Mauritian roti beef with star anise
Serves: 6 as a snack, 4 as a main
Prep time: 25 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Martin Poole
Mauritian roti beef with star anise
'This is a classic Mauritian gajak (snack) eaten with a fresh crusty baguette. It’s essentially a stir-fry and is a Sino (Chinese) Mauritian-inspired dish – you’ll always see a version of this for special occasions, and it is perfect for Eid al-Fitr,' says chef Shelina Permalloo
Serves: 6 as a snack, 4 as a main
Prep time: 25 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
280Kcal
Fat
14gr
Saturates
3gr
Carbs
9gr
Sugars
7gr
Fibre
3gr
Protein
28gr
Salt
2gr
Shelina Permalloo
A former MasterChef winner in 2012, Shelina, a Mauritian Muslim born in the UK, is now a successful food writer and presenter. She runs Lakaz Maman in Southampton, where she serves up Mauritian street-food style dishes
See more of Shelina Permalloo’s recipes
Shelina Permalloo
A former MasterChef winner in 2012, Shelina, a Mauritian Muslim born in the UK, is now a successful food writer and presenter. She runs Lakaz Maman in Southampton, where she serves up Mauritian street-food style dishes
See more of Shelina Permalloo’s recipes
Ingredients
- 3-4 tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil
- 500g beef shin, trimmed and finely sliced
- about 3 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 red pepper, cut into strips
- 1 green pepper, cut into strips
- 1 onion, sliced
- 5-10 green chillies, sliced in half lengthways
- 2 heaped tbsp garlic and ginger paste
- 1 star anise
- ½ tbsp ground white pepper
To serve
- 2 spring onions, green parts only, sliced
- small handful coriander leaves
- warm fresh baguettes, sliced in half
Step by step
- Add 1 tablespoon of the oil to a large frying pan or wok and sear the beef in small batches to ensure that it gets colour and flavour, adding more oil as needed. Season each batch with a little salt and a splash of dark soy at the end. Transfer to a plate as you go.
- Using the same pan, add all the other ingredients to the oil and beef juices that are left behind, and stir-fry on a high heat until just tender. If your pan is not big enough you will have to do this in batches to make sure you get a char on everything, otherwise you run the risk of steaming the vegetables which will make them soggy rather than crunchy.
- Return the beef to the pan, stirring everything together to combine. If it needs more seasoning you can add some more salt and a bit more soy depending on your taste (in Mauritius this dish often has MSG added for extra flavour).
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Remove from the heat and scatter over the spring onions and fresh coriander. Serve with warm crunchy baguettes.Waste notWhite pepper – which is hotter than black pepper so should be used more sparingly – adds extra spice to stir-fries. In other dishes, it is used for aesthetic reasons to avoid black flecks. For example, try flavouring white sauces, mashed potatoes or creamy soups with white pepper.
