Baked Gateaux Piment; My take on a Mauritian Gajack
These baked Gateaux Piment are inspired by my recent holiday to Mauritius. Â I tried the more traditional deep fried version only a couple of times on the trip, both times from a street food stall, and they’ve been amongst a host of new recipes I’ve been playing around with in my kitchen since I returned.
Gateaux Piment translates from Mauritian Creole to English as chilli cakes, and in the rich Mauritian traditional cuisine they fall under the category of snacks, otherwise known as gajacks. Â They are always deep fried and often served at street food stalls, or also made in the home. Â They can also be eaten for breakfast and often served in a large buttered white bap! Â They’re made from store cupboard ingredients along with a few fresh bits – mostly soaked split peas and spices with chilli and spring onions, although there seems to be no definitive on what should be included. Â Since making these I’ve wondered whether I should have put a more current seasonal British spin on them; wild garlic springs to mind.
Whilst I was still away I jumped onto Amazon to order the only Mauritian cookbook I knew of –Â Sunshine on a Plate by a past U.K. Masterchef winner Shelina Permaloo – Â so that I had the book waiting for me when I got home. Â I have been cooking from the book already, and my version of these gateaux piment is an amalgamation of the many recipes I researched, as well as my own modifications so that they’d survive baking in the oven.
When I decided to tackle these at home it was always my intention to either light fry or bake them.  Even for treat dishes I prefer not to deep fry in vegetable oil, and leave my deep fried adventures to eating out in restaurants or on holiday – who can deny deep fried calamari or chips?  For home cooking, it’s all about making a better choice, even if changing the cooking method undeniably has an affect on the end flavour.  These baked gateaux are heavier as a baked good, likely because I opted to use a little chickpea flour to help them stick together.  They actually turned out a little like the falafel I often make, and despite this they are definitely something I am going to add to my repertoire going forwards.  At last a use for the cheapest pulse of them all – yellow split peas!
Along with my baked Gateaux piment I made a simple dip of homemade mayonnaise with coriander, roti using wholemeal spelt flour (instead of a white buttered roll), and added some leftover squid rougaille I’d made for dinner the previous evening.  I didn’t make a note of these recipes, so here they are just serving as photo props.  More soon I’m sure. However I can send you in the direction of this Mussels and King Prawn Rougaille by Recipes from a Pantry, or this Easy Coconut Roti from Fuss Free Helen.
- 125g yellow split peas, soaked overnight
- 1 large or 2 small spring onions, finely sliced
- 1-2 green chilies, minced
- Handful of chopped fresh coriander
- 1 teaspoon dried cumin
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- A paste made from 2 tablespoons gram flour + 1 tablespoon water
- olive oil
- Drain and rinse the split peas well, then blitz in a food processor until broken down, still leaving some texture. Add the onions, chilli, coriander, cumin and salt. Blitz again very briefly.
- Turn out into a bowl. Press the mixture into a small ball in your hand. If it doesn't stick together easily, then make a paste from the gram flour and water and stir into the mix till well incorporated.
- Using your fingers and the palm of your hands, gather the mix into 12 equal sized balls. Place on a plate and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.
- Pre-heat oven to 200C (fan).
- Place the gateaux on a lined baking sheet and brush with olive oil. Bake in the oven for 18 minutes until crispy and browned, turning over half way.
- Serve warm or cold, ideally with a flavourful dip
Have you tried any Mauritian food before? Â What was your favourite?
I need me some gajacks like these! Love when things you taste on your travels give you inspiration in the kitchen once home!
ITs given me such a thirst for travel I tell you, especially now I can pretend its for my culinary inspiration too! Thanks Kavey.
That’s why I love exploring other cuisines and their traditional dishes – new discoveries! Love the look of these.
I’ve had my mind expanded this last month with lots of travelling. Left me thirsty for more!
Wow, the flavours sound amazing and they look like the kind of things I would make intending to snack on over a couple of days, but actually eat all in one sitting. Haha.
Thanks Emily, I did eat the whole batch within about 24 hours actually 😉
This looks almost like an Indian dish Masala Vada 🙂
Ah maybe, I’m sure there are lots of variations of similiar recipes!
When we make those poppers in Mauritius, we also add 2-3 cloves of garlic and a piece of ginger. Makes them tastier
Ah fab, thanks for your flavour ideas!
I was born in Mauritius and have lived in the U.S. since I was six years old. I’ve had only the fried version of Gateaux Piment (delicious!), but I’m going to try the baked ones soon. Thanks for this recipe.
Ah amazing. I loved Mauritius. So glad you love these gateaux piment too – hope you enjoy my baked version!
I have just made some gâteaux piment as a trial run for vegan guests at Christmas. They look like the Mauritian ones but seem a bit heavy. Next time I will add some sodium bicarbonate to make them lighter. Thank you for the recipe.
Oh cool! Yeah they will be a bit heavier when baked. I love the idea of adding bicarb for some air – good luck with that!
Sharing one ingredient Watercress. My Family receipe from Mauritius. Squeeze excess of water.
Just made some. Yummy. Enjoy
Love the sound of adding watercress, thanks!
Add Watercress. Squeeze excess water. Family recipe.
Baked?? Deep fried is better!! You would not find baked gato pima from street food vendors around the island!!
Hey, yes I tried deep fried ones in Mauritius and I loved them. However I wanted to find a way to make them at home and without deep frying. I know they’re not the same thing, and I mention this in the post. Just a different way of enjoying the ingredients and Mauritian inspiration
Hi Ceri, I made the baked gateaux piment, adding the sodium bicarbonate. They bound well without the gram flour and water. Great idea with an awesome outcome. Very tasty. Thanks xx
Hello Raj, I heard that you had made them and was really happy to hear that! Hope you enjoyed Mauritian independence day, Ceri x
Hi Rajesh, that’s how I remembered the receipe. My parents come from Mauritius, and I never quite found the taste here – thinking maybe maybe falafels might remind me of gateaux piment. Please tell me how much bicarbonate you use per yellow split pea amount. Merci!
We watched Masterchef from Mauritius last night What wonderful memories of living their on HMS Mauritius from 1966-1969. Our favourite treat was to purchase Chilli Cakes from a man at the top of the road. He also supplied us with a couple hundred one night when we were hoarding a farewell party for the eating my husband replaced. Some 40 years later went back for 3 weeks holiday and were able to purchase chilli cakes from his son again on the street of Quatra Borne
Thank you for the recipe. Will have a go
Regards, P Gale. Taunton
I finally caught up on Masterchef last night. Such a joy to see the country and its cuisine celebrated on national TV. I am now craving a lovely fish vindaye curry too! Good luck with your chilli cakes, they’re so delicious aren’t they!
Vindaye is best made from Tuna that has not been damaged when caught. It has a dry flesh and when left aside for two weeks in a sealed container, it is best eaten with a nice long grain Basmati and water cress salad. Cheers Alain.
Can’t wait to make these. I remember we had these at family gatherings as a kid. My dad is from Mauritius and my mum is from the Seychelles, but I was born in Australia. Creole dishes remind me of family and good times
Ah that’s lovely! Enjoy
Hi Ceri, I am glad I found this post of yours. I am a Mauritian residing in Canada, as much as I love the Mauritian snacks or gajacks, it’s very rare I will make any of snacks because of the deep frying, I am always trying to look for recipes where I can bake instead of deep frying. I know it’s not the same but baking is much healthier. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
yes, not the same, but a lovely alternative. I really enjoyed eating the real thing in Mauritius again earlier this year. Glad you enjoy the alternative
Great idea.anybody tried an air fryer ?
I usually use coriander leaves and fennel fresh leaves in equal quantities together with the rest of the ingredients as you have used.I have used bicarbonate on odd occasions but I think I can taste it so I tend not to use it.
The left over gateaux put in an ordinary rougaille and eaten with roti or faratas are great.thanks for your idea of baking the chilli cakes.
No, I’d love to know if anyone has tried that though to cook them – could be fab. Thanks for your thoughts!
A must every afternoon in Tamarin Bay. Or after market jumping on the bus to eat on way. Back home in the bay.Mauritius is chilli cakes. We would fight over the last in bag. My thoughts go back to that time 30 years ago. Took our children at 7-9-11 to live there for 6 months.
Sounds like you had an amazing experience being there!