Seychelles dahl: The Creole dish that's a family heirloom

This Seychellois dahl holds a special place in our family recipe book.

A Creole red-lentil dahl from Seychelles. Source: Teneal Zuvela

I grew up listening to stories about my mum's childhood in the Seychelles Islands. I loved hearing about the gardens filled with mango trees, gigantic tortoises and fish caught from the verandah, just as much as I loved listening to the loud and joyful creole language that flowed through the house when family came to stay. But most of all, I loved sitting down to the big pot of red-lentil dahl that my mum cooked for us every week.  

My granddad moved his family to the Seychelles in the late 1960s after learning about the African archipelago from one of his taxi passengers back in Perth. A childhood on the islands ensured that my mum left with some essential Seychelles skills: the local Creole language, the ability to crack open coconuts on rocks and the perfect recipe for Seychellois dahl.

Teneal Zuvela's mum grating coconuts for dinner. Source: Teneal Zuvela

In the Seychelles, red-lentil dahl, or lantiy, usually accompanies a spread of grilled fish, rice and salad. The dish is prepared by cooking red split lentils down until they almost resemble a puree. The flavour is enhanced with garlic, ginger and a generous pinch of salt. Sometimes, a bit of fresh coconut is grated on top. Like most Seychellois dishes, the dahl is born of the island's colourful heritage, being an amalgamation of French, East African and Indian cuisines.

Teneal Zuvela and her family love Seychelles dahl. Source: Teneal Zuvela

For my mum, red-lentil dahl brings up memories of weeknight dinners in the Seychelles that involved buying packets of fish strung together with palm leaves from the local fishermen on the beach. The fish, usually karang (trevally), bourzwa (red-emperor snapper) or makro (mackerel), were stuffed with garlic, chilli and ginger, and grilled whole. A green-mango salad dressed with lime juice, some rice and a helping of dahl completed the spread.

Most of all, I loved sitting down to the big pot of red lentil dahl that my mum cooked for us every week.

In Perth, we ate red-lentil dahl with fish caught by my dad on the other side of the same ocean. I eagerly mixed heaped spoonfuls of dahl into my rice and forgot about the freshly caught whiting on the table. Years later, I learnt how to cook the dahl myself and slowly began varying the dish.

Teneal Zuvela's mum and her friend preparing dinner. Source: Teneal Zuvela

For my mum, the best version of the dahl is the simplest, but I enjoy adding a few extra ingredients to the meal: chopped-up potatoes, a handful of cherry tomatoes, lots of spinach, coriander and a dollop of Greek yoghurt on top turns the dish into something more than just a side dish. This version of the dahl travelled with me to France where, with my last few euros, I made pots of it in tiny hostel kitchens and served it with thick slices of bread from the boulangerie. When I moved out of home and began hosting dinner parties, my friends quickly came to expect a big pot of dahl to be waiting for their arrival. 

My mum's family fled the Seychelles Islands during the 1979 coup d'etat, and while her father and brother eventually returned to make a life there, she did not. Our family has visited the islands over the years, but I know that she would've liked my brother and me to experience more of her childhood home than we did. However, her weekly pot of dahl has been enough to transport us all back to the Seychelles.  

These days, I make the dahl more than my mum does, but it's become a meal that means a lot to us both.  

 

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Photographs by Teneal Zuvela 

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Red-lentil dahl (lantiy)

This red-lentil dahl is a traditional Seychellois side dish that's served with fish, rice and salad. Every family will make their red-lentil dahl slightly differently, and this is the way that my family makes theirs. 

Serves 4-5

Ingredients

• 2 cups red split lentils 
• 1 cup vegetable stock 
• 2 cups water 
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed 
• 1 tbsp ginger, grated 
• Salt, to taste 
• Pepper, to taste 

Method

1. Rinse the red split lentils in a bowl of cold water until the water looks clear.  
2. Add lentils, vegetable stock and water to a medium-sized pot on medium-high heat and bring to a boil. 
3. Turn down to low heat and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring when the lentils stick to the bottom of the pot. Add a little more water if they stick. 
4. Once lentils have lost their shape and resemble a puree, add garlic, ginger, salt and pepper and simmer for another 10 minutes, remembering to keep stirring. 
5. Take off heat and serve immediately with rice. 

Note

• Red-lentil dahl can be stored in the fridge for up to five days and frozen after that.