|
Goa Sea
Food
Goa is a gourmet's paradise, with the
overall quality of food being excellent.
Seafood in particular is a gastronomic
treat. The choice of seafood, often
cooked in frbeachesnt masalas, is excellent
- Clams, Mussels, Crab, Lobster, Giant
Prawns. Try Ape de Camarao, a spicy
prawn pie with a rice and Semolina
crust. Sannam, like the south Indian
iddli, is a steamed cake of fermented
rice flour, but here fermented with palm
Toddy (also spelt as Todi). Sweet tooths
will adore Bebinca, a rich, delicious
solid Egg Custard with coconut, a
layered sweet, Doce, Ale Bete, Bathique,
Cocado and Bulinos. Large proportions of
dishes and deserts contain coconut in
them.
Eating Habbits
Curries
It is prepared daily with boiled rice.
The taste and flavour of Goan curries
are enhanced by adding red chilly and
the milk of the coconut kernel. There
are varieties of curries like Fish
curry, chicken curry, meat curry and
plain coconut curry.
Pastries
There are lots of them, Pastries are
almost a part of every common meals as
well as occasion and feasts in Goa.
Christmas and the Ganesh Festival are
occasions when they are prepared in all
their varieties. However, the queen of
the delicacies is the BEBINCA. It is
made of eggs, pure ghee, flour, coconut
milk and sugar. Other Goan pastries
would include Doce, Cokad, Dodol,
Bolinhas and Jia de Aronhas.
Rice Dishes
Rice is an important item of Goan diet.
One will find it at every table and
almost at every meal. Rice is eaten with
delicious fish or meat curry, or in the
form of "Pulao", and many other ways.
Feni
A rocket - fuel spirit distilled either
from the cashew fruits or the coconut
sap. Feni preparation is in fact a
cottage industry in Goa and feni is
brewed in many a house. There is also a
milder variety called "Urraca".
Xacutti
It is a curry made of chicken, or lamb
or pigeon and sometimes of turtle-dove.
It is pungent, spicy and delicious. It
is generally eaten with the local wheat
or rice bread and (for men) preferably
washed down with feni.
Fruits
When it comes to fruits Goa have the
Pineapple, the Melon, the Banana, the
Pawpaw, the Custard Apple etc., but
surpassing them all is the Mango, - but
the sweetest, the most luscious and the
most ravishing in taste, are the
Alphonso, the Fernandina and the
Malcorada, and without exaggeration, the
best in the world
Cocktails
Goan Port, a sweeter, interior version
of its Portuguese namesake, is
ubiquitous, served chilled in large wine
glasses with a slice of lemon. Local
whiskies, brandies, rums, gins and
vodkas come in a variety of brand names
come at affordable prices a shot.
Portuguese
Delicacies
Goan cooking has absorbed a strong
Portuguese influence. Palm vinegar,
copious amounts of Coconut, Garlic,
Tangy Tamarind and fierce local chillies
all play their part. Goa is the home of
the famous vindaloo (from the Portuguese
vinho d' alho, literally "garlic wine"),
originally an extra-hot and sour pork
curry, but now made with a variety of
meat and fish. Other pork specialities
include chourico red sausages, sorpotel,
a hot curry made from pickled pig's
liver and heart, leitao, suckling pig,
and balchao, pork in a rich brown sauce.
Delicious alternatives include vinegar
chicken, spicy chicken or mutton xacutti,
made with a sauce of lemon juice,
peanuts, coconut, chillies and spices.
Eating Patterns
Food is usually served in bowls and
placed on long tables surrounded by
several chairs, where the whole family
can sit together for a meal. A meat or
fish dish is a must in every meal, but
vegetables are also essential. The
vegetables are usually cooked without
any spices or masalas unlike the
northern cuisine. There is no special
style as such in eating food in Goa. All
the dishes are eaten together as usual
in plate. |
