Consoada, or kuswar, distributed at Christmas time in Goa is, simply put, happiness on a plate!
Consoada, which means ‘A Christmas Eve dinner meal’ in Portuguese, is derived in turn from the Latin word consolare which means ‘to comfort’.
The kuswar is akin to a platter of comfort food. From dodol, bebinca, perada, jujubes, marzipan, doce, to mandare, gons, letri, kulkuls and neureos, the Christmas plate has got variety and purpose.
The small servings of a variety of sweets and savouries has the receiver and the family loving and relishing every bite of it. And, the purpose? Solidifying relationships among people – all this served sweet.
NORTH & SOUTH GOA PLATTERS
Though the differences are not stark, the kuswar platter varies as you travel from North to South Goa.
Geraldine Menezes who was raised in North Goa and married in the south says, "The kuswar in North Goa is much more colourful and varied!"
Elaborating further, she says, "In the south, the platter comprises mainly neureos, kormolas, doce. Bebinca is becoming quite popular now in the south. Earlier, it was mostly served in the north in the kuswar."
Claudio Joseph Faria, who along with his wife, runs M/s Faria Products in Sangolda says, "The North Goa platter traditionally comprised sweets that were costly to make. So, you had items like bebinca in it.
He goes on to add "The guava cheese sweet perada is usually only made and served in the North Goa platter. The other popular North Goa kuswar items usually not found in the south include gons and cocad," he says.
TRADITIONS AND MODERNITY
Melissa Martins, a passionate foodie, has been holding cookery classes for the past three decades. She says a new wave of sweets comprising items like toffee, fudge and different cakes are making it to the kuswar plate.
"It could be because people find the traditional Goan sweets time-consuming to make," she says.
It's not just the kuswar items that are undergoing a change. It’s literally the plate itself that has seen a transformation. The sweets would be put on a plate, or tray, and covered with a crochet cloth in the olden days.
"This was perhaps for aesthetics purposes," says Geraldine. A bridal trousseau in the past contained crochet items, one of which was a nice cover often used for the kuswar. But now, people often choose to send the kuswar in disposable plates. "Or hamper boxes," says Geraldine. And sometimes, an entire kuswar plate is replaced with a big cake that’s sent over to friends!
COMMUNITY SPIRIT
The purpose of the kuswar is to foster a spirit of community bonding through the Christmas spirit of giving.
Back in the day, people used the kuswar as an excuse to visit friends, neighbours and family to enquire about their well-being. But today, people hardly have the time, rues Geraldine. They will normally send the kuswar with a child to the other person's house, instead of visiting themselves, she says.
When it comes to those in mourning, the tasty kuswar is usually sent a day prior to Christmas, and is a practise that continues to this day – an example of how people value and have concern for each other.
