India (Frommer's, 4th Edition) (106 page)

A Bluffers Guide to the Unique Flavors of Goa

If you don’t know your xacuti from your baboti, here’s a short guide: Spicy chicken cafreal is marinated in green herbs, ginger, cinnamon, pepper, chili, mace, fresh coriander, and garlic, and then fried. Vindaloo is a curry usually made with pork and marinated in vinegar, garlic, chilies, and assorted spices. Prawn Balchao is a sweetish shrimp preserve made with spices and coconut feni. Ambotik is a hot curry made with onion, cumin seeds, pepper, and garlic, and soured with kokum berries—it’s usually made with baby shark (although other fish can be used). The state’s favorite fish, kingfish (isvon), is best sampled “recheado”—stuffed with chilies and spices blended in vinegar; not recommended if you’re unfamiliar with spicy food. Xacuti is a coconut-based masala prepared with Goan spices; baboti is a sweet and spicy ground-beef dish. Sorpotel—not for the fainthearted—is traditionally a spicy concoction of pork, offal (mostly liver), feni, vinegar, red chilies, and spices. Another unusual dish is the Portuguese cabidela, prepared by cooking rice with chicken and rabbit blood and meat; caldeirada is a typical Portuguese seafood stew. Uned are the small round rolls that feature on the Goan breakfast table and are traditionally delivered fresh from the bakery each morning (if you’re staying in Panjim’s Latin quarter, Fountainhas, you might hear the delivery man on his bicycle doing the rounds). Bebinca is the traditional layered dessert made with lots of eggs and coconut milk. Dodol is made with jaggery (sugar) and should always be accompanied with vanilla ice cream; doce is a sweet rice pudding from Portugal. Goa is famous for its cashew nuts available in many forms; get the roasted salted variety (great with any drink) from Zantye’s or Kajuwala in Panjim. Kokum (fruit of a plant by the same name), served as a syrupy juice, is a delightful thirst quencher; when mixed with coconut milk, garlic, and salt, it becomes a digestive aid called sol kadi. Speaking of drinks, feni is the deceptively light alcoholic spirit distilled from the cashew fruit (or coconut); try it, but be wary.

After Seven—The Restaurant
EUROPEAN It’s definitely worth tracking down this difficult-to-find restaurant (located between Calangute and Candolim near the Sarkar ice factory), as it’s one of Goa’s best dinner venues. Owned by the gracious ex-Taj hotel duo, Leo D’Souza and superchef Soumyen Chakraborty, it’s a really pleasant alfresco place set on the lawns of Leo’s house. You can watch your meal being cooked in the glass-fronted kitchen, and discuss how you liked it afterward, when Soumyen visits every table. Begin with the near-legendary Camembert soufflé, and move on to the delectable “Ocean’s Fantasy”
seafood platter. This is also one spot in Goa where you can happily indulge your lust for a juicy steak—order the chargrilled filet with blue cheese sauce. And do prepare yourself for either the chocolate mousse with orange Curaçao or the unbelievably light and delicious orange soufflé.

1/274B, Chapel Lane, off the Calangute-Candolim main road, Gaura Vaddo, Calangute, Bardez.
0832/227-9757
or
92-2618-8288. Reservations essential. Main courses Rs 300–Rs 1,000. AE, MC, V. Daily 7pm–midnight. Closed May–Sept.

Bean Me Up
ORGANIC/VEGETARIAN An American with roots in Italy and Germany, Lisa Camps started this ultra-wholesome, all-organic restaurant as an alternative to the nonvegetarian food that dominates Goan menus. Meat-lovers won’t miss anything once they sample Lisa’s tofu lasagna or one of the daily house specials. But most delicious are the huge salads Lisa promises are the “safest in Goa.” Expect soy in almost everything at this “Soya Station,” including tofu ice cream and tofu cheesecake. If all this sounds too over-the-top healthy and New Age for you, there’s always wood-fired pizza; or simply come to sip on one of the healthy cocktail-style drinks and catch a dance performance or live Spanish band on Sundays. Children are well taken care of in the kids’ corner, with its comfy floor mattresses and cushions, reading and coloring books, and—yes, ’fraid so—a TV playing Cartoon Network.

House no. 1639 Deul Vaddo, Anjuna-Vagator, near Vagator Petrol Pump.
0832/227-3479.
Reservations suggested for dinner during peak season. Main courses Rs 80–Rs 250. MC, V. Daily 8am–4pm and 7–11pm; call about slightly different Sat hours.

Bomra’s
BURMESE With Goa bursting at its seams with every conceivable kind of restaurant, a little Burmese hangout could get entirely lost or, as is the case with Bomra’s (named after the owner-chef), really stand out. With only the basic accoutrements needed to make a place pleasing to the eye—low cane chairs and paper lampshades—the main emphasis here is on the food, which is absolutely top-notch. Start with the homemade fried Shan tofu (made from gram flour) with tamarind soy sauce, or the excellent spicy rare beef salad with basil, mint, coriander, and sprouts. For a main course, try mussel curry with coconut milk and lemon grass or any of the specials—pork belly with cashew-nut crust, or steamed snapper lemon grass with chili fish sauce and jaggery (unrefined sugar) served atop a banana leaf on a wooden platter. Round off your meal with chocolate fondant and homemade vanilla ice cream.

Souza Vaddo, opposite Kamal Retreat, Fort Aguada Rd., Candolim.
98221-06236.
Reservations highly recommended during high season. Main courses Rs 90–Rs 250. No credit cards. Daily 7:30–11:30pm.

Britto’s
GOAN This is a bit of a local institution; an archetypal Goan beach shack at one end, and extremely popular restaurant at the other, where owner-chef Cajetan Britto has been dishing out his crowd-pulling specialties for years. Acquaint yourself with the local flavors by tucking in to the pork
vindaloo
or prawn curry, and come back later for chicken
xacuti,
fish
caldeen,
or the superb crab curry. There are less spicy options for tamer tastes, too, including a formidable seafood platter and even steak. There’s always action aplenty here—whether live music, super-smooth celebs hanging out on the beach, or simply a festive crowd ordering round after round of chilled beer. You’ll find this Goan favorite towards the northern end of Baga beach.