Goan cuisine

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Goan cuisine consists of regional foods popular in Goa, an Indian state located along India's west coast on the shore of the Arabian Sea. Rice, seafood, coconut, vegetables, meat, bread, pork and local spices are some of the main ingredients in Goan cuisine. Use of kokum and vinegar is another distinct feature. Goan food is considered incomplete without fish.

Contents

The cuisine of Goa originated from its Konkani roots, and was influenced by the 451 years of Portuguese rule and the Sultanate rule that preceded the Portuguese. [1] Many Catholic dishes are either similar to or variants of their Portuguese counterparts in both naming or their use of ingredients.

Seafood

Goan prawn curry, a popular dish throughout the state. Goan prawn curry.jpg
Goan prawn curry, a popular dish throughout the state.

The cuisine of Goan people is mostly seafood-based; the staple foods are rice and fish. Kingfish (Visvonn विस्वण or Isvonn इस्वण) is one of the most commonly eaten varieties of fish. Other fish varieties include pomfret, shark, tuna, sardines, and mackerel. Among the shellfish are crabs, prawns, tiger prawns, lobster, squid, and mussels. The cuisine of Goan Catholics is heavily influenced by Portuguese cuisine. The use of vinegar, for example, is very prominent, specifically toddy vinegar, which is made from coconut sap that is retrieved from stems, and is then left to ferment for four to six months. [2]

Introduction of new foods

The Portuguese introduced cashew nuts, pineapples, guavas, potatoes, and tomatoes from Latin America to Goa, and consequently the rest of India. Chillies are the most important aspect of Goan cuisine; it was introduced by the Portuguese and became immensely popular as a very important spice for wider Indian cuisine. One of Goa's beloved dishes is called Sorpotel , which is made from pork.

Goan Hindu cuisine

Goan Hindu cuisine in Goa is mainly pescetarian and lacto-vegetarian and is very similar to Saraswat cuisine, from which it originates. Goan Hindu cuisine is mild, with use of tamarind and kokum for souring, and jaggery for sweetening. It uses spices such as asafoetida, fenugreek, curry leaves, mustard, and urad dal. Onion and garlic are also used. It also includes vegetables, such as lentils, pumpkins, gourds, bamboo shoots, and roots. The medium of cooking is coconut oil.

Popular Goan Hindu dishes include:

Goan Catholic cuisine

Pork vindaloo is a popular Goan curry dish in the state and around the world. Vindalho.jpg
Pork vindaloo is a popular Goan curry dish in the state and around the world.

Goan Catholic cuisine in Goa is a fusion of Goan Hindu and Portuguese cooking styles. Vinegar (made from the toddy of local coconut trees) is used to give the zingy taste to the meat dishes.

Main dishes

'Sorpotel', a picquant pork gravy Goa Sorpotel.jpg
Sorpotel’, a picquant pork gravy

Popular Goan Catholic dishes include:

Sweets and desserts

Sweets and desserts are known by their Konkani name, ‘ Goddxem ’. Popular dishes include:

See also

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References

  1. "Goa and its cuisine". The Times Of India. 3 April 2008.
  2. Ihsan, Aqeel. " ‘“I’m Goan Because I Eat Goan Food”: A Critical Look at the History of Goan Canadians.’ " The Graduate History Review 10, no. 1 (20 September 2021): 51.
  3. "Cricket News, Latest Cricket News Today, Live Cricket Score, Live Score Online Updates".