Goan Cuisine and Food

Here are a few of the Goan recipes that we have tried out. Remember that most Goans don't use actual measures, but what is called andaz (intuition). We hope you like these. To send us your comments and suggestions, click here.

Chicken Xhacuti (chicken cooked in coconut gravy)
Ingredients:
1Kg chicken, cut into desired pieces
6 tblsp ghee
10 onions
1tsp turmeric
2 tblsp corriander seeds
5 peppercorns
15 dried red chillies
6 cloves
1/2 inch piece cinnamon
1/2 nutmeg
3/4 tblsp aniseed
1tblsp poppy seeds
2 limes
2 coconuts,
salt to taste
Method:
Chop four of the onions and fry until light brown. - Extract thick and thin milk from one, the other grate and roast 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. Add the chicken and brown. Grind thew corriander and spices to a paste and 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 roasted coconut. Simmer for a few minutes then add the thick coconut milk. Salt as required. Simmer for 10 minutes or so until sauce has thickened. Sprinkle over some lime juice and chopped corriander leafs prior to serving.

Chicken Cafreal
Ingredients:
1 chicken (750 g)
3 level teaspoons salt
1 sour line
35 small dry white chillies
2 green chillies
4 peppercorns
25 flakes garlic
4 inch piece ginger
Sufficient oil to deep fry the chicken
Method:
Apply salt and sour lime juice to the chicken. The chicken should be cut into pieces before marinating. Grind all the chillies, peppercorns, garlic, ginger to a fine paste and apply onto the chicken. Allow it to marinade for 7 to 8 hours. Deep fry and serve hot with a salad.

Chicken Baffad
Ingredients:
1kg chicken cut into serving size pieces
SPICES
8 dried red Kashmiri chillies
1 tsp turmeric powder
15 peppercorns
1/2 tsp cummin seeds
4 cloves
1 inch piece cinnamon
2 onions, finely chopped
3 green chillies, finely chopped
1 inch piece ginger, finely chopped
12 cloves garlic, finely chopped
thick and thin milk extracted from 1 coconut
salt and vinegar to taste
Method:
Fry the onions in a little oil until browned. Meanwhile grind together the spices. Add the chicken, chopped chillies, garlic and ginger to the pan and cook for a minute or so. Add the ground spices and salt and again cook for a minute or so. Now add the thick and thin coconut milk so that the milk just covers the chicken. When chicken is cooked (about 20-30 minutes) add the vinegar and simmer until the sauce has thickened. Serve with plain boiled rice.

Ambot Tik (A sour and hot dish)
Ingredients:
1/2 Kg fish - shark, catfish or kite fish
salt to taste
10 dried red chillies
1/4 tsp cummin seeds
4 peppercorns
1/2 tps turmeric powder
4 cloves garlic
1/2 inch piece of ginger
a marble sized ball of tamarind mixed in 1 cup of water
1 finely sliced onion
2 tblsp oil
Method:
Clean and wash the fish. Cut into small steaks, rub in salt and set aside. Grind all the other ingredients, except the onion, into a fine paste (masala) with a little water. Fry the onion until brown. Add the masala (paste) and fry for a minute. Add 1 cup of water. Bring to boil then add fish. Cook on low heat until tender. A little salt and vinegar may be added if desired. Serve with plain boiled rice.

Balchao (prawn preserve)
Ingredients:
1/4Kg prawns (shelled).
1tsp cummin seeds
1tsp peppercorns
10 Kashmiri chillies
vinegar to taste
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 cups oil
4 medium onions,
minced handful of curry leaves
1 inch piece of ginger, finely chopped
3 heads of garlic, finely chopped
4 green chillies, seeded and chopped
salt to taste
Method:
Grind together the cummin, peppercorns and chillies with the vinegar. Mix in the turmeric. Heat the oil and add the curry leaves. the drop in the oil and fry until brown. Add the prawns, masala, garlic, ginger and green chillies. Simmer for 10 minutes or so.

Fish Mol (Fresh fish pickle)
Ingredients:
1Kg firm fish or large prawns
1 tsp ground turmeric
3 cups vinegar
25 dried kashmiri chillies
1 tblsp cummin seeds
2 inch piece fresh ginger
1 head of garlic
oil & salt to taste
Method:
Clean the fish and remove head, tail, fins and de-scale. Cut into small steaks, rub with salt and turmeric and set aside for about 1 hour. Grind spices, garlic and ginger in a little vinegar. Fry the fish until tender. Fry the masala for a couple of minutes (when the oil starts to Show), then add the remaining vinegar. Simmer for a further 10 minutes on a low heat. When the fish and masala has thoroughly cooled, place the fish in a sterilized jar and cover with the masala/vinegar mixture. Consume after 3-4 weeks.

Goan Fish Curry
Ingredients:
1 Pomfret or other white fish, cleaned and cut into steaks.
1 coconut, grated
1/2 tsp cummin seeds
4 cloves garlic
a marble sized ball of tamarind mixed in 1 cup of water
4 green chillies, slit lengthways
2 onions sliced
1 inch piece ginger, finely chopped
6 dry kashmiri chillies
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 raw mango, cubed (optional)
1 lemon & salt to taste
Method:
Sprinkle lemon juice and salt onto fish and marinade for an hour or so. Grind the coconut, kashmiri chillies, cummin seeds and garlic together. Mix the onion, ginger and green chillis and mash with the turmeric. Add the chopped mango. Add the ground masala and 1 cup of water. Simmer slowly for 10 minutes. Add fish and cook slowly until the fish is done. Serve with plain boiled rice.

Apa de Camarao
(Prawn Pie)
Ingredients:
2 cups rice
1.5 cups grated coconut
1.5 cups toddy
350 g. sugar
6 eggs
1.25 cups prawn balchao
1 tablespoon butter
salt to taste
Method:
Wash and soak rice overnight. Next morning, grind rice and coconut separately with the toddy, to make a fine batter. Add the salt and sugar and keep aside for 3-4 hours till the batter is well risen. Now beat gently together the 6 egg yolks and only 3 egg whites. Add this to the rice-coconut mixture. Meanwhile line a cake tin 8" in diameter with greased butter paper.

Divide the mixture into 2 equal parts/portions. Put one portion evenly at the bottom of the cake tin. Then spread the prawn balchao over the bottom layer and cover with the second portion of the rice-coconut mixture evenly. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 F till the Apa de Camarao is risen and golden brown on top. Cool and serve as a main dish, as a starter, sliced or with drinks sliced.

Pork Vindalho
Ingredients:
1kg Pork, cubed
4 onions, finely sliced
15 cloves garlic
2 inch piece ginger
20 dried red kashmiri chillies
1 tsp cummin seeds
1/2 tsp peppercorns
1 tsp ground turmeric
6 green chillies, de-seeded and sliced lengthwise
salt, tamarind, vinegar and sugar to taste
oil for frying
Method:
Finely slice 8 cloves of garlic and 1 inch of the ginger. Grind together the dry chillies, cummin, peppercorns and the remaining garlic and ginger. Add the turmeric to this mixture. Fry the onions, garlic and ginger (the green masala) until brown. Add the pork, brown, and then add the ground masala. Fry for 10 minutes or so over a low to moderate heat. Add water, sufficient to cover pork and simmer. When water has reduced by half add the green chillies, tamarind, sugar, salt and vinegar (about 1-3 tblspns). Continue cooking on a low heat, covered, until meat is tender and gravy is thick.

Sorpotel
Ingredients:
1kg pork
1/2kg pork liver and heart
1 cup pork blood mixed with 1/2 cup coconut vinegar
1/4 bottle of coconut vinegar
small ball of tamarind, soaked in a cup of water
1 whole head of garlic, finely chopped
2 inch piece of ginger, finely chopped
3 onions, finely chopped
4 green chillies, finely chopped
salt to taste
Masala - grind the following into a paste with a little vinegar
20 dry chillies
1 teaspoon cummin seeds
6 cloves
1 tsp tumeric
10 peppercorns
1 inch piece cinammon bark
Method:
Wash and boil the uncut pork, liver and heart. Cool and cube into small pieces then brown in a little pork fat, remove and set aside. Add ginger, garlic and onions and fry until onions change colour. Add masala and stir and fry for a minute or so then return meat to pan along with the tamarind and some of the vinegar if more liquid is required. Cook on a low heat for 1- 1 1/2 hours until meat is tender. Add the chillies and blood (which may require a good stir prior to adding T.H.), cook for another ten minutes or so. Better eaten the next day re-heated!
Finally here some common Goan Sweets. Most of these are made during the festive or Christmas season and are distributed to guests during their 'obligatory' visits to friends and family. The Making of these usually involved the whole family, and often, the extended family getting together to produce these. So give it a try! Boa Fest :-)

Bebinca
Ingredients:
200g rice flour
10 egg yolks
500g sugar
1cup coconut juice (thick)
1/4 nutmeg (powdered)
200g ghee (clarified butter) or hydrogenated oil
Method:
Take the coconut milk, mix it with the rice flour, sugar and egg yolks. Stirs thoroughly till sugar has dissolved, add nutmeg powder and keep aside. Heat a little ghee in a pan and pour in one cup of batter. Bake till brown. Add another spoonful of ghee and another cup of batter. Bake and repeat this till all the batter is used up. Turn the bebinca upside down and cool before serving. Note: Baking of bebinca is done over a slow fire. I prefer using a charcoal fire.

Kulkuls
(This a team effort and the entire family is usually involved.)
Ingredients:
500 g. maida (flour)
1/2 cup coconut juice
1 tablespoon butter
2 eggs
3 or 4 cardamoms (powdered)
Sugar to taste and oil for frying
Method:
Mix all the ingredients and cook over a slow fire till a soft dough has formed. Cool, knead and take small marble-like portions, roll over the back of a fork and deep fry till golden brown.

Neureos
Ingredients:
1/2 kg flour
2 tablespoons ghee (or hydrogenated oil)
a pinch of salt
For the filling:
1/2 kg. sugar
1/2 cup water
1 half ripe coconut grated fine
100 g. cashew nuts (chopped very fine)
100 g. raisins
2 tablespoons ghee
6 cardamoms (powdered)
oil for frying
Method:
Mix flour, salt and ghee well, add just enough water to knead into a small dough. Keep aside.
Heat sugar and water till a syrup is formed. Add the grated coconut, ghee and nuts. When the mixture has thickened, add raisins and cardamom powder. Remove from fire after the mixture turns quite dry. Cool and keep aside. Divide the dough into small balls, roll out into thin rounds, put a spoonful of the coconut filling on each round, wet the edges, press down to form half-moon shapes. Trim edges preferably with a cutter and deep fry in hot oil.

We hope that you enjoy these Goan delights. If you have tried out these recipes and liked them or have a Goan recipe and wish to share with others do let us know.