Goa: Little Portugal

If you think Indian food means curry, you are mistaken and it is high time you try Goan cuisine: an abundance of chilies! But also milder vegetarian dishes, rice-based cooking and spices.After all, spices were the attraction for the early sea-faring Europeans to visit India. The Portuguese referred to Goa as Spice Country.

I had never given it much thought because I buy spices in little glass jars from the super market, until I visited the Spice Garden. It's an eye opener. Here you can see cinnamon, vanilla, coriander, and lots more growing in natural surroundings.

Calangute beach: a beautiful bay with golden sand. When you order a meal in one of the beach restaurants the sun bed and parasol are free. Calangute is in the middle of the bay. It’s a one-hour walk to the northern point and is one hour to the most southern part. I can highly recommend these walks.

Quick Tips:

Best time to visit Goa weatherwise: November to May (dry season). The worst time June to September (rainy season).

Old Goa is a worthwhile visit. To the Indians this is "Little Europe", and I imagined myself in Mexico or Portugal with its huge, imposing catholic churches and cathedrals.

Made-to-measure clothing: bring your favorite piece of clothing, choose silk or woollen material, and have it copied by one of the tailors. Ready in 24 hours.

Best Way To Get Around:

Taxis are cheap and plentiful, and usually waiting in front of the hotels. If you want to ‘do-it-yourself’ there are buses going to the bus station in Panjim. Here you can board buses to all directions in Goa itself or to other states. From here we went by direct bus to Hospet as we wanted to visit Hampi. (You can read all about it in my Hampi journal, to be published shortly)

When I walked up the stairs I looked left and right: many people dining and to my relief not too many tourists. This is a good sign because if a restaurant is frequented not only by tourists but also by Indians themselves, it means authentic cuisine.

I found a table under a slowly revolving fan. As it was quite difficult to choose from the tantalizing dishes on the menu I ordered thali. This consists of rice and a number of curried vegetable dishes, relishes, papadams, and a dessert.Thalis come in all prices. They are filling and tasty. It's served on a round tray on which several small metal bowls, containing most delicous curried vegetables and raiti (yogurt with cucumber).

The locals were eating with their fingers but I am not so skillful, so I cheated and used the spoon which was meant to be used for the raiti. Even Indians can’t eat yogurt with their fingers! My husband ordered feni, I had a sip but could appreciate it. Feni is made from the cashew apple. I prefer the nut! The cashew nut ripens inside the cashew apple. This nut is separated from the apple, dried and then eaten. The apple has another more potent purpose. They are trampled by foot, the juices are collected, left to ferment and finally distilled. The first distillation yields 'uraq' 10 - 15 per cent proof. The second distillation produces Goa's national drink; Feni 30 - 35 per cent proof.

I finished my meal with 'chai', tea. I must admit it's an acquired taste, tea prepared the Indian way. Tea, cold water, milk and sugar, or sweetened condensed milk are brought to the boil and stewed for a long time. Actually, it's quite tasty as long as you don't expect a "cuppa".

If you find your food too spicy and your mouth is on fire DON'T reach for water or beer. Raita, fruit or in fact anything sweet, a spoonful of sugar, will do the trick.

There is no such thing as "curry" or prepacked curry powder. This is a British invention. Spices are blended in certain combinations. They are freshly ground in mortar and pestle. The well-known garam masala is in fact a combination of cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, coriander, cumin, and peppercorns. That's why home made curry or masala never tastes the same.

The good thing about this hotel is that it's situated off the main road. This means easy access to public transport and taxis, but hardly any noise pollution. It's a small, family hotel with family cooking!

When I was fed up with hot curries I tried tandoori chicken. I was allowed to have a peep in the kitchen and was shown how to make tandoori food. It is easy but takes time. First the chicken is marinated in a mix with herbs and yogurt and you must leave it overnight.It then is cooked in a clay oven (at home you can do this in your electric or gas oven, but a clay oven gets hotter so the outside is more crispy). When the tandoori chicken is done it smells delicious, it has a mild taste and is succulent.

I also tried their biryani and pilao. Both are rice dishes. For biryani chicken, rice, nuts, and raisens are the ingredients. The rice is prepared with saffron which gives this dish a delicious flavor. Pulao is a rice dish mixed with pulses and if you like chicken.

Another thing I really love are all the different kinds of bread. I always find the bread section or roti and chapati section on an Indian menu a bit daunting. This time chef explained and now I know:
Chapati Is a mixture of flour and water, cooked on a hotplate. Direct heat blows them up but how much depends on the gluten content of the bread.
Paratha is also cooked on a hotplate but ghee (clarified butter) is used. They may be stuffed with potatoes or peas.
Puri is deep fried bread which puffs up
Naam is flat bread baked in a tandoori, clay oven. It can be filled with vegetables.
Dosa is very thin pancakes, made from lentil and rice flour. If curried vegetables are wrapped inside it's called masala dosa
Uttapamis like a dosa
Papadam is crispy deep-fried lentil flour wafers, often served with thalis.

I quite liked this hotel. The rooms are grouped round the swimming pool. We were there at Christmas and there was a Christmas tree, a crib, angels, and musical contraptions cleverly hidden in the crib, under the child Jesus playing Christmas carols. Our room was near and through the closed door we could hear these songs day and night. But we did find the switch, so when we went to bed we switched it off. Early the next morning it was switched on again and we had breakfast with "Silent Night’ as background music..

'Buddha comes to us in many guises'. The guide drones a catalogue of deities 'Vishnu, Shiva, Parvati, Murugan, Ayyappan, Laksmi and Ganesh'.I have never been able to remember them all. These names are too outlandish. But I do remember one: Ganesh, chubby elephant-headed Ganesh.Why an elephant head?The Goddess Parvati was bathing and didn't want to be disturbed, not even by her own consort the God Shiva. Ganesh refused Shiva entrance to Parvati's quarters. Shiva became so furious that he chopped off Ganesh's head. When he realized what he had done he ordered his servants to bring back the head of the first creature they encountered: an elephant.

Practicalities: Ponda is the major town of East Goa. The area around Ponda is worth a visit as quite a few Hindu temples are scattered among the surrounding hills. Don’t expect to see architecural wonders. Most temples were built or rebuilt by the Portuguese. You remember: Vasco da Gama, he set foot in Goa in 1498, so these temples are fairly recent.

We were staying in Calangute and had found out that is was not too difficult to get to Ponda. First you take a bus to the bus station in Panjim and from there 30 km by bus to Ponda. The only problem is that these temples are not within walking distance and there is no public transport. It’s possible to hire a taxi in Ponda, but it's much easier to hire one in Calangute. They are waiting in front of the hotels and set us back US$20.

We visited Old Goa in the morning, then went to Ponda and the spice garden in the afternoon: a day well-spent.

The sun has reached its zenith. It's blazing hot. No shade. Bright-yellow plastered walls. Rickety scaffolding, workmen painting the wall an even brighter yellow. I half-close my eyes in protection against the glaring sun.

I'm surprised to see so many tourists, mainly tourists from India. Old Goa's churches are familiar to me. They remind me of Portugal, Spain, Italy. They're ‘outlandish’ for Indian tourists, and that’s why they come in droves for this 'foreign' feeling. No temples, no stupas, no buddhas. They stand in awe, drinking in the beauty of of the place.

First we visited the church of St Francis of Assisi, where the walls and ceilings are gilded and carved wooden panels cover the walls.

The next church looked very much like the St Peter in Rome, and I was right the Church of St Cajetan was modeled after the St Peter. Italian friars were not allowed to build their church in Hyderabad, so they came to Goa. Old Goa or Goa Velha was the capital of the Portuguese colony. It was known as the Rome of the East. The city became famous throughout the world for the volume of trade and wealth. Its fall was as swift as its rise and eventually the city was completely abandoned. Now only the churches remain.

Actually Old Goa is a cluster of churches, a big open-air museum. It's not difficult to recognise The Basilica of Bom Jesus. It is a dark building, no plaster on the outside. This was removed because it was thought that exposure to the elements would make the building more durable. The contrary proved to be true. However, the plaster has never been put back.

You may know this name: St Francis Xavier, he was a pupil of St Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order. In the Basilica of Bom Jesus you can find his mortal remains. That’s to say what remains. Relic hunters had taken away one arm and divided this between Jesuits in Japan and Rome, each of them wanting to have a relic of their founder. Part of the shoulder blade and the internal organs were brought to churches all over south east Asia.

When St Ignatius had died his mortal remains were covered in quicklime and did not decompose quickly. That’s why parts of his body could easily be recognized and were taken away by these relic hunters. By the end of the 17th century (he had died end of the 16th century) the body was in an advanced state of dessication. It was then placed in a glass coffin, out of view, and is exposed every 10 years. The next exposition is November 2004.

PRACTICALITIES:All buses running between Panjim and Margao or Vasco pass through Goa Velha, old Goa. The churches are within walking distance. A morning or afternoon is sufficient to see everything.

"Smell this", he says, dangling a leaf under my nose.
"Give it to me". I crush the leaf, smell and I know.
"I know what it is", I say timidly.
"You can't know" I had expected this answer.

"I know because I've smelled it before".
"Impossible", says the guide,"what is the name?"
"All spice." I hardly dare give the answer.
"Why don't you say: it smells like pepper, bay leaf, cloves and cinnamon", says the guide disappointedly.
"Sorry, I just know what it is".
He doesn't bear me a grudge, but he doesn't ask me the names of the other spices either. He is the expert, he knows the answer.

Have you ever wondered where your powdered cinnamon came from, or what is mace? Are spices for you small plastic bags with colourful powder? If 'yes' is your answer you should visit the spice plantation in the village of Savoi Verum, 10 km north of Ponda. Goa was taken by the Portuguese to control the spice trade. Also today spice plantations are still very much in operation

Where is everybody?
Empty sunbeds, neatly furled sun umbrellas, hawkers at rest. No business today. Souvenir stalls are empty, no sarongs flapping in the wind, no blankets, no lampshades, no anklebands, no necklaces, no bangles. Today there are NO tourists. It is Wednesday. WEDNESDAY.

Anjuna, that's where they are. The flea market. In Anjuna all souvenir stalls are full with silk lamp shades, embroidered table cloths, bangles, anklebands, and sarons flapping in the wind.

Every seller has his own territory, neatly cordonned off. Every seller asks three times over the odds.
"Yes, I know saffran".
"Cheap?!"
"No, not really." The vendor doesn't believe me, "good quality", he assures me.
I haggle, I pay too much. My personal contribution to the third world.

The Anjuna flea market is no longer what it used to be. Two or three decades ago when the well-heeled tourists had not yet taken over Goa's beaches this market was the meeting place for the hippies. It was a barter market, surplus belongings changed owners, English books were in great demand, gossip was exchanged. These days there's not a hippie in sight. Vendors from all over India come to Goa to try their luck. All year round there are tourists in Goa. On Wednesday they're all in Anjuna.

Taxis come and go. Others come by boat. "On Wednesday no fishing", says an old fisherman who is mending nets, "lucrative business, transporting tourists".

That is cheap! A third of the price I would have paid at home. Yes, I bought them, all three.

I leave the shop happy. I order coffee and unwrap the books I bought: Harry Potter parts 2, 3 and 4, and start reading. They are funny!

However, the books don't feel right somehow. I examine them closer. I discover some minor irregularities. They are not abridged versions, still something is wrong. The print. Yes, not as clear as I am used to. The cover, not quite authentic. I know! They are pirate copies. Photocopied and then sold as originals at a third of the price. Does it matter? Soon I am deeply absorbed in this fantastic story.

Goa's capital, Panjim, is more like a provincial market town than a capital. The narrow street, Portuguese signs over doorways, red tiled roofs, pastel coloured walls. This is Portugal in India.