Tomato rougail
Local name : Rougail tomate
A Réunion condiment of raw tomato, onion, ginger and chilli crushed in a mortar and set beside a plate of rice.
Photo : Romainbehar · CC0
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 0 min
- Total
- 15 min
- Serves
- 6
- Difficulty
- Easy
Method
- Scald the tomatoes for 20 seconds, peel them, then scoop out the seeds and watery pulp.
- Pound the salt with the deseeded chillies until you have a smooth red paste.
- Add the grated ginger and crush it into the mortar to release its juice.
- Work in the finely chopped onion and pound for a few seconds, stopping well short of a purée.
- Add the diced tomato flesh and press it lightly with the pestle. The mixture should stay coarse.
- Season with the oil and lime juice, then rest it for 30 minutes before serving with rice and beans.
On Réunion the word rougail covers two things. This one stays raw and sits at the edge of the plate as a condiment, while rougail saucisse is a simmered dish. The pounding order matters: salt works as an abrasive against the chilli, and ginger goes in before tomato because its fibres resist once the mortar turns wet.
