Category: Goa

A delicious shellfish recipe from Goa, using spices and fresh coconut.
Ingredients
2 1/4 lbs. mussels
4 Tbl. veg. oil
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 medium onion
6 cloves garlic
1 1/4 inch piece fresh ginger root
2 fresh hot chili peppers
1 tsp. turmeric
2 cups freshly grated coconut
1 tsp. salt

Method
Heat the oil and let the cumin seeds begin to spatter before adding
the finely chopped onion. Cook until it is soft. Grind the garlic and ginger
to a paste with a little water. Add the paste to the onion and, after a
few minutes, stir in the seeded and chopped chilies and turmeric. Add the
coconut, salt and about 10 fl. ozs. water. Simmer for about 5 minutes,
then add the scrubbed mussels, still in their shells. Mix well and simmer
for another 5 minutes or so, when all the shells should be open.
From Favorite Indian Food by Dianne Seed

Ingredients
1 lb.. of any fleshy fish
3 potatoes (boiled and minced)
1 level teaspoon
turmeric powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper powder
1 sour lime juice
2 Tsp. fish stock
1 egg (well beaten)
fine breadcrumbs
oil for frying

Method
Clean wash and boil the fish in a little water and salt.
Save the water. Remove bones if any and mash together with the minced potatoes,
turmeric, chili and pepper powders. Add lime juice and stock. Salt may
be added if necessary. Form little oval rolls, dip into beaten edd, coat
with bread crumbs and deep fry until golden brown. Serve hot.

from Goan Cookbook by Joyce Fernandes

Ingredients
1 kg pork
1 lb. pork liver and heart
1/4 bottle vinegar (approx. 300 ml)
a small amount of tamarind and salt to taste
Grind the following in vinegar:
30 dry red chilies
1 teaspoon cumin seed
1 inch piece turmeric
4 cloves
Slice the following:
1 full pod garlic
2 inch piece of ginger
3 onions
4 green chilies

Method
Wash and boil the pork,liver and heart in full piece.

Cool and cut into small cubes, then fry in frying pan (without using any oil) till nice and brown.

Using a little fat from the fried pork, fry the ginger, garlic and onions, until the onions change colour. Add the masala (the mixed spices), fry well then
add the fried pieces of meat. The tamarind paste should be added to the meat
together with a little vinegar (if necessary). Add two teaspoons of salt or more if desired. Cook on a slow fire till meat is tender.

Finally add green chilies.

Cook for another ten minutes and remove from the fire. Sorpotel tastes good on
the next day, and even better after three days or more.

from Goan Cookbook by Joyce Fernandes

Ingredients
1Kg chicken, cut into desired pieces (or or off the bone)
6 Tsp ghee
10 onions
2 coconuts – thick and thin milk extracted from one, the other grated
and roasted in a large pan with two of the onions (sliced) and a little
ghee. This should be roasted until the coconut has gone a pale brown. Grind
this roasted coconut/onion mixture.
2 Tsp coriander seeds
5 peppercorns
15 dried red chilies dry roast the above and grind into a paste with a little
water and add 1tsp turmeric.

Method

Dry roast the following and grind into a paste with a little water:
6 cloves
1/2 inch piece cinnamon
1/2 nutmeg
3/4 Tsp aniseed
1 Tsp poppy seeds
2 limes

Chop four of the onions and fry until light brown. Add the chicken and brown.
Add the coriander etc. paste, fry for a minute and then add the thin coconut
milk. Cook until chicken is tender. Cut the remaining onions into quarters and
add to the chicken, along with the roated coconut and cinnnamon etc, paste.
Simmer for a few minutes then add the thick coconut milk. Add salt if required.
Simmer for 10 minutes or so until sauce has thickened. Sprinkle over some
lime juice prior to serving.

Ingredients
10 large mackerels or sardines
4 large onions (sliced)
2 large tomatoes (sliced)
1 pod garlic (sliced fine)
1 inch piece ginger (sliced fine)
3 Tsp. salad oil
1 Tsp. vinegar
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
4 capcicums/greenpeppers (chopped) or green chilies
2 potatoes (sliced round)
salt to taste

Method
Spread a few slices of onions and tomatoes in a pan.

Halve mackerels and place half the quantity over the onion and tomato slices
in the pan. Put another layer of onions and tomatoes and cover with the
remaining mackerels.

Lastly, sprinkle with ginger and garlic and the remaining onion and tomato slices. Keep the pan on the fine, pour the oil, six or seven Tsp. water and the vinegar over the fish. Add salt if desired.

Close the lid of the pan and allow the fish to cook on a slow fire. Shake
the pan once in a while. When the fish is half done, sprinkle the turmeric
powder, add green peppers or green chilies. Serve with sliced potatoes.

Ingredients
1Kg chicken, cut into desired pieces (or or off the bone)
Dry roast the following in a large pan (until coconut is a light brown,
taking care not to burn the spices):
2 tsp coriander seeds
8 dried Kashmiri chilies
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
5 peppercorns
2 tsp peanuts (unsalted)
1/2 coconut, grated
1 tsp turmeric
4 cardamoms
6 cloves
1 inch piece of cinnamon
1 lemon
salt to taste

Method
Add the turmeric, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon to the roasted spices and
finely grind. Fry the spice mixture in some ghee for a few minutes. Add the
chicken and brown. Add salt and a little water and simmer until chicken is
cooked. Sprinkle over lemon juice a few minutes before serving.

Ingredients
250 grams half-ripe mangoes (i.e. still firm)
2 ripe mangoes
10 Tsp sugar
2 inch piece ginger
12 gloves garlic
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp chili powder
1/2 cup vinegar

Method
Peel and cube the half-ripe mangoes. Mix with the sugar and set aside for an
hour. Peel and chop the ripe mangoes. Grind the ginger and garlic with a little of the vinegar. Add to the sugared mangoes along with the salt and chili powder. Cook over a low heat until the cubes mangoes are tender. Cool and bottle.

Ingredients
1 kg joints
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp mustard seeds
12 Kashmiri chilies
1 head garlic
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 onion, sliced
salt and vinegar to taste

Method
Grind the cumin, mustard, chilies and garlic. Add the turmeric
and enough vinegar to form a paste. Rub the paste all over the chicken
pieces and marinade for as long as possible. Fry the onion until brown
then add the chicken and brown. Add a small amount of water (enough to
stop the chicken drying out) and simmer until chicken is tender. Add salt
and vinegar to taste and cook for a few minutes more. Note :- This is equally
good when lime juice is used in the spice mixture instead of vinegar.

Ingredients
1 kg fine shrimp (known as “galmbo”; in Konkani)
1 bottle palm “feni” (drinking it is a favourite Goan pastime
1 pod garlic
12 peppercorns
6 dry red chilies
3 Tsp. salt
2 clean dry empty bottles

Method
Clean the shrimp thoroughly, wash and tie in a muslin cloth. Allow to
hang for about 12 hours till all the water has drained out.

Sqeeze out any water that may be left. Grind the shrimps,salt, garlic and peppercorns with palm feni only.

Mix dry chilies (whole). If any feni is left, it may be added to the shrimp paste. Fill in the bottle and cap tightly.

Cafreal is one of those dishes where anything seems to go. I was given
many variants, except the one I wanted. A small restaurant in the back of
beyond served the most wonderful Cafreal, so good the locals were queuing
up for tables. The owner though, flatly refused to give me his recipe.
Cafreal is essentially chicken (whole or jointed) marinated in chilies,
lime juice (or vinegar) and spices, then either deep fried, barbecued or
roasted. The following recipe is my interpretation but I am still working
on it. I have used the roasting method as this produces a great gravy.
I also recommend that you make a stock from the chicken carcass, it adds
an extra dimension to a risotto.
Ingredients
1 chicken, prepared for roasting or jointed chicken pieces
juice of 1 lime
1 level tsp salt
5 dried red Kashmiri chilies, ground
3 green chilies, de-seeded
4 peppercorns, ground
1 Tsp coriander seeds, ground
1/2 inch piece cinnamon bark, ground
1/2 inch piece mace, ground
8 cloves garlic
1 inch piece ginger

Method
Rub the salt and lime juice over the chicken (also inside if whole). Grind
all the other ingredients together and rub over the chicken. Cover and marinade
over night in the fridge.

Heat oven to 325C. Place the chicken in a roasting tray and cover with
foil (this is important – the chicken must be moist when done and the spices
must not burn).

For a 4lb chicken, cook for about 2 hrs (adjust the time to the size of bird or if chicken joints are used).

Baste several times during cooking. For the last 15 minutes of cooking, remove the foil.

Remove the chicken from the roasting tray and leave to rest. You now have two
options for the ‘gravy’. Either collect the pan juices as is (no don’t
skim the fat off) or skim the fat, deglaze and make a gravy as normal.
When I had it in India it was served just with the pan juices. Notes :-
If a whole chicken was used, then cut into two halves post cooking, do
not carve into slices ;- this is meant to be eaten with your hands. Serve
with plenty of bread to dip the juices up. Why not roast some root veggies
and garlic in the roasting tray while you are at it.