🥔 SIDE
Toufé Brèdes (Mauritian Smothered Greens)
Leafy greens such as pumpkin shoots or watercress stewed slowly under a lid with onion, garlic and green chilli until soft and dark, the everyday side for rice, dholl and fish.
Mauritian · easy · serves 4
prep 20 min · cook 28 min
~81 cal · 2g protein · 13g carbs · 3g fat · 1g fiber · 5g sugars · 0g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Brèdes is the Mauritian and Réunionese word for leafy greens and for the dishes made from them: watercress, amaranth, mustard leaves, the tender shoots of pumpkin and chayote, moringa leaves (brède mouroum) and leaves (brède songe). Boiled into a light bouillon or cooked down in their own juices, they go beside the rice at almost every Mauritian meal, with dholl, curry or fried fish.
Toufé, from the French étouffée, is the second way: smothered. A little onion and garlic are softened in oil, the greens go in with salt and a green chilli or two, and the lid goes on so they stew gently in the liquid they release. When they have darkened and collapsed, the lid comes off and the juices cook away until only a glossy, savoury tangle of greens is left.
Pumpkin shoots (brède giraumon) and watercress (brède cresson) are two of the most common choices, and the method works for almost any tender green.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and gluten-, dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
- 600 g (about 3 bunches) pumpkin shoots (brède giraumon) or watercress, or amaranth, chayote shoots or mustard greens
- 1/2 medium onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 green chillies, whole or slit, optional
- 1/2 tsp salt, adjust to taste
Instructions
- 1Wash the greens well in several changes of water. For pumpkin shoots, peel the tough outer strings from the stems and discard any hard stalks. Chop the leaves and tender stems roughly.
- 2Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat and cook the onion and garlic for 3 to 4 minutes, until the onion turns translucent.
- 3Add the greens, chillies and salt, stir, and cover the pan. Cook gently for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring now and then, until the greens darken and collapse and release their liquid.✎ Chef’s noteDo not add water. The greens stew in their own juices, which is what toufé means.
- 4Take the lid off and simmer for about 10 minutes more, until most of the liquid has cooked away. Taste for salt and serve hot with rice, dholl or fish.
Mauritian home cooking.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Port Louis. Port Louis is a Creole crossroads, where Indian, Chinese, African, and French cooking meet. Dholl puri, a soft split-pea flatbread rolled around bean curry and chili, outsells everything on the street, alongside rougaille tomato stews and octopus curry.
🗺️
Mauritius. Mauritian cuisine is a true melting pot, fusing Indian, Creole, Chinese, and French flavors into curries, rougaille tomato stews, and street-food dholl puri. Chili, coriander, and island produce define its vibrant plate.
🌍
Africa. The structure repeats across most of the continent: one starch and one sauce. A grain or root is cooked stiff, torn or rolled by hand, and used to carry a stew of leaves, groundnut, okra or fish, usually from a shared bowl and with the right hand. UNESCO listings have followed that logic, inscribing couscous in 2020 as a shared Maghreb tradition and Ivorian attieke in 2024.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Mauritius
Dholl PuriFeather-soft flatbreads with ground split peas hidden in the dough, folded around bean curry and chutney.
RougailleA Creole tomato stew of Mauritius, simmered with thyme, ginger, and curry leaf around fish or sausage.
Farata with Butter Bean CurryFlaky griddled flatbread (farata) served with a light butter-bean curry, a popular Mauritian breakfast.
Browse all Mauritius recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Stews and braises keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated and often taste better the next day. Reheat gently, adding a splash of water if it has thickened.
Make it a Mauritius meal
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NapolitaineDessert
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Toufé Brèdes (Mauritian Smothered Greens)?
Leafy greens such as pumpkin shoots or watercress stewed slowly under a lid with onion, garlic and green chilli until soft and dark, the everyday side for rice, dholl and fish.
Where does Toufé Brèdes (Mauritian Smothered Greens) come from?
Toufé Brèdes (Mauritian Smothered Greens) is a Mauritian dish from Port Louis, Mauritius.
Can Toufé Brèdes (Mauritian Smothered Greens) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Toufé Brèdes (Mauritian Smothered Greens) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Toufé Brèdes (Mauritian Smothered Greens) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Toufé Brèdes (Mauritian Smothered Greens) take to make?
About 48 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 28 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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