The staple food of Goa is rice, fish and curry. The cultivation of rice begins in the month of June and the crop reaches maturity by mid of August which is ready for harvesting during the months of September and October. Every year, when it is the last week of July, the elderly in the house would often be heard reminding the younger generations at home to take a look if there was enough of jaggery and parboiled rice sufficient to prepare something sweet on the onset of August. It has always been customary to prepare something sweet at home on the first day of August.
However, whenever the sweet was made, children just enjoyed the process of making the sweet and gulping it down their throat. They never actually bothered asking what was the reason for doing what we did. Geneviev Andrade from Ambajim mentions that the month of August is known for celebrating newness. But what’s really new in August? Well, it is the paddy crop which is on its way to maturity and gradually to the date of its harvest. The new harvest which often commenced after the paddy sheaves were cut off by the landlord. Hence, the month of August is known for celebrating newness or ‘novidade’.
In fact, it is a tradition that one sets one’s step into the month of August with something sweet to eat. Traditionally on the first day of August, every Goan family would prepare ‘Shevyo’. These are rice vermicelli mixed with grated coconut and coconut jaggery. The ‘Shevyo’ are prepared by placing steamed rice cakes into a vermicelli maker (Shevgo) either made of wood, iron or brass.
Not every family would own a ‘Shevgo’.
If someone didn’t have one then the person had to borrow it from his/her neighbor or sometimes even rent it out for a day. Those families that didn’t prepare ‘Shevyo’, ensured that they didn’t deprive their taste buds, of something sweet, on the first day of August, by at least biting into a piece of jaggery.
Different parishes in Goa celebrate the ‘novidade’ on different dates in August. Every Catholic family prepares ‘Patolleo’ (a rice dumpling stuffed with grated coconut and jaggery, generally wrapped in a turmeric leaf). A local myth about making ‘Patolleo’ states that if the droplets of steam from the copper or terracotta steamer (Copro), used to steam the ‘Patolleo’, falls on to the skin, of the person steaming the ‘Patolleo’, the person would get ‘Chamkil’ (warts). If at all a family was mourning for someone within their house, the family members were not allowed to use the ‘Copro’ for steaming any food item. Hence the morning family would be offered something sweet by their close neighbors.
Other sweets prepared in the month of August, include ‘Folle’ which are cone shaped rice dumplings prepared in cones woven out of jackfruit leaves and ‘Aatol’ a semi-solid cake comprising of palm jaggery, grated coconut, split chickpea, and wheat. ‘Aatol’ was prepared especially on the day of harvesting the crop. Apart from preparing it on the day of harvesting one’s field, the sweet was also prepared on several other occasions like, on the day of laying of the foundation stone of a new house and on the day of raising the first beam of the house (paati), onto the roof.
The proverb ‘Agosto, bom gosto ou Agosto desgraça (disgroso?)’ is one that many may have heard quite often being recited by the elderly around, which probably meant that August is the month full of loads of good tastes (sweets?) but also was a month of utter disgrace for families which ran out of food (paddy), before the new crop was ready to harvest.
Pankaj Kamble from Navelim revealed something interesting. “On the occasion of ‘Naag Panchami’, Patolleos are prepared by every Goan Hindu family. ‘Naag Panchammi’ is tentatively celebrated during the second week of the month of Shravan, according to the Indian Calendar.
Other than Naag Panchami, Patolleo are also made on the occasion of Hartalika and Ganesh Chaturti,” he mentions.
Further, he mentions that on the occasion of Naag Pancham, some Hindu families follow a unique tradition of offering the sweet to snakes in their cultivated fields and house surroundings. Patolleo are placed in four corners of the field for the snakes to feed on, thus hoping that the field owners and those working in the field, would not be harmed by the snakes around.
Salt free patolleo are offered to Goddess Parvati on the occasion of Hartalika since it is strongly believed among the Hindu community along the Konkan belt that the Goddess, craved for this sweet during her pregnancy. A variation of the Patolli is also prepared in Kerala on the occasion of Onam, and is known as ‘Ely Ada’’.
Pankaj also mentions about ‘Modaks’ prepared by the Hindu community during the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi and every month on the occasion of ‘Sankashti’. Modaks are onion shaped dumplings made with rice flour dough & a sweet coconut jaggery filling, similar as that used while making ‘Patolleo’.
The Sanskrit word ‘sankashti’ means deliverance from any form of troubles or difficult times. Hence, worshiping Lord Ganesha on this day ensures that the person would be blessed with peace and prosperity in the upcoming times. The faithful usually keep a fast to be free of any obstacles on this auspicious day. The only difference in Modaks made on ‘Sankashti’ from those made on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, is that these Modaks are made using wheat flour instead of rice flour and are fried instead of being steamed.