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The Goa Portuguesa Cookbook

Deepa Awchat is master chef and CEO of Goa Portuguesa speaks of her experience with the pen and the ladle

As we celebrate the twentieth birthday of Goa Portuguesa with the publishing of The Goa Portuguesa Cookbook, I am filled with happy memories of the struggles and challenges which have led to the success of our first restaurant. Goa Portuguesa was launched on December 3rd, 1988, on the day of the feast of St Francis Xavier, patron saint of Goa.

Suhas Awchat has been the inspiration both behind the restaurant and this book. He decided to take on the challenge of opening a true-blue Goan restaurant in Mumbai, and I readily agreed to look after the kitchen and the menu planning. We had long felt that that there were several myths about Goan food that needed to be dispelled, the first being that all Goans eat is fish and pork, and that vegetables have no place on a Goan menu. The second is that all Goan food is too spicy, too vinegary and contains too much coconut. I feel we have succeeded in changing those misconceptions with the variety of food served in the restaurant, and now with the recipes in this book.

Afficionados of Goan food will know that the Portuguese had a lasting influence on Goan Catholic cuisine and delicacies like Vindaloo, Cafreal, Balchao and Sorpotel have achieved cult status. On the other hand, the many vegetarian dishes of Goan Hindu cuisine, which has much in common with that of the Konkan region of Maharashtra, are not easily available outside Hindu homes. At Goa Portuguesa, we have brought these dishes out of traditional Hindu Goan kitchens and showcased them on our menu.

The recipes in the book are of dishes which are served in Goa Portuguesa, modified and standardised to suit today's palate. The restaurant menu offers a variety of vegetarian dishes including Bhaji, Shaak, Usal, Tondak, Ross (coconut-based dishes), Hoomans (curries), Karams (salads) and the queen of Goan vegetable dishes - Khatkhatem. Traditional Portuguese dishes have been adapted to include popular Indian ingredients like paneer. There are also a number of seafood, chicken and pork dishes - the Vindaloo, Goan Fish Curry, Prawn Sacramento and the stuffed lobster. There are sweets as well, including multi-layered Bebinca, Kele Halwa and coconut pancakes. Feni, cashew or palm liqueur is also on offer. There is also Tender Coconut Punch and solkadi.