Cuisines of Goa

The of Origins Goan Cuisine

The Cuisine of Goa is a mixture of different food and eating habits of various cultures that have visited the shores of Goa and left behind their choices of tastes and palates.

What is the Staple Diet of Goa and Goans?

The staple diet of authentic Goans is Fish Curry Rice. Also called as Sheet Codi in the local Konkani language. This is a Fish Thali that is eaten by all people of Goa. Sheet Codi or Fish Curry Rice is eaten by Goa Hindus, Goa Christians and even Goa Muslims. It’s like the national food of Goa.

Fish Curry Rice thali of Goa

The staple diet of Goa that is Fish Curry Rice is easily available in every restaurant of Goa. It consists of Organic cooked red rice, Coconut fish curry with a piece of cooked fish in it, a full piece of fried fish, tambdi bhaji or other local vegetable, pickle, green salad and Sol Curry.

Hindu Food Eating Customs

Hindu Goans use a reduced amount of heat, tamarind and Kokum for souring and Jaggery for sugar. They use asafoetida, fenugreek, curry leaves, mustard and urad dal. Hindu cuisine of Goa is not very spicy; less onion and garlic is used. It also includes more vegetables, lentils, pumpkins, gourds, bamboo shoots, roots, etc. It is less oily and the medium of cooking is coconut oil.

Saraswat Daivadnya Brahmins of Goa are mostly fish eaters. They eat fish and chicken on most days, while eating strict vegetarian food (no meat, no-fish diet) on some religious or auspicious days. Fish and meat in their diet is considered as non-vegetarian. On the other hand other Brahmins belonging to the Pancha Dravida category are strictly vegetarian.

The rest of the Goan Hindus are non-vegetarian, but unlike the Catholic Goans, do not eat beef or pork, due to religious beliefs.

Coconut is the main ingredient of all cuisines of Goa

Coconut is the main flavouring ingredient of all Goan foods in Goa. Fresh coconut, in one form or the other, is added or grated, ground fine into a paste or in the form of a milk, extracted from the flesh of the fresh coconut. Since Goa is a tropical climate place, one can find coconut trees growing everywhere in Goa hence these ripe coconuts are available in every open market in Goa and often in grocery stores too.

Hindu Cuisine of Goa

• Fish curry called Hooman ('हूमण' in Konkani) and rice ('शीत' or 'भात'), also known as Kadi or Ambot.
• Fried fish (तळील्लेनूस्ते) or talileMashali
• Fish Suke or Dhabdhabit(सुकें) – Dry spicy preparation of fish, eaten as side dish.
• Fish Udid Methi or Uddamethi (उद्दमेथी) – Type of curry consisting of fenugreek and mackerel. A vegetarian version of this dish is also prepared using Hog Plums (or anything sour and tangy such as pieces of raw mango) and fenugreek.
• Kishmur (किस्मुर) – A type of side dish normally consisting of dried fish (mostly mackerel or shrimp), onions and coconut.
• Dangar or fish cutlets (डांगर)
• Kalputi – It is a dish prepared normally from the head of a large fish, onions and coconut.
• Bhaji or Shak made of different vegetables and fruit (भाजी or शाक)
• Khatkhate (ख़तखतें)
• Tondak, made of beans, cashew nuts, etc. (तोंडाक)
• Godhshe, Different varieties of sweets made of rice, lentils like Payasa, Patoli, Mangane, Kheer, etc. (गोड्शें)
• Different varieties of pickles and Papads (लोणचे and पापड)
• Solachikadi, a spicy coconut and kokum curry (कडी)

Catholic Cuisine of Goa

The cuisine in Goa is a perfect blend of diverse food cultures - the Konkan, the Portuguese and the Bahamani Nawabi traditions. The major attractions of the Catholic cuisine in Goa are its Non Veg food and Seafood in particular. Seafood of Goa consists of fish, prawns, mussels, oysters, crabs, shell fish, lobsters etc. Goan restaurants also offer chorizos (pickled pig's liver cooked in vinegar with tamarind) &Vindaloo (spicy pork). Goans use coconut sauces.

TREAT FOR NON-VEGETARIANS IN GOA

Let us begin our gastronomic voyage from the traditional Goan snack, Pao CumChorizos (fried spicy Goan sausages, sautéed with onions, served in a bread roll) or Iscas de Galinha (fried chicken liver).  Portuguese potato broth with diced greens, called Caldoverde is popular too. In true Portuguese-Goan practice, many of the delicacies on the menu are several types of meat soaked in diverse spices for at least a day or two before being cooked with a plentiful dose of homemade spices.

Or you could try the GalhinaPiri-Piri, which are chicken pieces marinated in a mild mixture of piri-piri and Goan herbs, before being fried. As legend goes the Goa cuisine is responsible for introducing that quintessential Portuguese delicacy Chicken Cafreal (chicken marinated in a mildly spiced green coconut masala and fried) to the people world over. Another mouth-watering specialty of Goa is Pork Vindaloo (Pork cooked in spicy, oily masala gravy). The Goa cuisine promises that if you taste their Goan pork vindaloo once, then any other preparation of pork is not going to appeal to you.

Goan Catholic cuisine in Goa

• Pomfret fried fish
• Crab xecxec
• Ambot tik – A sour curry dish prepared with either fish or meat.
• Arrozdoce – A Portuguese derivative of kheer (sweetened rice) in India.
• Balchão – A curry based on a traditional sauce from Macao, made from shrimp, aguardente, laurel, lemon and chili.
• Canja de galinha – A type of chicken broth with rice and chicken, and is originally a Goan recipe.
• Chamuças – A Goan derivative of samosa.
• Croquettes – Beef cutlets and beef potato chops that are common snacks.
• Feijoada – A stew brought by the Portuguese.
• Roast beef and beef tongue are popular entrees at Goan celebrations.
• Sorpotel – A Goan pork meat, liver, tongue, blood curry that is very spicy.
• Xacuti – Goan curry made with roasted grated coconut with pieces of chicken or beef.
• Samarein Chi Kodi – Goan curry made with fresh and dried prawns.
• Pattoe or Patoleo – A dish of turmeric leaves stuffed with rice, dal, jaggery, and coconut.
• Sanna– A dry rice cake, considered to be a Goan variant of idli.
• Solantulekodi – A spicy coconut and kokum curry.
• Vindaloo – A spicy curry whose name is derived from the Portuguese term for a garlic and wine (vinho e alho) marinade. This is popular in the West, particularly the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Unrelated to aloo (potato).[3]
• Bebik (Bebinca) – A pudding traditionally eaten at Christmas.
• Cashewnutladdus, Nevryo, Khaje, Revdyo, Peda, PuranPoli, Sakhar Bhat, Mangane, Payasa are other well-known dishes. Also, there are several types of halwa like Dali kapa (Halwa made of red gram), Cashewnut Halwa, Mango Halwa, Banana Halwa, Dodol, Pumpkin Halwa, and others.