Serves 4 as a main dish

Gateaux Piment (Chilli Cakes) is a popular street-food snack in Mauritius, and is sold in small shops or from homes of people looking to earn a bit of extra income. It is particularly popular at breakfast time and locals often eat it with bread and butter. You may also see these advertised as Gato Pima, which is the Creole spelling of the snack. In this curry the Gateaux Piment are added to a red, very lightly spiced rougaille, with a touch of French influence.
What you need…
• 1 recipe Gateaux Piment
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon garlic paste
• 1 teaspoon ginger paste
• 2 green chillies, sliced
• 2 sprigs of thyme, chopped
• 4 curry leaves
• 6 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
• 0.5 teaspoon salt
• 0.5 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 spring onions, chopped
• Few coriander leaves, for garnish
How you make it…
1. Heat oil, fry onions, garlic and ginger until the onions soften (about 5 minutes).
2. Add the chillies, thyme, curry leaves and fry for 2 minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, salt and pepper, cover the pan and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add water if needed. The tomatoes should have broken down and formed a sauce. If they haven’t then continue cooking.
4. Add the Gateaux Piment, spring onions and coriander leaves, and serve.


The Gateaux Piment will soak up the juices of the rougaille so make sure it’s not too thick before adding them.

If you like this you should try our…
Why were these cakes shivering? … Because they were chilli.
Medium Chicken Curry • Chicken Madras • Chicken Vindaloo • Chicken Bhoona • Chicken Feet Curry (Africa)