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TasteAtlas is
an experiential travel online guide for traditional food that collates
authentic recipes, food critic reviews, and research articles about popular
ingredients and dishes from all over the world. While China led the list with
six dishes in the top 20, Portugal earned the sixth spot with Carne de porco a
Alentejana.
Noted Goan
chef, Chef Peter Fernandes says, “Goan chefs should try to promote the
authentic Goan dishes wherever they go. There are so many Goan chefs across the
world and they can recreate the authentic Vindalho in these countries. Like you
can have a fish curry rice without the grinding stone, in the same way, Pork
Vindalho can be cooked anywhere and now the ingredients are also easily
available. However, the recipes should be followed. I don’t restrict the meat
to just pork as I have prepared the dish with mutton and vegetarian versions of
it with lady fingers, potatoes and brinjal. The main ingredient is the marinade
of the curry. The meat should have less fat compared to the meat. If there is
an equal portion of fat and meat, the dish will become too oily. I sometimes
get orders where the customers ask for pork without fat. However, the Vindalho
is famous all over India and people are aware of the spiciness of the dish.”
The basic
ingredients for the dish include Kashmiri chillies, cloves, cinnamon, tamarind,
vinegar, garlic, cumin seeds, onion, ginger, black pepper. The list mentions
the dish as Vindaloo which caused quite an ire among food chroniclers.
Dr Fatima da
Silva Gracias from Panjim wants to preserve some part of history of food
through her books. She mentions the Vindalho in two of her previous books,
‘Cozinha de Goa: History and Tradition of Goan Food’ in 2012 and ‘Inside a Goan
Kitchen – A food Glossary’ in 2017. “It is nice that the Pork Vindalho found a
place in the list. But when it comes to Goan cuisine, it is nothing
extraordinary. The dish was originally adapted from the Portuguese and later
more condiments were added according to what was available in Goa. It was
originally vinha da alho, which is wine and garlic, but in Goa, it is cooked
with palm vinegar instead of wine. I have written about the ingredients and its
importance in two of my books. There are variations of the dish in Goa itself
when it is cooked in Bardez, Tiswadi and Salcete with the measurement and
number of the condiments. It is also an expensive dish as majority of Catholic
Goans would prefer cooking Sorpotel over Vindalho as it requires ingredients
like Kashmiri chilies, cinnamon and cloves which are expensive. Now more
recently, Kashmiri chillies are replaced by chillies, which are also known as
long chillies from Andhra Pradesh,” says Dr Fatima.
She further
adds, “If within Goa, there are variations, the dish outside Goa is also equally
famous. It is known by the same name in Chennai, Bengal and in East Indian
cuisine but the dish
is different.”
Award winning
chef, Chef Vasco Alvares loves taking Goa to the world. He has featured Pork
Vindalho in different countries including the Lusofonia Festival in Macau in
2014 and 2015. “The dish has been taken from Goa abroad. It has now got popular
all over the world especially in England. Vindalho is a spicy pork dish which
got popular in Goa first and is now travelling the world. The name comes from
the marinade which was later replaced with vinegar. My tip for cooking Vindalho
would be to cook the dish on a slow flame so that it simmers well. The meat
should have a gelatinous flavour with the gravy. The longer it is kept, the
harshness of the vinegar reduces, just like Sorpotel. Pork fat is also
important as it give a better texture to the meat. As a Goan chef, it is
important to promote Goan cuisine and I have promoted the Pork Vindalho in
countries like Macao and South Africa,” says Vasco, who is now concentrating on
his new restaurant that focuses on bringing back nostalgic Goan food in Panjim.
Founding
member of Goan Culinary Club, Odette Mascarenhas is an author and food critic,
who highlights of keeping the traditional recipe as it is. “Vindaloo is not
Goan. It is found in places like Bombay, Bengal and Bangladesh but Vindalho is
truly Goan. I don’t know why the spelling has to be Anglicized. Every recipe
should be true to its form. When David Rocco’s ‘Dolce India’ was being shot in
Goa, the manager told me that they wanted to try the ‘Vindaloo’, I said the
first thing we need to start with is correcting the spelling. The show was shot
in a house in Majorda and we cooked half a kilo of Pork Vindalho. We shot the
cooking process and then the tasting was shot separately. David finished half a
kilo of Pork Vindalho in one sitting,” reminisces Odette.
The Goan
Culinary Club has 40 members and meets to discuss different issues pertaining
to Goan cuisines and retaining the authenticity of the dishes. “Social media
has a big role to play in taking Vindalho to the world. There are many tourists
who come down to Goa and want to try the dish. Many don’t even know the
ingredients and mistake it for Vindaloo which has potatoes. We should have
pride in our cuisine and not lose the essence of Goa. One important ingredient
is the pork meat and it was traditionally prepared with the belly fat as it had
the right amount of fat, skin and meat. The cut was also like exact cubes and
nothing was taken for granted like the need to satisfy the modern palate,”
informs Odette.
All the way
in UK, Simon Rodrigues runs a Goan restaurant, Goa Mandovi Restaurant that
serves authentic Goan dishes. The Pork Vindalho is one of the most ordered
dishes. “Pork Vindalho is like the face of Goan cuisine. It is very popular in
the UK and a lot of Portuguese and British nationals love to try the dish, even
though they know the spice quotient of the dish. Many prefer Vindalho over the
Sorpotel. Many are keen to try the marinade and it is its unique taste with
vinegar and spices that has taken it to the world and among the top pork dishes
in the world,” says Simon, originally from Vasco.
With such good reviews,
one is definitely tempted to settle down with a piping hot dish of Pork
Vindalho with a Goan pao.