Other than its beaches, the highly sought party scene, and the casino boats, what else does Goa have to offer? Why, the food of course. Goan cuisine is spicy and hot owing to a more than liberal use of chili, and yet not so much. It is an ideal blend of the east and the west. One of the chief staples of restaurants in Goa is fresh seafood, caught by local fishermen on a daily basis. European and American food is also readily offered with countless restaurants serving everything from sandwiches to spaghetti, particularly in the popular tourist towns.
All through the Portuguese period (1510-1961) many long-established habits were discarded, new ones added and recipes were customized to suit the needs of the rulers, the ruled and of course the availability of certain ingredients.
The good thing about the cuisine of Goa is that the traditional style of cooking is alive still today. The tourists in Goa can take tours of the neighboring rural areas to see the locals cooking food in clay pots on firewood. They favor these traditional means of preparation because clay pots cook with steam which infuses your meals with the spices you use.
Being a seafood heaven, the grilled fish, mostly Kingfish (seerfish) or Pomfret served in the beach shacks are just delectable! Another fabulous dish to try out is the Shark cutlet. The staple diet though, which happens to be a simple fish curry and rice, must be eaten at the local joints, which serve it with strictly authentic Goan flavors sans the added ‘twists’ and ‘fancy’ ingredients.
The most well recognized Goan dish is perhaps the vindaloo. The name vindaloo is a corruption of the original Portuguese dish from which the modern day Goan vindaloo is derived from: “Carne de Vinha d’ Alhos”, which is a dish of meat, usually pork, with wine and garlic. Over time, the dish became what it is today through a variety of local Goan influences, particularly replacing wine with vinegar and the addition of red chilies and other spices. The modern vindaloo is noticeably hotter and more pungent than the original Portuguese dish.
Here’s an easy yet delicious recipe for pork vindaloo. The quantities of ingredients are for two servings, and may be accordingly increased
Ingredients:
(for the marinade)
1/8 cup of water
1/4 cup of vinegar (preferably palm vinegar, but standard white would do)
4-8 whole red chilies (depending on how spicy they are and how spicy you can eat)
5 whole Kashmiri chilies (they are not as spicy, but give the dish a bright red color that goes with the already hot taste)
Ingredients:
(for the marinade)
1/8 cup of water
1/4 cup of vinegar (preferably palm vinegar, but standard white would do)
4-8 whole red chilies (depending on how spicy they are and how spicy you can eat)
5 whole Kashmiri chilies (they are not as spicy, but give the dish a bright red color that goes with the already hot taste)
1 tsp of cumin seeds
1 tsp of coriander seeds
1 in. cinnamon stick
7-8 pepper corns
3 cloves
1/2 pod garlic, minced
1 in. ginger, minced (a 2:1 pre-prepared garlic-ginger mixture may be used, but it is better if they are freshly minced)
(for the dish)
Vegetable oil (4 tspn)
1/2 kg of boneless pork
1/2 kg onions, finely chopped (you may increase this if you want a thicker gravy)
4-5 green chillies (you may skip this if you don’t want the gravy too hot)
1/2 pod of garlic, finely chopped
1 in. ginger, finely chopped
The pork must be marinated for at least 4 hours before you prepare the vindaloo. For best results, marinate overnight. Here’s the procedure.
With a mortar and pestle, grind the peppercorns and remove to a container It won’t become a fine powder, and that’s just okay. Now grind together cumin seeds, coriander seeds and cloves. When done, add to the ground pepper and grind the cinnamon stick using the mortar and pestle. Add this too to the mixture.
Take the red chilies and Kashmiri chilies together and grind till you get chili flakes. Mix all the ground spices well and add the minced ginger and garlic. Now add water and vinegar and mix well again. To this mixture, add the pork and make sure that all of it gets well covered by the marinade mixture. Refrigerate for 4-12 hours.
Remove the pork from fridge before you intend to start preparing it, so as to bring it as close to room temperature as possible.
Chop the onions, garlic and ginger finely.
In a heavy bottomed skillet, our the oil and smear it all over using your fingers before setting it on high heat. When the oil is hot, add the onions and fry them till they are translucent (~5 min).
Then add the chopped garlic and ginger—and the sliced green chillies if you decided to include them—and fry them stirring for another minute.
Add the pork marinade (keep the marinated meat pieces aside for now) to the skillet and add salt to taste, letting it simmer for a while. Turn the heat to medium and add the pork. You may add more water if you feel there’s not enough liquid, but be mindful that the pork would release its juices as it cooks. Cover the skillet with a lid (or a large steel plate as a makeshift one) and cook on medium for 15 minutes. Your pork vindaloo is ready! Serve with steamed rice for best results.
The best thing about this pork preparation is, easily, the fact it tastes even better on the second day and can be refrigerated for up to a week.
