Goan Food

Types of Goan Food

Goa has several excellent restaurants that represent the culinary diversity of the state. Among the best is Panaji’s Mum’s Kitchen, which offers a mix of familiar dishes like xacuti (a curry with coconut, spices, and poppy seeds), balchao (a fiery tomato-chilli curry), and cafreal (fried chicken marinated with spices). Its menu comprises traditional recipes, which have been sourced from Hindu, Christian, and Portuguese families all over Goa. Another good bet in Panaji is Ritz Classic, whose Goan Fish Thali offers seafood delights such as prawn curry, prawn kismur, crab masala, and shellfish with coconut. Calangute’s immensely popular Souza Lobo is a veteran among Goan restaurants. This sea-facing eatery’s crab xacuti, lobster thermidor, and prawn curry rice are highly recommended. For home-style cooking, head to Bhatti village in Nerul, where you won’t find a menu but will be assured of fresh and flavorful food and warm Goan hospitality. Located in the owners’ residence, it is only open for dinner.

Goan Recipes: Goa’s got everything a hot tourist destination does: sun, sand, beach, and, most importantly, good food. Authentic Goan food is one of the biggest reasons tourists flock to this glorious state. It’s spunky; it’s got personality, and it's seriously addictive!

Goan food is extremely different from the food of other regions and this can be attributed to its rich and diverse cultural heritage. It’s a potpourri of flavors: beef,pork, coconut, jaggery, cashew and an endless variety of seafood. A lot of Goan dishes likePrawn balchaoandSorpotelare well known and realized around the world.

Goan food has many similarities withPortuguesefood and this is mainly because of Portuguese inhabitants who lived there for almost 450 years. Goans didn’t take after their prominent use of garlic in every dish, but definitely latched onto their flair for bread-making. You’ll see that Goans often swap their regular bowl of steamed rice with soft and warm bread. Spices,fish and coconut have dominated Goan food for centuries and it’s only in the last few years it has started to be featured with new, more innovative ingredients like fenni and vinegar.

Visit old Goan bakeries

Goa has a long and vibrant tradition of bread-making. Popular local breads include uned (small, round and crispy breakfast rolls), pao (round buns) and pui (flat, pancake-like rolls). To taste, visit a local bakery like Panaji’s family-run Confeitaria 31 De Janeiro, which is also one of the oldest in Goa. Besides bread, it has mouth-watering savoury patties and traditional sweets like dodol (an eggless cake of rice flour, coconut and jaggery), pinaca (balls of rice flour, coconut and jaggery) and doce (squares made with lentils, coconut and cardamom).

Jila Bakers, another veteran, operates out of an old house in Loutolim, and is widely considered to be one of the best bakeries in the state. Their breads, biscuits and pastries are made by hand and baked in a wood-fired oven, using traditional techniques. Try their melt-in-the-mouth cookies called suspiros, and the crisp and flaky heart-shaped fan biscuits.