rojak rendezvous: Glorious Food of Goa

It is only right that I kick off my reports on Goa with Food. Highlight of my trip. Even I hadn't expected this. Everyone knows at least someone who has gotten sick in India. In fact, everybody thought I was nuts to bring my 5 year old there. But none of us got very sick, okay so a little diarrhea but no tummy upset.

We took the usual precautions of only drinking & brushing our teeth with bottled water & not eating street food (which was so tough to do cos I love street food). We didn't stray very far off the beaten track when it came to restaurants either.

The best meal of the day was usually breakfast. Both hotels we stayed in served the usual eggs & omelette on command but also dosa & prata. Even The Girl got into the whole Indian breakfast.

The chutneys that seem to go with everything & anything

Aloo Bhaji (left) potato side dish
that was absolutely delicious

Fresh fruits

I resisted & I debated. The street food all looked tempting. But I didn't. However it didn't stop me from wondering over to check them out. Here's one just outside our hotel in Bangalore.

Here's at the street fair in Margao, Goa. There were half a dozen people crowding round the stall, holding their little aluminium tray of snacks. So concentrated on munching their food, they didn't even notice me inching closer to take the pictures. No idea what these are called but I did get to try them at our hotel. A little later.

We stayed at the Alila Diwa in Goa & every evening, they serve a complimentary high tea of masala tea with a selection of sweet & savoury snacks. On the first day we were there, they did fritters with unripe bananas - a little different from our goreng pisang but no less delicious.

Here is a selection of the Indian breakfast items. I tried to squeeze the sign into the frame so that I can remember what these are.

Sambhar, a potato stew
that is used as a dip for everything

This is easily my favorite.
We ordered the dosa thin & crispy.
Sometimes plain & sometimes with potato filling.

The chef preparing the Uttapams

The pastries & dessert at the Alila is to die for

I was most excited about the food of Goa. This is Mum's Kitchen, located in Miramar Beach just outside of Panjim. Their tag line will give you an idea of what to expect "A move to save Goan cuisine".

My favorite Goan dish - chicken cafreal. Introduced by the Portuguese colonies in Africa. Chicken coated with a marinade of coriander & spices & then grilled or roasted. So delicious. So much so I requested this dish at our cooking class. More on that in another post.

Pork Vindahloo
another Goan dish

served with home made breads

More drool inducing pictures of the excellent desserts

This is the hotel version of the snack that I'd mentioned earlier. These are the ingredients. I forgot to take pictures of the final product. We devoured them in lightning speed.

On our final night, the hotel organised a Portuguese night - complete with food, open bar, musicians, choir & dancing. Old school ball room style entertainment. The creme de la creme of Goan society were there. We were so looking forward to having the feijoada but you won't see any pictures cos it was less than impressive. In fact the food was the disappointment of the evening.