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Go Goa Savour the delicacies

Besides these regulars on the menu there is tamdi bhaji (stir fried spinach with green chillies and coconut shavings) Formiya De Verde (batch of veggies with tomato flavoured mayonnaise served in tart shells) and lamb pulao.

The lamb pulao looks like biryani but it is a world away in taste and flavour.

Much more subtly spiced: “Just cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, onions, tomatoes and salt go into it. We don’t add any other spices,” says chef Ivo Amori.

Then there is pomfret recheidao which is a contrast from the lightly spiced pulao. The secret happens to be recheidao masala, clearly a tango of Portuguese and Indian influences as it the taste darts between sweetness, sourness and pungency. The other Goan dash to the taste is coconut vinegar extracted from coconut toddy. Have a taste of that with Sannas, a rice bread made with rice that is soaked overnight.

Don’t be bothered with names like Calde De Verde or Caddo De Cabrito, while the first means soup with green peas and spinach, the second one is a broth of lamb flavoured with celery and leek.

Tuck into your dinner buffet that’s priced at Rs. 375 plus taxes.

As Fonseca strums the guitar and Saldanha drums his fingers on the gomot (a clay pot covered with animal skin) singing “hey pori konachi (whose girl is that?)” you can as well be eating your meal in a hammock swinging between two coconut trees instead of in a hotel with faux Goa ambiance.

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