Rougaille of Salted Rabbit Fish – Rougay Kordonnyen Sale

Rougaille of Salted Rabbit Fish, or Rougay Kordonnyen Sale, is one of the classic Seychellois dishes that is enjoyed all over the islands.  It is essentially a tomato-based dish, with incredibly rich flavours thanks to the combination of herbs and spices used.

The salted rabbit fish is slow cooked in a sauce made up of ripe tomatoes , green peppers, onions, flavoured with garlic , ginger and fresh herbs to  create a mouth-watering dish which is robust in flavour and traditionally served  with boiled rice  accompanied with a chilli sauce. Just beautiful!

Origin of the Name

There are two possible sources for the rougay. The first source may be from the French words ‘roux d’ail’, which literally means a roux flavoured with garlic. A roux is a combination of butter or margarine and flour cooked together. It is a base for some thick sauces and there are of three types depending on the degree of cooking namely the white, blond and brown roux. In our case our rougay uses flour, garlic, ginger and ripe tomatoes locally known as ponmdamour (from the French pommes d’amour) as a base. It is a cooking method used mainly for seafood, salted fish; and local sausages that have been fried.

The second source  may be from the Tamil word ‘ûrugaï’ or ‘ouroukaille’ which means a spicy stew and possibly imported to Seychelles from Mauritius where there is a large Tamil population.

Rougay, Rougail or Rougaille in the Indian Ocean

The rougay is a cookery term that is also widely used in the other Indian Ocean islands of Mauritius, Réunion , Madagascar and Rodrigues where it is known as ‘rougaille’ or ‘rougail’. This cooking method, however, is not consistent in every island.  

Rougaille of  Réunion

In Réunion Island, the ‘rougaille’ is an accompaniment  which is equivalent to the satini of Seychelles and Mauritius. Thus, satini ponmdamour (tomato chutney) in Seychelles is equivalent to tomato rougay in Réunion and satini mang is equivalent to mango rougay, etc… They also have two different types of rougaille, namely the  ‘rougaille pilon’ and ‘rougaille marmite’. Two cookery terms that do not exist in the Seychelles. ‘Rougaille pilon’ takes its name from the a pestle-and-mortar method used to make it. The chopped ingredients are seasoned and then roughly pounded in a mortar and pestle. It is uncooked and always has chilli as a major ingredient and is used as a condiment. The  ‘rougaille marmite’  on the other hand is cooked, served as a main dish and may contain a variety of meat or fish.

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Rougaille of Mauritius

In Mauritius , they have the ‘rougaille simple’ or  ‘rougaille  touny’ ,which is purely vegetarian, as well as rougaille of seafood, tofu, eggs, vegetables and meat. The ‘rougaille simple’ is cooked and is closely related to our creole sauce.  The rougaille in Mauritius may also contain coriander, curry leaves, cumin and other spices.

Rougail of Madagascar

Madagascar also has its rougail Malgache. It is in fact closely related rougaille pilon of Réunion because it is not cooked and also used as an accompaniment. The ripe tomato is roughly chopped and not blended but simply mixed with oil, chopped onion, chilli, ginger, lime juice, salt and pepper. This rougail is locally known  ‘lasatery Voatabia’ meaning tomato salad.

Rougay Seselwa

Whereas in Seychelles, although you will encounter quite a few variations of spice combinations, the rougay is always served as a main dish and mainly limited to cooking with local sausages and salted kordonnyen and does not traditionally contain  many spices except garlic, ginger and onion. Chilli is also optional, although most  Seychellois will add some chilli to their rougay.  Herbs like thyme and parsley are also added.

The Rabbit Fish- Kordonnyen

The rabbit fish ,also known as stinging bream, spinefoot or happy moments (Australian), is known in Seychelles as  kordonnyen, derived from the French word ‘cordonnier’ meaning a shoemaker. The name may have originated from the shoemaker spinefoot/ rabbit fish (seganus sutor), which is widely found all over the Indian Ocean. The rabbit fish is a tasty fish that possesses extremely spiny dorsal and anal fins. A very popular fish that has to be handled with care as the needle-sharp and rigid dorsal and anal spines are capable of inflicting painful, but not dangerous, wounds. Watch out for the forward projecting spine in the front of the first dorsal. This spine is not visible and it probably the worst of the lot.

The different types of Rabbit Fish or Spinefoot

There are different types of rabbit fish  in Seychelles , including the streamlined rabbit fish or kordonnyen soulfanm; the blue-spotted rabbit fish or kordonnyen brizan ; the marbled rabbit fish or kordonnyen blan , the brown-spotted rabbit fish or kordonnyen margrit and black eye rabbit fish or kordonyen lafimen ; and kordonnyen molvil, of which I could not find the English name.

Photos courtesy   http://fishesofaustralia.net.au

The salting

The rabbit fish are mostly abundant during their spawning season, or lapondant, and are found  all over the islands, specially around the Consolation area of Praslin Island. The flesh is white and fairly coarse. They are usually caught in fish traps and salted and sun-dried when in abundance. This gives the fish a strong and distinctive flavour. Traditionally, when the fish is salted all the bones, as well as the frame of the fish or zaret (derived from the French arêtes) , are left on.  They are also not removed during the cooking process and this makes eating the dish quite tricky for the uninitiated.  Most Seychellois people enjoy sucking at the bones. This is where the intense flavour lies.

Preparing the salted Rabbit fish

Place the salted fish together with the frame in a stainless bowl and add water. Soak for two to three hours. The soaking serves two purposes.  Firstly, it helps to remove the salt from the fish and secondly, it assists in rehydrating the fish. The aim is never to remove all the salt from the fish completely; there should always be a salt taste remaining. After the fish has been soaked, remove from the water , place in a colander and give in a quick rinse and drain.  In a medium pot boil about 2 litres of water and place fish in. Boil for about 10 minutes. Remove from hot water and allow to cool. Once cooled, pat dry and cut fish into bite size portions. Remember to cut the frames as well.

Finishing the Rougay

Heat some vegetable oil in a frying pan, about 1 cm deep, over high heat until very hot. Quick fry the fish pieces and distribute as many pieces as will fit one layer only. Fry for about one minute on both sides. The idea here is to give some colour to the fish and to add that extra dimension to the flavour. Do not fry for too long as your fish will become tough. This process is locally called ‘pas dan delwil’ meaning to dip in hot oil. Some people eliminate this step. Remove fish  from hot oil and allow the oil to drain. Keep warm.

Leave about three tablespoons of oil in the same pan and sweat off onion and add chopped tomatoes. Then add the tomato purée, thyme, garlic and ginger and cracked pepper. Stir for a minute or so, then add the fish and moisten with some water.  Cook on moist and low heat with lid on pot for about 20 minutes. I keep the lid on to minimise evaporation in order to have some sauce in the rougay. Season and serve with boiled rice.

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