Plan A Goan Feast For Your Next Party

No one knows how to party like a Goan! Fond of music, laughter and fun, the Goans love nothing more than throwing a feast for friends and family. With good food and music, the Goan theme is also ideal for your own party. If you are worried about getting it right, we tell you how!

Set the mood

Start with the look of the party. Ask your friends to dress up in beach style, in keeping with Goa’s coastline. Goans are usually casually dressed. So, the usual colourful shirts and shorts work well here. Girls can opt for floaty skirts as well. You can go the whole hog and do a beach party theme with seashells for decoration and little mementoes of palm fronds!

Next comes the selection of music and Goa has some really good tunes to offer. You can dig up old recording of Remo Fernandes or look for newer artists. You can ask your Goan friends or search the internet for more information.  

Get the grub

Remember that food is the secret to a good party. So make sure that you get this right. Luckily, Goan food is perfect for any party. Delicious and wide in its range of dishes, you can load your table with some amazing delicacies. Given the State’s long coastline, seafood is pretty important. Goans also love their meet, including pork and beef dishes. If you have no religious restrictions, consider including these all. 

Start with a starter of crab cakes or fish fry. For the main course you must have the famous Goan fish curry. Akin to comfort food, the fish curry is Goan fast food. For meat dishes, choose from vindaloo, sorpotel or roast pork. If beef is not taboo, try a Goan roast beef. ALternatively, you can also try chicken or crab xacuti. Make sure there is bhaji as well as dal included for the vegetarians.   For dinner try the multi-layered and delicious Bebinca.

Let the drinks flow

While you are busy planning the meal, do not forget this crucial aspect. You cannot miss the State’s famous feni! You can also try innovative cocktails using the feni. For the teetotallers keep some daab in keeping with the theme!

So, set the stage and get ready to party!

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Best Pork Dishes of Goan

Goa is an exotic place known for its great cuisines, drinks, nightlife and R&R facilities. A person can easily get lost in the crowd and forget all his worries. Pork, Chicken, Fish and seafood play a vital role in creating almost all Goan dishes and each of the dishes would tempt you to take second helpings. So if you are planning to try Goan dishes then you must begin pampering your taste buds with delicious pork dishes of the State. Here’s a list of food items that must be on your menu if you like to try exotic pork dishes.

     Vindaloo: It is a sweet and sour recipe that would leave you craving for more. Its main ingredients are vinegar, ginger, palm sugar, chilli, pork and other Indian spices. The best part about Vindaloo is that you can find it at most places of the world and every where it would taste different. Vindaloo can also be created using fish, prawns or squid. But the pork is the heart of this dish and certainly more filling.

Chouriço: If you like sausages then Chouriço should be your first choice. It’s created by chopping pork and adding in delicious ingredients like vinegar and Indian spices. You can try it out with fried onions and peppers. You can also squeeze it between famous Goan Pao or bread rolls to make it a belly filling meal. The best part about this dish is that you can eat it anytime of day or night and walk it off by taking a walk near the beach.

Sorpotel: This dish is not for the lighthearted. It should only be tried out by you if you have no objection from eating pig’s liver without a blink. Sorpotel is created by using pig liver, its heart and its tongue. You can compliment this dish with adding in rice or Pao. When you get courage to eat it once, you would surely like to try it over and over again.

Though there are several more dishes that can be easily found in an authentic Goan restaurant, these three should top your list. All these dishes would go quite well with a beer or feni or any other wine you like. After all what’s better than trying on delicious cuisines on a holiday.

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All You Need to Know about Cashew Feni

If you have ever been to Goa then you must have heard of Feni. It is one of the most exotic drinks that is served at every nook and corner of Goa. So if you are curious to know more about this delicious drink then here’s your chance. This article tries to describe when and how the Feni came into existence in Goa and what’s so special about it.

History: Well let’s start with the beginning. Most people who have tasted Feni are aware of the fact that it is either cashew or coconut Feni. In this article we are focusing on cashew Feni. It has been into existence since many decades. The cashew tree was brought to India and specifically Goa somewhere in the seventeenth century. It is believed that Goa actually started the trade of cashew with French, Portuguese, English, Dutch or Arabs. After the success of trade of Cashew, some genius distilled cashew into an alcohol.

Cashew Feni has a unique and exotic taste. Some people become its fans from the first sip, while others want at least a glass to decipher its taste. No matter how your first experience with the drink is, you’ll surely crave more after some time. The smell of a Feni is similar to a cashew only. So if you have tasted a cashew, you can get a fair idea about the taste of Feni.

Creation: Now let’s have a look at how this amazing drink is created. First of all the cashews are handpicked by the experts. Only the cashews that are ripe and fallen from the tree on their own are considered. Then the cashews are clumped and their juices are extracted. Then the Feni is distilled from cashew wine. The distillation process is long and somewhat tedious but the end result is fantastic. Nothing additional is put in while creating the Feni like yeasts, colours or aromas which is common while creating other wines.

Most people prefer to drink it neat. But if you are trying it for the first time, it is suggested that you add something in it. The something can be plain water, soda or even a hint of lemon. All these would only enhance the taste of Feni and give you a memorable experience. So what are you waiting for, try on a Feni now to offer a real treat to your taste buds and some relaxing time to your mind.

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Best Non Alcoholic Drinks of Goan

Most people think that Goa is the place where you can enjoy alcoholic drinks and seafood only. This perception is completely wrong. Goa has a lot to offer to vegetarians as well. So if you are a vegetarian seeking the best cooling, refreshing and tasty drinks that would keep you happy then do keep reading on. Here’s a list of top non alcoholic drinks that are gaining popularity in Goan.

    Soft Drinks: The history of soft drinks in Goan is a bit controversial. Popular brands like Coke and Pepsi were banned over here for a few decades which has led to popularity of other soft drinks. You can find a huge supply of Campa and Thumbs Up. Both these drinks are quite different in taste than Coke and Pepsi and can be a nice change. You can also find Limca over there which is a bit lemony in flavor and most beneficial for dealing with nausea and upset stomach.

OJ’S: If you are a fan of Orange Juice then Goan has a lot to offer. The most popular and widely available orange juice is Gold Spot which is meant for people who like a lot of sweetness. This drink would make you feel addicted to it after a few sips only. So you must try in once while visiting Goan.

Fruit Juices: If you are a health conscious person, then you can easily get used to the fresh fruit juices served in Goan. You can try out different flavours; mix the juice of two fruits to get an exquisite outcome. You can also choose to buy the juice from a fine dining restaurant or from the street vendors.

 Lassi: You can try out a special dahi based drink lassi too. It is mostly a north Indian drink meant to refresh you and give you instant energy. You can choose to make your lassi salty or sweet. It totally depends on your preferences. Apart from lassi you can also find exotic milkshakes in Goa. You can opt for different flavors in milkshakes too like Chocolate, Strawberry or Vanilla.

 Water: Goan also offers a wide variety of water. You can purchase treated, boiled or bottled water from a number of stalls and shops spread across Goan. It’s always a good idea to drink a lot of water while on a vacation as it would keep you from being dehydrated and remove the toxins from your body.

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Portuguese Influence on Goan Food

The Goan cuisine is perhaps India’s most cosmopolitan cuisine and the reason lies in its strong Portuguese influence. The Portuguese rule over Goa is probably best seen in its rich cuisines. Even today many Goan dishes carry their Portuguese names. Although they have been adapted according to the local palate, their ancestry is quite obvious.

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Goan Foods You Must Try...

Goa is one of the most visited tourist destinations of India. It not only attracts thousands of foreigners every year, but it is also turning out to be the best place for R&R for Indians too. And yes, the food is amazing too. The seafood served in Goa is one of its kinds. Once you’ll taste it, you’ll be compelled to taste some more. 

If you are visiting Goa for the first time and wish to try its great cuisine, then have a look at the following:

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