Goa's Saraswat food is not just a cuisine, it’s an emotion. From tasty dangars (cutlets made from either prawns, fish or clams, ground with rice flour and spices) and sukhe (made with meat or clams with a combination of flavourful spices and loads of grated coconut) or tavsali (a sweet dish made with grated cucumber and steamed to perfection) – Saraswat cuisine has a lot to offer.
Thanks to the annual Saraswat Food and Cultural Festival that was held at the SGPDA Ground, Fatorda in South Goa, over the weekend, a large number of locals and foodies got the opportunity to indulge in Goa’s hidden cuisine of the Saraswat community.
Over the years, the food has changed in taste, spice quality and even the pungency levels. Gomantak Times Digital spoke to several people at the festival to learn more about the essence of Saraswat cuisine.
THE SARASWAT FOOD EXPERIENCE
From munching on yummy dangars and kongachem neuri (sweet potato neuri), the festival took this cuisine to the homes of many families who were unaware of the delicacies served in Saraswat homes.
A large number of locals and foodies got the opportunity to indulge in Goa’s hidden cuisine of the Saraswat community.
Among them was Melissa Diniz who loved the kalvachem tonak, and parceled up a plate to take back home to her family.
“There are a few dishes that we don’t even know about, and the bold flavours are a must try for all those who are not familiar with these flavours,” said Melissa.
Kalpana Kamat, who along with her family, set up a stall at the festival, said that such events help showcase hidden Goan cuisine to the world. “We get visitors from other communities who love this unique cuisine, and such festivals help people from the Saraswat community get exposure, too,” she opined.
CHANGING FOOD SCENE
Reducing the spiciness to incorporating readymade masalas have significantly changed the flavours of the final dish, laments Purnanand Prabhumoni at the festival.
“Back in the day, our mothers would use the traditional rogdo (hand grinder) to grind the masalas and pastes for the food. But, over the years, things have changed and people use new and modern techniques to prepare the dishes,” he mentioned.
“For instance,” he said, “at the festival, we were selling tavsali (a traditional eggless sweet cake made from grated cucumber, semolina, fresh coconut, jaggery and cashews and the batter baked with a few turmeric leaves to enhance the taste). Earlier, people would keep aside a few cucumbers to ripen, so that these cakes could be made. But now, everyone plucks the fruit before it ripens since this yields more money.”
Prachi Angle, from the stall 'Ghamgamit Ranchekudd' expressed her concern about the food changes since ingredients have turned expensive, and adding tons of them would translate into a costly affair.
Earlier, people would keep aside a few cucumbers to ripen, so that these cakes could be made. But now, everyone plucks the fruit before it ripens since this yields more money.Purnanand Prabhumoni, at the festival
“I remember my aaji (grandmother) would make the dishes and add coconut dil khol kar (generously). But now, the rates of coconuts have skyrocketed, and adding a lot would be expensive. And so, when we prepare the dish at home, we use less coconut,” she said.
Prachi added that nowadays, people prefer food that is less spicy. So, one can’t add the exact spices the way it was done in the past. As a result, the taste of the dishes is different now compared to the dishes in the past.
ADDING A TWIST
While superfoods are making headlines globally, they have also made their way into a traditional food of Goa – the dangar. Mohandas Kamat, from Margao, who had a stall at the Saraswat festival surprised the community with a unique dangar made of moringa and dill/fenugreek leaves.
“When there was no access to fast food, we used to cook with what was homegrown and seasonal, especially leafy vegetables. Moringa leaves are so underrated. They have many benefits – antioxidant, reduce blood sugar and improve digestion, among other properties. People usually extract juice from the leaves and consume it.”
Hence, Mohandas decided to share his superfood delicacy. “We wanted to share a way to make good healthy vegetarian superfood accessible to people, and we’ve made these dangars from trees growing in our home garden,” says Mohandas, owner of Kamat’s Dreamland, Monte Hill, Margao.
So, the next time you are in goa, don't miss the chance to try out Saraswat cuisine, an exciting new culinary experience.