Hi
I’m Prerrna. I live with my wonderful parents and lil brother on a tiny, paradise-like island, Mauritius. After 5 long, tiring years in medical school, I did my pre-registration at J. Nehru Hospital, Rose Belle and, following registration, worked freelance at Pharmacy Dodo, Plaine Magnien. After that, I joined Apollo Bramwell Hospital, Moka as a junior resident and enjoyed working there for 2 years.
I then moved back to J. Nehru Hospital upon my appointment as a Medical & Health Officer and I’m currently posted in the Gynecology & Obstetrics unit. My special interest lies in surgery and I admit spending most of my working hours in the operation theatres. I do not have much free time but, whenever I do, I dedicate most of those precious hours baking for my family and friends.
Photo albums of my kitchen experiments had been up on Facebook for the past couple of years. Each food pic had its own story – the excitement or frustration behind its creation- which went untold when posted under my Cooking and Baking Series.
From here was born the idea of putting together my recipes, resources, tips, mistakes and food related ideas on a food blog that I could personalise and call my own.
Blogging has led me to take genuine interest in food photography and presentation. The photos on this blog have been taken by my old faithful DSC Sony W55 until I got myself a Sony T110 in October 2011. I’d love to take a photography course someday but sadly I never seem to have time for that.
Besides taking pictures of food and writing about it, I have grown to love related activities like setting tables, shopping for tableware, growing flowers and herbs, hunting for exotic ingredients, adding more to my evergrowing collection of cookbooks, and the like.
Thanks for visiting. I hope you enjoy reading my posts and I’d love to have feedback from you.
Hope this gets you Inspired to Bake!
{PrerrnaMirchi}
115 comments
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February 13, 2010 at 2:27 am
Annu
Well done Prerr.. 🙂
This is a really nice way to record your cooking experiences and display the pics..am sure its gonna help me, so thanx a lot..
All the best with the cooking..
Cheers 🙂
March 21, 2010 at 5:27 am
Lovvy Yuvraj Keenoo
nice blog.. keep it up..
April 3, 2010 at 6:03 pm
mina
hello prerna, you are really inspirational dear.
i am fond of cooking etc…but am not well versed
May 30, 2010 at 12:44 am
Matthieu
This is a really nice way to record your cooking experiences and display the pics..am sure its gonna help me, so thanx a lot..
+1
June 2, 2010 at 4:30 pm
Matbakhun
j’adore ton blog , me too i love cooking
ps this is my blog : matbakhun.blogspot.com
July 8, 2010 at 12:50 pm
amit
hi…too good.
July 25, 2010 at 7:32 am
Yukra
Hi Prerrna, im stumbled upon your blog looking for a recipe for our delicious home-made tarte à la banane and i will follow up from now:) very inspiring. keep posting. cheers
September 2, 2010 at 3:16 pm
kevin
Hi,
As we are developing a recipe website (please click on http://www.uni-creation.com/recipes for a preliminary version) portal in Mauritius. We would like to include your recipes as well as promoting yourself with a page dedicated for you together with personal info.
If you are interested, kindly contact us
Email: kevin@uni-creation.com
October 19, 2010 at 2:23 pm
thesunstillshining
..elo.. really nice blog.. i really enjoy cooking (and i’m a better cook than my wife!!) but unfortunately in baking cakes or preparing sweets am null.. i will follow ur blog n try to improve.. thnx 4 sharing and kip up d good work.. cheers 🙂
November 1, 2010 at 12:09 pm
sasikala pakki
very nice blog,as your name suggests it is very inspirational,keep up the good work
December 2, 2010 at 1:46 pm
niksha
hi prer! remember me?we r in the same class f6? i was searching for a ‘tarte banane’ recette, n i happened to land on ur website..well taht really good. wenever i wanna cook smthin really good i know wer to search now.. keep it up! c ya!
December 15, 2010 at 7:22 pm
prerrnamirchi
hi preeniksha! of course mo rapel twa. kan nou zwen la? bisin met ene plan pou cav catchup depi lepok collez 🙂 Tc.
January 17, 2011 at 5:53 am
Tasha
Your blog is awesome Prerrna!! The food is mouth watering!! Keep it up and God Bless 🙂
January 24, 2011 at 11:54 pm
subitha
Hi Prerna,
I am an indian lived in Rose Hills,Mauritius for a year and a half. When we were there we doesn’t like mauritius at all. Always we used to think when we will leave mauritius. Then we stayed in India for six months and then moved to US. After coming to US we realised about the beauty of Mauritius. The food, the people,the beaches etc.. etc., still we are missing..we are longing to come again atleast once in our lifetime. I was searching something and entered into ur blog…it kindled my memories of mauritius..Gato pima,baguette,alouda etc…etc..that’s y this much bigger mail..when i worked in Port Louis we used to buy a fruitsalad type of thing. U know the name of it..We used to buy it from the market..it contains all the tastes,sweet ,sour,spicy..in 2005 they sold it for Rs.10..mouth watering on thinking of it…i luv it…if u know the name and the receipe do write it to me..all the photoes in the blog are awesome..i added ur blog into favourites..everyday going to try one mauritian dish…..
January 26, 2011 at 5:57 pm
prerrnamirchi
Hi Subitha, I’m happy to see that you still hold Mauritius close to your heart in spite of being so far away. I try to blog about mauritian food as often as I can; you can expect the recipe for spicy fruit salad to be up anytime on the blog. Do keep checking back. Tc.
January 26, 2011 at 10:20 am
Cherry
Hi Prerrna… thanks for tht website..well im already engaged n plannin to get married this year or the next one…. mais devine koi 🙂 🙂 🙂 MO PAS KONE CUIT.. well im tryin to learn from mum here n then mais d fois li result lor conflit plito… im happy i cam across ur website..ill try to learn from ya lol…kontan nana mais pas kone cuit kel galere 😦 pas envi ggn reproche et pas bizin bel maman koz mo kozer…lol…well im sure u got my point 🙂
Take Care xx
January 26, 2011 at 6:35 pm
prerrnamirchi
Congrats Cherry! To cav sey ale pren ban cooking classes avan to marrier. Lor mo blog to pou gagne plito ban dessert ek patisserie. Mo penser diriz, carri ek farata ban basic ki bisin matriser avan marrier a moins toi ek to bonom ale manz kfc tou lezour! haha
January 26, 2011 at 7:30 pm
Cherry
haha sa mo p esay tant bien ke mal apran ek mami…mais cki toi to fer li vrmt top…mo esay amelior moi dans both ban bon ti plat morisien et osi dans ban ki to p proposer la.i luv cup cakes 🙂
to ena ene vrai passion.great job.atraver to ban recette manier to expliker etc..trouver to ena bcp lamour dans ceki to fer et sa li vrmt extra ordinaire..keep it up!!
February 1, 2011 at 4:59 pm
Rista D Chutoo
I really love your blog. very interesting!
best of luck
March 13, 2011 at 5:22 am
sheba
absolutely love ur space..will def be back for more…
June 9, 2011 at 9:29 am
kavi
hi need recipe for sutalfine and how to make fishballs…can u help..??
September 28, 2011 at 7:15 am
yusra
i love your blog and your recipes are the best recipes
October 19, 2011 at 3:57 pm
Darshana V
Awesome blog, Prerrna!! I like culinary experiences too, will try some of ur recipes 😉 The pictures are really great too! Keep it up!
November 22, 2011 at 3:50 pm
Sach
Hi! 🙂
Kip it up gurl. U r doing gr8! 😉
December 4, 2011 at 4:19 pm
aisha
hi my name is Aisha am also from Mauritius, today am trying macatia coco which i hope will turn out good. when i was a child i used to wait for the sales man passby so that i can buy my macatia. humhumhum i still have the taste of it. will let you know after i eat it
January 8, 2012 at 7:39 am
emritte bashir ahmad
hi i am a bus driver,i love cooking and baking i visit your site every time i am free,it is really fantastic,but i want to have the recipe of suttar feni and i dont know if you have it,i will be very pleased if i can have it, thank you in advance. i will try to make the mawa samousa next sunday.
January 9, 2012 at 2:24 pm
prerrnamirchi
hello mr bashir, i’m pleased to see that u are a regular follower of the blog. I wish I could help u with the sutalfine but I have yet to get successful with the recipe. Will post it as soon as I have edible results 🙂
January 11, 2012 at 2:21 pm
ahmad bashir emritte
thanks in advance i hope you will be successful very soon
January 30, 2012 at 4:50 pm
Jaynee
Good Job Prerrna…you are doing an excellent job .. I like your recipes..
February 22, 2012 at 5:46 am
Mike
Reading your posts from Sydney. Keen to try some recipes.. In fact we just pulled out the tarte a la banane from the oven! A bientot!
February 23, 2012 at 4:26 pm
prerrnamirchi
hello mike, i’m glad u like the recipes. hope ur tarte banane turned out the way u wanted it to be!
February 23, 2012 at 7:08 pm
Mike
Hey Prerna, tarte was great, although it will never have that Mauritian taste. The short crust needs a bit of work i think (not too refined ha ha) Will try something else soon and will report back! Bye for now.. Mike
March 2, 2012 at 5:21 pm
yusra
hi dear , i tried your vanilla sugar buns recipe and it was really delicious but i also want to try puit d’amour cake for my birthday in March .But its very difficult to find the recipe and i wanted to ask you if you can please help me in getting this recipe since I’am very fond of puit d’amour. Thanks in advance for your reply.
March 4, 2012 at 10:44 pm
prerrnamirchi
hello yusra, i will post the recipe for puit d’amour as soon as I get to make them and take some pics. Wish u happy birthday in advance!
March 22, 2012 at 8:15 pm
Priya
Hi, I ended up on your blog by chance while looking for a Mauritian recipe.. Your blog is just great, especially when you are out of the country and you don’t know how to cook and have this sudden yearning for something of home!
Thanks 🙂
May 4, 2012 at 2:10 pm
iramjaun
Novel initiative and congrats for sharing your recipes.
May 18, 2012 at 8:41 am
yusra
hi dear, hope u fine i have read your article in 5 plus newpaper and your recipe on poutou chaud. In fact you really inspires the mauritian people.
I also wanted to ask for your coconut cake recipe it is powdered cream coconut or the liquid one ?
May 19, 2012 at 5:03 pm
prerrnamirchi
hi yusra, thank u for the kind words. the cream of coconut i use in the coconut cake recipe is the liquid one available in cans. you should be able to find it easily in all supermarkets. if u are a coconut fan, i’m sure u’re gonna love this cake esp the frosting with real toasted coconut 🙂
June 2, 2012 at 10:45 am
yusra
hi, i wanted to ask that when we use grease paper do we have to put flour and butter on it before putting the batter ? because i tried to prepare swiss roll and when i was trying to remove it from the mould , the skin of the cake was seperated from the cake and stick to the paper.
June 3, 2012 at 1:08 pm
prerrnamirchi
hi yusra i guess it depends on the quality of paper u are using but it is always safer to butter and flour any pan to make sure nothing sticks to it. saves u the trouble of cracked cake bases and spending hours scrubbing to get the pans clean 🙂
June 3, 2012 at 3:20 pm
jem
Just discovered your website…. amazing really well done to you…. i know bake and cook mauritian food and i really enjoyed it. Keep it up..xxx
June 7, 2012 at 3:41 pm
vijaya
hello prerrna. ur blog, the recipes.. as mouth watering as the pictures. waiting to have some free time to try at least one.keep it up. and so nice so nice to reply to all the messages. by the way, can u tell me where can i find the cranberries for the muffins?XX
June 8, 2012 at 5:33 am
prerrnamirchi
hello vijaya do try the cranberry muffins, they are quick, easy and absolutely delish. you should not have any problem finding dried cranberries in Food Lovers Market Bagatelle or Rose Belle. Sik Yuen[Curepipe Way] has both dried and fresh varieties. Or you can try London Way Vacoas as well. Hope this helps 🙂
January 7, 2013 at 1:36 pm
Narsimhananda Das
THANK YOU VERY MUCH
January 9, 2013 at 6:45 pm
yusra
congratulations for your super sweet blogging
January 10, 2013 at 5:02 pm
prerrnamirchi
thanks yusra!
February 2, 2013 at 10:18 am
yusra
HI DEAR ,
FOR YOUR BUTTERCREAM ROSETTES ON A CHOCOLATE CATE YOU HAVE PROVIDED THE BUTTER CREAM RECIPE. I WANTED TO TRY THIS CAKE BUT I DID NOT FOUND THE BUTTER CREAM RECIPE
February 4, 2013 at 10:05 pm
prerrnamirchi
Hey Yusra, sorry for not posting the buttercream recipe. I used the same one as for my Bûche de Noël but omitted the coffee flavour: https://inspiredtobake.wordpress.com/2012/12/24/buche-de-noel-coffee-flavoured/
February 28, 2013 at 4:16 pm
yusra
hi ,
for the cream cheese frosting what brand of cream cheese did you use ?
March 2, 2013 at 6:02 am
prerrnamirchi
Hi yusra, Kraft Philadephia is the only thing we have here I guess…
April 8, 2013 at 6:12 am
yusra
hello ,
i wanted to ask you whether when baking cakes or for biscuits can i melt cabdurry chocolate to mix with batter or it should always be cooking chocolate to be used
April 8, 2013 at 6:37 pm
prerrnamirchi
Hi yusra, ideally you should use the best quality chocolate for baking esp if you need to melt it. Chocolate with high cocoa mass are said to yield better results; dark chocolate is better than milk chocolate. I use Lindt 300g slabs for most of my baking and at times Poulain. Cadbury can be cahopped and added to cookie dough or cake batter instead of chocolate chips.
April 17, 2013 at 6:35 pm
yusra
hello
could please post how to make idli , i have recently bought the ‘pan’ to make idli the and 2 times i have tried to make idli and it turned to be the worst that i have ever eaten
April 21, 2013 at 3:37 pm
prerrnamirchi
idli recipe coming soon i hope…
May 2, 2013 at 8:56 am
yusra
happy birthday
May 2, 2013 at 4:33 pm
prerrnamirchi
thnx yusra!
May 26, 2013 at 1:03 pm
Mauritians Inusa
trying it today.
thanks for sharing!
July 7, 2013 at 6:22 am
Karuna
Hi prerna, your recipes are simply amazing , after successfully making tekwa dholl , I tried your gulab jamun real heaven on a spoon ! Lol. Cheers
July 8, 2013 at 8:55 am
prerrnamirchi
great to hear from u karuna! hope that the site keeps u inspired for ur future baking adventures 🙂
August 29, 2013 at 6:19 am
Diya
Hi dear, i really like ur blog and finally found the carre rouge recipe that ive been searching since long. Your blog is very interesting and inspiring. Do you have the recipe for galette de manioc. It is a sort of manioc crepe and wanted to get the recipe. Tnx n keep it up with ur blog 😀
August 29, 2013 at 7:39 am
prerrnamirchi
Hi Diya, I’ll try to get the manioc galette recipe for you. There is one old man who sells delicious homemade galettes in markets and food fairs. Will try to contact him and get his secret recipe 😉
October 31, 2013 at 8:44 pm
sweetzia
hello happy divali and enjoy yourself
can you tell me in what store do you buy fondant
November 1, 2013 at 1:24 am
prerrnamirchi
thank you, I get my fondant from friends coming from abroad but if you need to buy, there’s nuznai trading in rose hill that sells everything related to baking and cake deco. you should be able to find fondant of any colour there. tcare.
November 2, 2013 at 3:43 pm
priya
Love your recipes! 🙂
November 2, 2013 at 6:16 pm
prerrnamirchi
thank you priya!
November 7, 2013 at 3:44 pm
Rajshree
Salut Prerrna je tiens à te remercier pour ce travaille formidable, c’est gentille de ta part de nous partager tes recettes.
Merci beaucoup dear
November 8, 2013 at 8:50 pm
prerrnamirchi
thnx for the appreciation rajshree!
December 7, 2013 at 12:02 pm
sweetzia
do you add water when mixing your gulab jamun or only condensed milk
December 19, 2013 at 1:45 pm
yusra
hello
happy new year & merry Christmas
can you please post a recipe for Mauritian caramel flan before Christmas &
thanks
December 27, 2013 at 7:03 pm
prerrnamirchi
hi yusra, I just made flan today so the recipe should be up by Monday. Sorry could not post before Christmas, too busy with work and New Year preps. Tcare.
December 28, 2013 at 9:36 am
yusra
thanks very much
i have seen your photos of your flan on flickr and it is looking very delicious
but please specify how many tablespoon milk powder you have used , my flan never comes good and it does not even hold well
i will make this flan for new year and thanks a lot
December 30, 2013 at 6:59 am
prerrnamirchi
hi yusra, the recipe for crème caramel is already up: https://inspiredtobake.wordpress.com/2013/12/29/flan-creme-caramel/, do check it out. Happy NY 2014!
January 14, 2014 at 8:25 pm
Priya Daniel
Hi, Just came across your blog while browsing for custard feuillete that i am craving to eat. Love your recipe 🙂 easy and well explained…Will never ever miss homemade food as you are here to share with us all. Hats off to you for your busy work and love for food.
Thanks and best of luck.
January 16, 2014 at 6:38 am
prerrnamirchi
thank you priya!
February 22, 2014 at 2:20 pm
anoushka
Hello doctor..I just remembered I knew you. This morning you treated my baby girl saniya in er. You asked me if I bake. Then I remembered that I have visited your blog a few times. Lol its a small world.
February 23, 2014 at 2:44 am
prerrnamirchi
haha indeed anoushka, hope ur baby is better now.
February 23, 2014 at 6:14 am
anoushka
No still not well. She has cauhht chicken pox from my niece. She has rashes all over 😦
February 24, 2014 at 8:10 am
prerrnamirchi
dnt worry, she’ll recover soon
April 26, 2014 at 10:08 pm
Brinda
Hi Prerrna,I love your blog, your personal stories, experiences and detailed explanations.. Thank you so much for generously sharing your knowledge, tips and techniques. I love your “old” recipes, recettes lontan and your indian sweets, and…I guess I love them all. I came here today looking for massepain greo and massepain vegetarien. No luck unfortunately, unless I missed them in the index. Thanks again et bonne continuation. Regards from Canada..
April 29, 2014 at 4:08 pm
prerrnamirchi
Thanks so much! the encouragement means a lot to me 🙂 I have a few versions for the eggless massepin but not one made with semolina.
June 6, 2014 at 9:25 am
jevina
hi Prerna…hope u doing well dr…he dr i want to cook “Adourson cake” can u gve me the full recipe plzzz…n ze exact ingredients also if possible…thnks dr
June 7, 2014 at 6:09 pm
prerrnamirchi
August 8, 2014 at 7:24 am
thecakearchitect
Hi! I just nominated you for the Leibster Award! http://thecakearchitect.wordpress.com/2014/08/08/leibster-award/
August 10, 2014 at 6:51 pm
prerrnamirchi
Thank you for this award 🙂 I will try to reply to your questions in my next post hopefully..
September 5, 2014 at 2:25 pm
Vja
Hi! I’m trying to improve my Mauritian cooking and stumbled upon your recipe for gateux pima! Your food photography looks so inspiring! I’ll let you know how I get on 🙂 Vja
September 17, 2014 at 7:51 pm
prerrnamirchi
thanks vja!!
January 8, 2015 at 12:17 pm
Naf
Hi Prerrna,
Just wanted to drop a hi. Thank you for your wonderful recipes. Hope you remember me..Nafisa from school during your last year. Take care and keep it up.
January 9, 2015 at 11:50 pm
prerrnamirchi
Hi Naf, hope u’re ok. See u one of these days 🙂
February 4, 2015 at 9:34 pm
Mala
Hi Prerna can you video your recipes please so I can watch in You Tube please thanks
February 8, 2015 at 5:00 am
prerrnamirchi
will try dear
February 4, 2015 at 9:40 pm
Mala
Hi Prerna I used to love merveilles savoury snacks when I was little, I haven’t had it since,can you write the receipe please . Thanks
February 8, 2015 at 5:01 am
prerrnamirchi
oh the famous merveille! need to do a post on that one smday..
February 8, 2015 at 7:47 pm
Mala
Thanks Prerna looking forward to the receipes and video.
February 14, 2015 at 3:50 pm
Mala
Hi Prerna what does 5 3 or 4spoons means . I am not familiar with this .sorry for the ignorance. Thanks Mala fro U.K
March 2, 2015 at 3:32 am
prerrnamirchi
hi mala, 1 tablespoon = 15ml and 1 teaspoon = 5 ml. hope this helps 🙂
March 6, 2015 at 7:31 pm
Mala
Thanks Prerna for this. Hi Prerna is any chance of Sutarfine receipe from scratch. I have seen in indian receipe Kataifi which is frozen filo like pastry which one can buy from Mediterrenean shop. In India they use it from ready made pastry. I vaguely remember when I got married people were making them at home my native Mauritius .is it made from rice beaten up to powder.and I did not pay any attention.looking forward for this receipe please.
March 22, 2015 at 7:38 pm
prerrnamirchi
dnt have the recipe yet dear, it is a tough one to come across 😦
March 23, 2015 at 6:35 am
Mala
No worry Prerna that’s why in India they use the kataifi pastry.however thanks the same.
May 10, 2015 at 3:13 pm
Sharda
Hi Prerna
where can I find Katafi in Mauritius?
May 27, 2015 at 9:22 pm
prerrnamirchi
hello what is katafi plz?
August 2, 2015 at 6:46 pm
Roxane Rose
Hi Prerrna,
It has always been my dream to become a good cook for my family and friends. I work in the Finance Dept fir a freight company and I’m always busy.
I want to tell that my cousin in England gave me your website. Thanks a lot for sharing all your cooking experiences with us.
I’m a beginner but I promise I will try your recipes.
August 7, 2015 at 7:44 pm
prerrnamirchi
hello roxane! I an glad to hear that you are keen to start home baking/cooking. It is only by trial and error that you will learn and develop your own skills. good luck girl!
August 7, 2015 at 9:40 pm
Mala
Well done Prerna. Keep on posting typical Mauritian recipes!
November 14, 2015 at 8:06 am
Anisha
All your recipe i’ve tried turn out yummy thanks a lots 😋😋😋
November 14, 2015 at 6:47 pm
prerrnamirchi
thank u anisha 🙂
June 17, 2016 at 9:46 am
Husie30
I really like your blog. Indeed very inspiring. Feel like cooking whole day….
Good Job & well done!
June 21, 2016 at 7:06 pm
prerrnamirchi
Thank you 🙂
December 9, 2016 at 10:54 am
Roochita
Hey prerr..this is so cool..aster ki mo p check sa apres tou sa lanner la!!!my loss:)) enjoying it fully now..great job dear..keep it up
December 22, 2016 at 4:01 pm
Anjilee
Dear Prerrna, nice blog! I am looking to buy some Mauritian goodies from a good local bakery to take home to India! Can you suggest some place in and around Quatre Bornes where I can pick some napolitaines, massipan and other goodies.
I Am leaving on Saturday! Thanks 🙂
December 22, 2016 at 5:47 pm
prerrnamirchi
Hi Anjilee! I dnt know many pastry shops in QBornes area. Maybe u can try Caprices de Gervais in St Jean or Boite a Gateaux in Vacoas. Bon voyage dr! Hope u can bake some Mauritian pastries n desserts from the blog once u’re back in india 🙂
August 14, 2018 at 7:18 pm
Jaya
Hi, Just found your blog and now I’m excited to recreate your recipes 🙂 My mum was telling me about a cake called tekwa she used to eat and I googled it thinking I wouldn’t find anything but instead up popped your blog. Happy baking !
August 15, 2018 at 8:01 am
prerrnamirchi
thanks jaya! hope u have fun making tekwa 🙂
November 17, 2018 at 6:34 pm
Farha
Hi Prerrna 😊 im so delighted to see your blog… especially a mauritian blog.wow so proud. I miss all my mauritian food and being far from home am trying to make my hubby n lil daughter enjoy mauritian food.
Absolutely love what you are doing 😍 u find time to do what u enjoy even after having a very demanding job. Bravo. Keep up the great work et bon courage😊
November 17, 2018 at 6:43 pm
Farha
A friend of mine suggested your blog cos i needed a baked recipe for cheese sticks! My lil one is crazy abt it ! Hopefully am gona try ur nice recipes with her 😊
December 9, 2018 at 2:21 pm
prerrnamirchi
Thank you Farha! It’s ur kind words that keep me going 🙂