All posts tagged: Goa

The Heart Of Goan Cuisine: A Culinary Journey Through Goa’s Local Ingredients

“Food Is Everything We Are… It’s an extension of nationalist feeling, ethnic feeling, your personal history, your province, your region, your tribe, your grandma. It’s inseparable from those from the get -go”- Anthony Bourdain Locally available ingredients most often contribute largely to the essence of regional cuisine. Of course the cuisine is further enhanced by cooking techniques, traditions, cultural nuances and flavor combinations , all contributing to the uniqueness of the dishes from the region. In every sense then it could mean , that Culture and Cuisine go hand in hand. To understand a city or a region one then has to know it’s food, local ingredients and what inspires the cuisine. The region in question is Goa, easily the sunshine state of India and perhaps popular with tourists and locals alike being a beach dotted paradise that promises a laid back lifestyle, fun and frolic. That said the cuisine is best described as an influence of several cultures including Portuguese,African, Arab and Brazilian. The predominant one being Portuguese. Goan staples consist of rice, coconut, …

Goa In The Rains Is Magical

Travel It Makes You Speechless…Then Turns You Into A Storyteller..   Goa in the rains is just magical. The color green takes on a brilliant  hue and turns the lush landscape into a plush carpet.Coconut palms swaying in the breeze and the emerald green contrast of the rice  fields is a breathtaking sight indeed.

Goa…Spice Farms, Food Markets And A Recipe

  This past summer has been a busy one with our dear  son visiting us and keeping me busy in the kitchen too. Bless him.While it’s sometimes a daunting task coming up with new recipes that whet his appetite,it keeps me on the look out for new interesting one’s like this Goa Sausage curry I made up for him and the hubs.It was absolutely wonderful having a houseful again. Now we did  managed to get away on a family vacation to Goa, primarily also to beat the sweltering heat in Mumbai.It’s been a dry monsoon here with hardly any rains,besides Goa in the rains is magical indeed. The quick escape to the land of beaches, sunshine and lush greenery did wonders for the soul and for the food obsessed traveller that I am.As any new journey kindles an excitement brought about by new cultures,cuisines and experiences. The Goan Hubs was thrilled to visit his own country as he often calls it.His family is originally from Goa,however moved away decades ago and now live in Mumbai. …

Meat Rendang: To Indonesia and back

I love entertaining.The idea of a perfect weekend for me is inviting a bunch of friends and cooking for them.Last night we did just that.A lovely evening spent catching up with wonderful friends. I wanted to complement my thai chicken curry with a nice spicy red one.Have been wanting to try out the Indonesian Rendang for quite some time now.So decided to go ahead with it.Most recipes on the net called for the use of a ready rendang paste,which despite having looked around was not available here.I often don’t like to replicate a recipie.It’s great fun to actually play around with the ingredients and com up with a concoction of your own.That’s exactly what I did while making this wonderful Meat Rendang. Now my husband is from Goa and I’ve mastered the use of cooking with coconut in curries be it fish,meat or chicken..So I went along with a coconut curry paste that I would usually make for my Goan curries with of course the addition of the galangal,lemon grass and thai red chillies. My Own version …