GOAN CUISINE
Goa – A small state along the western coast belt of India, famous for its exotic beaches and delicious coastal cuisines. The specialities of the Goan cuisine are a mixture of the Hindu and Christian community and also have influences from the Portuguese. Traditional Goan staple foods consist of fish curry and rice and gradually have developed a cuisine combined with the Indian and Western flavors.
Coconut is the vital ingredient in most of the dishes of the Goan cuisine. Goan food is a simple meal though not all of it is chilli hot, spicy and pungent. The Goans make full use of their proximity to the sea coast by using fish, crabs, lobster, murrels and tiger prawns etc cooked in fresh coconut or coconut milk, garlic hot sauce or dry spices. Pork is a hot favorite among the Goans and they spend hours preparing delicious dishes from recipes often passed down through generations.
Locally manufactured liquor called the Fenny is served all over Goa and is the most popular beverage served in Goa. Being through the Konkan coast means that the Goan cuisine shares the spices grown in the regions of the other stated on the coastal belt like Kerala and Maharashtra.
A typical Goan would prefer lots of seafood and other meats cooked in lots of coconut. The Goan style of meat preparation is adopted from the typical Portugal style of soaking meat in a concoction of spices before cooking.
Most famous cuisines of Goa is the Ambot-tik. It is an exotic sweet and sour dish made of fish. Another famous and delicious local food is the Pork Vindaloo where the pork is cooked in a spicy and oily gravy. It is said that if you taste the typical Pork Vindaloo from the Goan cuisine than you wont like any other pork preparation.
Goa truly offers a palatable gastronomic cuisine which should be tried atleast once.
The Konkan, the Potuguese and the Bahamani Nawabi are the various cuisines of Goa.
Popular Goan dishes are : Pork Vindaloo, Pomfret fried fish, Goan fish curry, Sorpotel, Canja de Galinha, whish is a type of chicken broth with rice and chicken pieces, is originally a Goan recipe, another is Arroz doce, which is a Portuguese adaptation of Kheer and many more.
