Six chefs on Goa’s favourite monsoon must-haves

Spicy chorizos strung as garlands. Chonak fish dipped in semolina and deep fried. The seven-layered cake named bebinca. The unusual mishmash called sorpotel. Sanna, an idli-cousin bathed in toddy vinegar. The straightforward poiee. These cliched Goan everyday favourites would have anyone drool but when dark clouds gather and rain falls like silver sheets, Goa returns to its roots. Literally. Digging mud for eels, marshes for fungi, rummaging earthen pots for cured fish and walking in the woods for wild leafy greens. During monsoon, Goa acquires a distinct tang.

Here, six Goa-based chefs talk of their favourite monsoon must-haves.

Alu Wadi

Godhan Singh, Sous-Chef, Mercure Goa Devaaya Retreat (Divar Island)

Commonly known as Arvi, Ghuiyan, Taro, the leaves of Calocasia Antiquorum are called  Alu in Konkani. Reportedly one of the first plants domesticated in Goa, Alu has been cultivated in the area for the past 3,000 years. It is a common local saying that if you have to taste only one monsoon vegetable, pick Alu.

While the taro root is usually used for curry and mashed dishes, in Goa, AluChe Paan (taro leaves) are used to make Alu wadi that is a rich source of dietary fibre, Vitamin B & C, and calcium. To make Alu wadi, first de-vein the leaves, prepare a paste of gram flour by adding tamarind, green chillies, turmeric, coriander, onion, asafoetida and salt to it. Spread the gram flour paste on the leaves, roll the leaves into logs and steam them. Cut into slices and shallow fry in ghee. And lo! the crisp leafy monsoon snack is ready to be served with mint chutney.

Patoleo

Alka Dsouza, Chef/Owner, Foxes Fiesta (Saligao)

Patoleo is a steamed sweetmeat made of pounded Goan red rice, freshly grated coconut, jaggery that is wrapped in turmeric leaves and steamed.  For the Christians, it is usually the most important dish for the feast of the Assumption of Mary. The Konkan Maratha community and Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin prepare Patoleos on the second Sunday of Shravan, on Nag Panchami, on Hartalika and on the eve of Ganesh Chaturthi. Salt-free Patoleos are even offered to Goddess Parvati, who, according to mythology, had a strong craving for these sweets during her pregnancy. Patoleos are often sent with Vojeñ (bride's trousseau) to the bridegroom's house by the Goan people and the tradition of distributing Patoleo to neighbours and friends after the arrival of a newborn in the family is still prevalent. In bygone times, Patoleo were also distributed to mark the completion of construction of a house in Goa. Until the advent of modern medicine, Patoleo was often used as an antidote to whooping cough.

Sorak Curry

Sundar Sudarsan, Corporate Chef, Planet Hollywood Beach Resort (Utorda)

A traditional soup-like curry, Sorak Curry is a common monsoon dish. The main ingredients of this mildly spicy and slightly tangy curry include dry red Kashmiri chilies, freshly grated coconut, kokum (Malabar tamarind), jaggery, garlic, coriander and cumin seeds. Sorak is usually a plain preparation but you can add vegetables to add nutritive value. Preferably cooked in earthen or clay pots, sorak tastes best with steamed rice and dried fish.

Mackerel Para

Pranav Redker, Chef de Cuisine, Radisson Blu Resort Goa (Cavelossim Beach)

Fishing is restricted during monsoon and it is the time to bring out dried mackerels from the earthen pots. Most Goans cure mackerels by salting the fish overnight using a traditional dry method (salt-to-fish ratio, 1:3). Cut the head and tail of the mackerel; wash it with vinegar so that excess salt and sand is rinsed off. Slow roasted cinnamon, cloves & black pepper along with ginger, garlic, turmeric are the basic ingredients while cast iron pan, Bedgi dry red chilli, and toddy vinegar lend a very distinctive taste to mackerel para. This fish pickle is usually stored for at least 30-40 days before being served as an accompaniment for steamed rice and Goan curry.

Jackfruit and breadfruit cutlets with fresh coconut cream

Jerson Fernandes, Executive Chef, Novotel GoaDona Sylvia Resort Hotel (Cavelossim)

Every monsoon, the Goan sky is laden with the heady aroma of ripe jackfruits. Locals eat the ripe fruit while the unripe jackfruit seed is cooked into a curry or boiled with salt and eaten as a snack. Jackfruit pickles and breadfruit chips are common in most Goan homes. Jackfruit and breadfruit have been an integral part of Konkan monsoon cuisine and one can give it a modern twist by mashing boiled potatoes, jackfruit and breadfruit with finely chopped onions, chilli, garlic. Throw in a few dry spices, coat with bread crumbs, deep fry and the scrumptious cutlets are ready.

Of leafy greens and rock crabs

Girish Desai, Chef/Owner, Kokni Kanteen (Panaji)

The names are obvious tongue twisters but during monsoon, flavours defeat the diction and indigenous greens edge the expensive hybrids off the shelves. Maskachi bhaji (drumstick leafs) are added to pulses, dried and used in curry gravy, drumstick flowers turned into crisp fritters. Taikhilo(wild leafy green) does not even require a neat growing bed, it grows abundantly along the lanes. Other local monsoon leafy greens include Akur (bushy marsh fern), Fagla, Kuddukechi, Dhavi bhaji (amaranth family), and Valchi(Malabar spinach). Killa (bamboo shoots) are pickled while Alu (taro) leaves are slathered with gram-flour batter and deep fried as a snack. Known for its very earthy flavour, Almi, an edible fungus, pops in the hinterlands around Molem area only during monsoon. For the meat-eaters, monsoon is the time to feast on Khadpyacho kul'leo (rock crabs), Bandachio kul’leo (mud crabs) and Tambde Balle, a mud-borrowing red eel.

Preeti Verma Lal is a Goa-based freelance writer/photographer.