Food is not only essential for one’s survival, but also a reflection of one’s culture, heritage and community.
Over the years, humans have invented and created a vast range of flavours using local ingredients, and catering to different food palates, resulting in food becoming an integral part of one’s cultural roots, thereby shaping their identities.
A festival that celebrates this important element of life is the Saraswat Food and Cultural Festival, which is currently on in South Goa. It is an eventful occasion where people gather to share their love for food and culture.
The three-day festival, organised by the Goa Saraswat Samaj was inaugurated yesterday (February 7, 2025) at the SGPDA Ground, Fatorda, South Goa.
The festival will continue for another two days, that is today and tomorrow. This guide to the festival is a call to attend this exciting annual event, where Saraswat cuisine takes centre stage.
As you enter the venue, you will be greeted by the aroma of delectable dishes. The stalls offer a vast variety of dishes to suit you taste buds.
As you enter the venue, you will be greeted by the aroma of delectable dishes. The stalls offer a vast variety of dishes to suit you taste buds.
At the festival, you'll find well-established restaurants, like Cinnamon and Valley View, which have set up their stalls, offering delicious items to visitors.
However, if you are someone who craves home-cooked food, then, worry not — there are plenty of stalls, run by Saraswat families, serving homemade dishes prepared with love and tradition.
These traditional stalls offer tasty options like Sungatanche Dangar (a traditional Goan prawn cutlet made using a blend of prawns and rice flour) and Tisryache Sukhe, a dish made of clams, it combines the two essential ingredients of Goan cuisine — seafood and grated coconut, to create a flavourful side-dish.
You can also find scrumptious savoury snacks to take away with you, like different types of Goan laddoos from besan to wheat flour or a Goan classic, chakri. Once you enter the venue, you are sure to find something that will serve ultimate delight to your senses.
You can also find scrumptious savoury snacks to take away with you, like different types of Goan laddoos from besan to wheat flour or a Goan classic, chakri. Once you enter the venue, you are sure to find something that will serve ultimate delight to your senses.
This an opportunity for you to try flavoursome traditional Saraswat food —a chance that appears only once a year. Moreover, the festival includes music and dance competitions, and performances, keeping the audience entertained.
This festival is a celebration of Saraswat heritage with food being at the centre, showcasing their unwavering community spirit and determination to preserve and protect their cultural and culinary traditions.
So, this weekend, try something different, try something new, try something that is authentically Goan and step into the world of Saraswat cuisine and culture. The festival awaits your visit!
DETAILS
WHAT: Saraswat Food and Cultural Festival
WHERE: SGPDA Ground, Fatorda, South Goa
WHEN: February 7 — 9