The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Sea, Sand, Shacks and…
A culinary initiative now adds a fourth S to Goa — the hereditary food of the Saraswat Brahmins
Some of the Saraswat Brahmin dishes
BHANGRA UDHAMETHI:
Black gram and fenugreek with tamarind. The locals usually use the mackerel with this preparation. As per tradition lentils are commonly used in Saraswat homes.
KHATKHATE:
This is a mixed vegetable curry. Carrots, potato, beans, peas, sweet potato, yam, pumpkin are diced. Coconut plays an important part too.
MOOGATHATI:
Sprouted green gram in a thick gravy. This preparation, at the end of cooking process, has a tadka of oil mustard seeds, Shankar brand hing and curry leaves.
BHARLELE BHANGDA:
Mackerel stuffed and tied with a string before being fried. Some cook in banana leaf.
SHEVYOS:
Raw Goan rice dough put through a press to get a noodle-styled finish. Sweetened coconut milk with banana accompanies it. along the river Saraswati and ate fish. As the river ran dry, they were guided by lord Parshuram to Goa where rivers and seas gave them ample fish. They came in groups and names of places in Goa still recall their numbers — Bardez comes from Baradesh, which had hosted 12 families, while Tiswadi was Teeswadi for its 30 families
Leafy Delight
The Saraswat Brahmins lived off the produce of the earth and their diet was rich in fruit, vegetables and spices grown in their gardens — breaking the myth that Goan food is only non-vegetarian. Fish came from the river and the sea. The Saraswat Brahmins followed a vegetarian routine at least once a week, and their cuisine is packed with vegetarian dishes. Their food habits were decided by the natural and health effects of the ingredients. It was easy for us to record their preparations as the daughter-in-law had to learn the cooking from her mother-in-law or the eldest daughter of the house she was married into.
Plating Up
I was lucky to be introduced to the mother of the owner of the restaurant Voltaire, Sangam Pai Dunghat. Their recipes used homemade masalas. Their chillies are different from what is found in commercial establishments. We tried to inform visitors that the chillies that play an important role in Saraswat food are not Kashmiri chillies but Sankeshwari or Canacona chillies, depending on whether one is in the North or the South of the state. The Saraswat Brahmin Hooman looks and tastes different from the Catholic Fish Curry Kodi. Till Voltaire opened its doors, many of these preparations were only served in homes. There was the concept of the khanavats or canteen-like local eating house of the Portuguese era, which is different from the tavernas that people know exist in Goa. Girish Desai’s Kokni Kanteen, which was a part of Serendipity, was the closest one could find to the khanavats that still exist in the remote talukas of Goa.