The actuality that you are examining this already elevates you to the situation of a meals lover curious ample to go outside of the normal Konkani impression of miles of shorelines thronged by visitors who are sunbathing and ingesting. You are completely ready to dig deeper and unravel the secret behind the spicy and aromatic food of the area.
Of study course, given that we are chatting about the delicacies of a coastal space, coconut and seafood are noticeable elements in the planning of any meal nonetheless, area and seasons also perform an essential aspect in the selection of the relaxation of the substances. Let’s choose a search at some of the frequent, and some not so frequent, elements applied in Konkani food.
A. Spices: Indian foods is incomplete without an assortment of spices and the area cuisine takes advantage of them generously, supplying the dishes a unique taste.
· Black pepper: Piper Nigrum, or black pepper, is utilised thoroughly in Indian cooking. In India, it is developed predominantly in South India. The fruits of the plant, known as peppercorns, are dried and utilized as a spice equally for their taste and for their medicinal attributes.
· Fenugreek: This plant, which bears the scientific name of Trigonella foenum-graecum, has been cultivated considering that historical occasions: as significantly back again as 4000BC in Egypt. It is grown in semi-arid climates, mainly in the northern and western states of India. This plant is utilized in lots of methods in Indian cuisine: as an herb, a spice (each dried leaves and seeds), and as a vegetable in its refreshing type.
· Purple Chilies: Red chilies or chili peppers are crops of the genus Capsicum. They are made use of to make hot ‘n’ spicy Indian curries. The plant was released into Asia by Portuguese traders and considering the fact that Goa was, till the recent earlier, a Portuguese colony, neighborhood Goan or Konkani delicacies works by using this scorching tasting spice heavily. The versions of chilies that are often utilised in Goan dishes include Byadgi, Bird’s Eye and other people.
· Asafoetida: This is dried latex attained from the faucet root of a perennial herb referred to as Ferula, which is frequently developed in Iran, Afghanistan, and India. The spice has a fetid, pungent smell, hence the title asafoetida. But despite this, when used in particularly little portions in dishes like lentils, it provides a smooth and unique flavor.
· Turmeric: Turmeric, or Curcuma longa, is obtained from an organic plant belonging to the ginger family members. These plants are indigenous to the southeast areas of India. When turmeric is utilised typically in rhizome powder sort to impart a yellow shade to foods, in Konkani dishes, turmeric leaves are applied to wrap and prepare dinner exclusive sweet dishes.
· Mustard seed: Mustard seeds come across point out in numerous historic texts, which includes the Bible and the stories of Gautama Buddha. Indian mustard, with the scientific name of Brassica juncea, is developed generally in the northern states of India.
· Cumin: This spice is derived from the dried seed of Cuminum cyminum, an organic plant from the parsley family members. It is utilised each in entire and floor sort and is considered to have a quantity of medicinal and digestive qualities.
· Teppal: Also recognized variously as Tirphal, Szechuan pepper or Zanthoxylum rhetsa, these are dried berries that mature in grape-like bunches on a tree which is grown mainly in Maharashtra and Karnataka in India. These berries, minus the seeds, are employed primarily in the preparation of fish dishes in the Konkan location, as very well as from some vegetarian dishes.
· Coriander seeds and leaves: Coriander is also identified as Chinese parsley or Cilantro and is native to numerous areas of the entire world such as southern Europe, north Africa, and southwestern Asia. The plant’s leaves, as very well as the dried seeds, are applied in cooking, in particular for building chutneys or as a spice.
· KhusKhus: This is the title for poppy seeds that have been employed for hundreds of decades in food planning. Attained from the opium poppy, the seeds are intended to have sedative powers.
· Cloves: These are flower buds of the evergreen clove tree which is grown generally in south Asia. This fragrant spice is utilised in African, Asian and Center Jap delicacies to impart flavor to curries, meat preparations, and scorching beverages.
· Cinnamon: What’s special about this spice is that it is received from the internal bark of not a person, but a range of trees belonging to the genus Cinnamomum. Its flavor is such that it is used in both of those sweet and savory dishes. This spice has been considered healthy to be consumed by gods and monarchs given that ancient situations and therefore has been highly valued across the planet, though it is native to South Asian nations.
· Bay leaf or Tej Patta: This leaf is distinctive from the Cassia leaf/bay leaf acknowledged in the west. The Indian bay leaf is employed to impart taste to dishes like lentils and different types of khichris.
· Black and Green Cardamom: Both of those the black and inexperienced cardamom belong to the ginger spouse and children Zingiberaceae and is grown predominantly in Asia. They are distinct not just in shade, but also in sizing. Inexperienced cardamom is a single of the world’s most costly spices, at the rear of only saffron and vanilla, and, like these two, it is also made use of the two in sweet and savory preparations.
B. Herbs: Indian cooking can make use of a amount of natural vegetation to increase taste to dishes or for the function of garnishing. Below are some of the most significant kinds:
· Green coriander: Coriander leaf, apart from getting ground to make spicy chutneys and dips, is a ought to for finishing the glance of Indian curries.
· Curry leaf: This is not to be baffled with the European curry plant. This distinct leaf belongs to the sub-tropical Murraya koenigii tree and is applied pretty often in South Indian and Konkani delicacies.
· Mango Ginger: Referred to as aamhaldi in neighborhood parlance, Curcuma amada, or mango ginger, belongs to ginger household Zingiberaceae and has a raw mango-like taste. It finds its use in Indian cooking in making pickles, chutneys, sauces and salads.
· Ginger: The root of the flowering plant Zingiber officinale is one of the most widely made use of elements in Indian cooking. The roots have a distinctive and warm flavor and they are utilized in curries, and additional to very hot beverages, and so forth.
· Garlic: Allium sativum, superior recognized as garlic, is a pungent smelling species of the onion genus. It has been utilised in cooking for the earlier 7000 yrs and is a staple in several sections of the earth, which include Mediterranean, Asian, and African delicacies. From curries to stews and soups, and from chutneys and dips to pickles and flavored oil, garlic is utilized in all types of cooking.
C. Souring Agents made use of in Konkani Foods
· Bilimbi: This is the fruit of the Avarrhoa bilimbi or cucumber tree and is a near relative of carambola. It is a tropical tree and grows in gardens and backyards. It is employed commonly in Goan delicacies for producing pickles or as a souring agent in soups and stews, or even curries.
· Carambola: The fruit of the Avarroha carambola tree, also recognized as star fruit, is used in a very similar way as Bilimbi fruit that is to make pickles and chutneys or for eating uncooked with salt. Some Konkani recipes use jaggery to counter its particularly tangy taste.
· Tamarind: Tamarindus indica or the tamarind tree is a leguminous tree indigenous to tropical Africa but grown extensively in India. The extract of this pod – which preferences like bitter tasting fruit, is utilised as a souring agent in a lot of Konkani recipes that range from rice dishes, cooked vegetables, chutneys, lentils to seafood like crab.
· Inexperienced Mango: Even though dried and floor, eco-friendly or unripe mango or amchoor powder is employed in Indian dishes to give them a tangy taste the raw fruit itself is blended with coriander, chili and other spices to make mouthwatering sweet and bitter chutneys and facet dishes that go effectively with rice.
· Kokum: This is the fruit of Garcinia indica, a tropical plant belonging to the mangosteen household. Its outer deal with is sunshine-dried to make aamsul or kokum. In the Konkan region, it is regarded as bhirand and is the most often utilised souring agent, imparting a somewhat sour flavor to dishes alongside with a dim red colour.
D. Vegetables, Fruit and Flowers applied in Konkani Delicacies
· Coconut: The fruit of the coconut tree or Cocos nucifera, also called kalpavriksh in Konkani, is made use of in several unique strategies in Konkani cuisine. The fruit is accessible in abundance in the location and is utilized grated, dried and grated, fried or as a paste, or in the form of coconut milk in quite a few recipes, some really well-liked types becoming Sol Kadhi, Ambe Hashale, Vali Ambat, and so forth.
· Gourds: Konkani cuisine has many properly-recognised recipes that use several styles of gourd, be it bitter gourd, bottle gourd or ash gourd, which are cooked in coconut curry with an assortment of spices that give them a incredibly hot and bitter taste. Other kinds of gourds made use of are snake gourd and ridge gourd.
· Malabar Cucumber: Recognized as magge in Konkani, Malabar cucumber is a fleshy vegetable resembling a pumpkin. It is employed as an component in preparing rasam and curries in Goa and Kerala.
· Chayote: Also acknowledged as christophine, this is a vegetable which is conveniently available yr round and can be chopped and cooked applying spices like mustard seeds, fenugreek, asafoetida, and grated coconut.
· Yam and Chinese Potato: Suran or yam and soppoor kook or Chinese potato are cooked with spicy coconut chutney and asafoetida and go perfectly with rice.
· Sweet potato: Kananga, as sweet potato is known as in Konkani, is utilized to make phodis which can be equally deep fried or pan fried.
· Banana: Banana is made use of in Konkani dishes in a variety of approaches ranging from the preparing of Banana halwa, a sweet dish, to shallow fried banana phodis coated with spice combination, to banana puris that are eaten with coconut chutney and sambar. Other recipes involve raw banana curry, banana modak (a sweet dish), and so forth.
· Drumstick: Recognized domestically as mashing, drumstick dishes are very well-liked in Goa provided that the tree is located in the backyards of most houses. Drumstick is full of iron and the tree’s bouquets and leaves are also utilized in Konkani cooking. Preferred dishes involve drumstick ros cooked in coconut curry, cutlets, drumstick greens rice, etcetera.
· Colocasia: known as pathrado in Konkani, stuffed colocasia leaves are a preferred nearby delicacy. Aside from that, it is made use of to make fritters, cutlets, and aspect dishes like venti which employs the plant’s stems. The leaves are also made use of to make curry, primarily as Naivedyam on Janmashtami Working day.
· Breadfruit: This largish fruit belongs to the mulberry loved ones. It is identified as jeev kadge in Konkani and is utilized to make fritters and a spicy dry dish to go with rice and lentils.
· Hog Plums: One particular of the most common greens employed in Konkani cooking, hogplums or ambada are the fruits of a locally developed tree. They are also utilised in pickles or in other dishes as souring brokers.
· Tender Cashew Nuts: Cashew is a renowned crop of the Konkan region, and, in a natural way, the area has some scrumptious cashew nut dishes as portion of its delicacies. A few popular types are Tender Cashew Nut curry or Bibbe Sagle, Bibbe Upkari, and so forth.
· Jackfruit: Jackfruit trees are a typical sight in the region and the fruits are applied to make phodi or fritters, chutney, side dishes, and payasam (a sweet dish).
· Inexperienced Aubergine: Gulla or eggplant is a component of some of the best Konkani dishes, like fritters, Stuffed Brinjal, Brinjal Sambhar, smoked Konkani brinjals, and so on.
· Greens: Apart from coriander, Konkani foodstuff also takes advantage of brahmi leaves which are locally recognized as ekpanna tamboli. They are used to make curries and chutneys.
· Amaranthus: A different inexperienced leafy vegetable applied in Konkani delicacies is amaranthus which is created into bhaji or upkari, the inexperienced leaves staying identified as dhavi bhaji and red ones tambdi bhaji.
· Malabar Spinach: Regarded as valli in Konkani, Malabar spinach is applied to make spinach coconut curry or Vaali Ambat. This curry can be utilised with prawns, shell fish, and many others.
· Tender Bamboo Shoots: These are a favorite with the locals and are both equally cooked as a aspect dish and pickled and preserved.
E. Lentils/Peas: Konkan is fundamentally a rice and fish consuming location and lentils are a must to go with rice. Apart from the typical kinds like masoor (pink lentil), mung (inexperienced gram), toor (pigeon peas), chana dal (Bengal gram), urad dal (black gram), and rajma (kidney beans), some other lentils and peas made use of in Konkani delicacies consist of:
· Cow Peas/Black Eyed Beans: Konkanis get ready bagde kodel or cow peas in coconut gravy with garlic seasoning. The dish, which is accompanied by rice, also uses Mangalore cucumber or potatoes.
· Horse Gram: The chilly period sees Konkanis planning kulith or horse gram pretty routinely. While the cooking h2o is utilized as a saru or slim soup, the cooked gram is made use of as kosambaris (salad) or stir fry. Aside from this, dosas and idlis are also created making use of floor rice, kulith, urad, and chana dal.
F. Fish and other Seafood: Seafood is an integral component of any coastal region and Konkan is no exception. Vison (Kingfish) is commonly cooked. The other versions of fish that find a area in this cuisine contain pomphret, tunal, mackerel, and shark. Shellfish like lobster, prawns, squid, crab and mussels are also simply readily available.
· Ladyfish: Ladyfish, also identified as kane or nagli, is found a a lot in the rivers of the region. This fish is viewed as cleanse and very easily digestible and is cooked in coconut gravy. It is also eaten deep fried.
· Shark: Ambot Tik is a Goan delicacy which is made with shark and served on particular occasions. It is cooked in a scorching and sour curry and preferences improved if eaten a day following cooking!
About the centuries, Konkani cuisine has been influenced not just by nearness to the sea and availability of components, but also its Hindu origins and centuries of Portuguese rule. The colonial rulers released a selection of vegetables, fruits and spices to this area some of them, like potato and tomato, had been originally rejected by the Hindu natives, but, with the passage of time, they designed their way into the neighborhood dishes.