The 450 year influence of Portugal, up until only 50 years ago, is everywhere in Goa, but is especially delicious in food.

Portuguese style dishes include the well known vindaloo, pao and pav breads, desserts, biscuits and sweets.

Pao bread buns and Bebinca ( made from a batter of eggs, coconut, jaggery and ghee poured into a pan in a thin layer, each set over a coal fire before another layer is added).

Goan sausage is a specialty, eaten with bread or in Sorpotel.

Sorpotel, is like a rich tasty stew that I have since read is ‘The pig’s blood, liver and heart cooked with plenty of vinegar, chilli and spices and left to ‘ mellow’ for 3-4 days to make the sticky dense stew’ eaten with a sweet steamed rice cake ‘sanna’. (Penguin Food Guide to India p. 247). (This meal also includes rose tea and piña (tasted a bit like rum balls, but is made of rice flour, coconut and jaggery).

Prawn vindaloo                                                  Fish Masala Rava Fry

Goan Fish Curry, Fish Cafreal     Chicken Xacuti and Kuchumber salad

Prawn Curry and rice

And then there’s feni, an alcohol made from cashews and creamy addictive cashew kulfi