Goa Cuisine

Visitors to Goa tend to think that food and drink in Goa means the famous
fish, curry, rice and feni package. And for most Goans these are indeed
the three basic necessities of life -- fish, curry and rice.
They combine to make a heavenly daily meal for the average Goan. But
Goan cuisine, like the land itself, has many flavours and tastes with
its vast treasure trove of culinary delicacies.
The long period of Portuguese rule, besides that of the Muslim and Hindu
kingdoms, has left an indelible influence on the original style of Goan
cooking and this has led to an exotic mix of truly tasty and spicy cuisine.
Most people who sample Goan cuisine, enjoy this different and unique style
of food which has a distinct and unique combination of spicy flavours.
A Goan values his food as much as he does his daily siesta (break). And
in his daily meal, seafood always has a pride of place is some form or
the other. From fried fish to exotic concoctions like ambot-tik, sea food
is usually a must on the menu, except for the occasional break for some
religious observance.
Goans take pleasure not only in what they eat, but also how they cook
it. Although modern conveniences have almost completely taken over in
urban areas, the traditional way of cooking in clay pots on firewood continues
in most rural areas of Goa. This style of cooking adds an additional smoky
flavour to the food, highly valued by Goans.
Despite the two schools of cuisine traditions influenced by the respective
religions of Hinduism and Christianity; there are some meeting points
that present an interesting harmony. This blend of various cooking styles
and influences is what makes Goan food so unique among the cuisines of
India.

With a wide variety ranging from prawns to sausages, chicken to beef,
and numerous vegetarian dishes, Goan cuisine is able to satisfy even the
most finicky gourmet appetites. Goa has some magnificent culinary delicacies
like the prawn balchão and sorpotel which have become famous around
the world.
While Hindu Goan food does not seem to have picked up any major Portuguese
influence, the Christian food has been influenced not only by the Portuguese,
but also by its overseas colonies. Traditional Goan cooking calls for
plenty of muscle and time. Grinding is always part of the recipe and the
nicer the dish the longer it takes to make.
Goan food is simple but most, though not all, of it is chili hot, spicy,
and pungent. Items made from rice, fish, and coconut abound in nearly
every Goan meal.
Seafood such as prawns, lobsters, crabs, pomfrets, clams, ladyfish, mussels,
and oysters are used to make a variety of curries, fries, soups and pickles.
Besides fresh seafood, dried and salted fish dishes are also highly prized
by Goans.
In this section we provide a selection of Goa's famous dishes with detailed
descriptions of ingredients and cooking methods so you can reproduce the
exotic flavor of the dishes in your very own kitchen.
So here is a taste of Goa and if you are travelling to Goa don't forget
to pack a healthy appetite.
Warning: main(http://www.acgil.com/google-ads.html) [
function.main]: failed to open stream: HTTP request failed! HTTP/1.1 404 Not Found
in
/home/goaindi/public_html/goa-information/goa-cuisine.html on line
285
Warning: main() [
function.include]: Failed opening 'http://www.acgil.com/google-ads.html' for inclusion (include_path='.:/usr/php4/lib/php:/usr/local/php4/lib/php') in
/home/goaindi/public_html/goa-information/goa-cuisine.html on line
285