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The condiment drawer
Achards and satini
Editorial interpretationA Mauritian plate is often unfinished without something sharp on the side. Achards (pickled vegetables, cabbage common) and satini (chutneys — coconut, tomato, chilli) are how heat, fat and starch get a lift. If a Creole or street meal arrives naked, you are allowed to look around for the jar. Markets sell them in bags and bottles. Heat is not standardised. Coconut satini should taste of coconut, not only of chilli.
A small bag of cabbage achard and a coconut satini if you have a kitchen, or the table jars if you are eating out.
Our field-guide judgement. Useful, not a certificate. Last verified 2026-09-15. Photos are real Wikimedia Commons files, not drawings.