to catch the freshwater shrimps from the rivers and streams. These shrimps used to thrive in fresh running mountain streams. As a young boy, I used to spend hours during the weekends catching them with my net that was made from left over pieces of net curtains. The shrimps were found in abundance up until early 1960’s when they started to disappear! It is sad to admit that they have now almost completely disappeared. This is mainly due to the fact that quite a few streams and rivers have run dry due to deforestation and most of them in the lowlands are contaminated.
The Origin of the Mazavarou
The word mazavarou originates from Romazava a traditional Malagasy dish which is like a ragout or stew made with the Zebu cow and a selection of greens. The main greens used is the ‘brede mafane’ (literally “hot grass”) also known as Spilanthes, electric daisies, tingflower, toothache plant, and buzz buttons. This greens (Acmella oleracea) has one of the most extraordinary flavours you are ever likely to taste.
What makes this greens so unusual? This is because all parts of the plant are packed with a fatty acid amide called spilanthol. The effect of spilanthol on the consumer varies from individual to individual, but typically the initial burst of fresh leafy flavour gives way to a slightly citrus aftertaste. Then comes the oral fireworks – a mixture of tingling, effervescence, chills and numbing, generally accompanied by a mouth-watering sensation!
The transformation of the name Romazava
The term would have been brought over to Réunion Island and Mauritius and eventually to the Seychelles by the Malagasy slaves. Unfortunately, in that process of ‘ adaptation’ to the new island life a few changes happened to the name of the dish. The first two letters ‘ro’ from the romazava moved to the back of the word to create mazavaro; the cookery term then acquired an extra ‘o’ in the Mauritian Creole making it mazavaroo. It also acquired a ‘u’ in the Seychellois creole making it mazavarou.
Transformation of the Dish
Furthermore, the dish changed completely. It became a spicy vegetarian chilli paste in Mauritius and a spicy sambal with freshwater shrimps as its main ingredients in Seychelles. In fact, the ‘Piment Chevrette’ from Mauritius will be the closest dish to our Seychellois mazavarou although the ingredients as well as the method of preparation are different. In both countries, it is served as a spicy condiment that is added to food, typically after cooking, to either impart a specific flavour or enhance the flavour, or to complement the dish.
As mentioned above, the Seychellois mazavarou is neither a sauce nor a paste. It is more like a rough cooked sambal in consistency. A sambal is a chili sauce or paste typically made from a mixture of a variety of chili peppers with secondary ingredients such as shrimp paste, garlic, ginger, shallot, scallion, palm sugar, and lime juice.
Mazavarou and Dry Prawn ‘Balchão’
There is a strong possibility that mazavarou has been heavily influenced by dry prawn ‘Balchão’ which is a fiery pickle from Goa, a region located in coastal western India. The cuisine of the Goan region is heavily based on their abundant seafood, with influences from Hindu, Muslim and Portuguese cultures. Vinegar is a key ingredient in Goan cuisine, giving many of its dishes their signature sharp edge. Coincidentally, vinegar features as one of the main ingredients of mazavarou. Is it possible that there was a fusion between dry prawn ‘balchão’ and ‘romazava’? Or, could it be that, when dry prawn ‘balchão’ was introduced by the Indians to the Malagasy in Mauritus, it was misnamed?
How is the mazavarou prepared?
As already mentioned, the primary ingredient in the mazavarou is dried shrimps which can now be purchased from most Asian shops and big supermarkets. But in days gone by, the small freshwater shrimps, locally called sevret (fr. chevrette) were caught in the mountain streams and rivers using a net made from left over curtain lace material. They were washed to remove gravel and other dirt. They were then spread out in a bamboo basket or lavann, and placed in the the sun to air-dry. Lavann is a fairly flat basket made out of thin strips of woven bamboo. The word originates from the French word ‘vanner’ meaning to sift or winnow. The drying process took a few days. Once dried, they were kept in a jar until needed.
Prepare mazavarou in a well-ventilated area
Prepare the mazavarou in an area where there is a lot of ventilation. This is firstly because when you cook with chillies volatile capsaicin molecules are released into the air, and if inhaled and can irritate your eyes and lungs, leading to coughing fits, choking and discomfort while breathing. Secondly mazavarou has a strong fishy smell and you may not want it to permeate through your house!
What chilli to use?
You may decide to use any type of hot chilli, but the bird’s eye and the piman kabri have traditionally been used because of they were, for a long time, the two most popular chillies on the island.
If you do not have access to green chillies you may use dried chillies. However, you will need to soak them for about 30 minutes to rehydrate them. Roughly chop your chillies and keep.
Preparing the Shrimp Condiment- Mazavarou
Wash dried shrimps and soak in a vinegary water for about four hours to rehydrate the shrimps and wash away all unnecessary debris and , if salted, to wash away the extra salt. This process also helps to soften the shrimps making it easier to pound and also helps to release the flavour. Remove the shrimps for the soaking liquid , lace them in a cloth and wring out as much of the water as possible and keep.
Once you have all your ingredients ready you start by roasting the cumin seeds and mustard seeds in a small wok or a frying pan until they begin to release their aroma. Remove from heat, place in a bowl and allow cool. Do not overcook your spices because you will end end with a bitter flavour.
Use a mortar and pestle and pound the roasted spices with the chilli and then mix in the ginger, garlic into a rough paste. Place in a bowl and add the vinegar and keep. Traditionally, the Seychellois cook uses toddy vinegar to give the mazavarou its sharp edge. However, any vinegar will do.
Heat the oil on a medium flame in a wok-style pan to medium-high heat and add the dried shrimps. Stir fry for a bout 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and allow to cool and then roughly pound them using the pestle and mortar or blend roughly using a food processor. You need a coarse finish.
In the same pan, sweat the onions and add the chopped tomatoes, bilimbi ( or tamarind paste), cracked pepper, cinnamon powder, chillies and curry leaves and cook until the tomatoes are mushy. Then add the spice-vinegar paste, thyme and parsley, sugar and salt to taste, and cook until the oil begins to separate. The sugar helps to balance the flavour. Add the pounded shrimp to this sauce, mix well and cook for an extra 5-10 minutes until all liquid has evaporated. Allow to cool and store in a sterilised jar until needed.
Here is the recipe for the Shrimp Condiment- Mazavarou–
Shrimp Condiment-Mazavarou– is an authentic Seychellois spicy and fiery condiment, made with shrimps and dominated by chilli. It is used as an accompaniment to enhance and add that extra heat to curries, grilled fish and bouyon .
- 300 g sundried fresh water shrimps ( note 1)
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 large onions, finely chopped
- 3 large ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
- 10 curry leaves
- 6 bilimbi, cut in thin rondels or 2 tsp tamarind paste.
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 10 birds eye chillies, crushed ( note 4)
- ½ tsp cracked black peppercorns
- 1 tsp cumin seed
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 2 cinnamon leaves, shredded (or ¼ tsp cinnamon powder)
- 5 cloves
- 1 tsp sugar
- 80 ml vinegar
- 1 sprig thyme- chopped
- 1 sprig parsley- chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 lt water- for soaking of shrimps
- 50 ml vinegar to mix with water for soaking of shrimps
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Soak dried shrimps in vinegary water for a minimum of 4 hours to rehydrate the shrimps and wash away all unnecessary debris and , if salted, to wash away the extra salt. This process also helps to soften the shrimps making it easier to pound and also helps to release the flavour. ( note 1)
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Remove the shrimps for the soaking liquid and use a cloth and wring out as much of the water as possible from the shrimps and keep.
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Roast the cumin seeds, mustard seeds and cloves till they begin to release their aroma.
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Remove from heat and allow to cool.
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Pound the ginger, garlic, chilli and roasted spices into a paste using a mortar and pestle. You can also use a food processor. ( note 2)
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Place in a bowl and add the vinegar and mix. Keep.
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Heat the oil on a medium flame in a wok-style pan to medium-high heat.
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Add the shrimps and stir fry for about 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and allow to cool and then roughly pound them using a pestle and mortar, or blend roughly using a food processor. You need a coarse finish.
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In the same pan, fry the onions till light brown. Add the tomato, bilimbi, or tamarind paste, and curry leaves and fry until the tomatoes are mushy.
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Add the spice-vinegar paste, thyme and parsley, sugar, and cook until the oil begins to separate.
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Add the pounded shrimps to this sauce, mix well and cook for 10 minutes until all liquid has evaporated.
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Taste before you season with more salt because there could till be some residual salt in the paste
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Allow to cool and store in a sterilised jar until needed.
- Dried shrimps can now be purchased from most Asian shops and big supermarkets. Please note that most of the dried shrimps are also salted before being dried and the soaking is critical or your mazavarou may end up being too salty
- You may decide to use a food processor instead of the pestle and mortar. Please note that the paste is not meant to be too fine.
- If you are using a food processor you may decide to add the vinegar to facilitate the blending process.
- You may decide to add more chilli if you want your mazavarou to be extra hot. You can also use any type of hot chilli, but the bird’s eye and the piman kabri have traditionally been used because they were for a long time the two most popular chillies on the islands.
- If you do not have access to green chillies you may use dried chillies. However, you will need to soak them for about 30 minutes to rehydrate them. Roughly chop your chillies before pounding.
Did you make this recipe?
I hope you will enjoy cooking this dish. Please let me know how it turned out for you. If you have a different version of the recipe or have related questions, please leave your comments below.
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