Reality Bites

How often do you lose yourself in a world which captivates you wholly and eliminates all negativity – materialistic or otherwise?

Goa is that world!

Yes, you would say any holiday or merely shutting off communication from the outside world (in our age – cell-phone, internet & the virtual world), apart from dreaming would do the needful, but what happens once when you let all these things back in your life – Reality Bites!

Goa introduces you to the word ‘tranquil’ the moment you step on its shores. The calmness associated with everything, be it the sea, the people, the living style or the work-life– it’s all a breeze. Now, people of Goa would beg to differ that life is quite at a normal pace any other place would have, but I still feel that’s all a façade so that it does not look too inviting for every person’s retirement plan to direct them there.

And so it happens that every time I visit Goa, things get by so smoothly (whether on work or play) that it does definitely sway you towards adopting a life out there, forever. Reality bites when I am back from Goa to my hometown. It leaves me craving the life which I should be having – free from politics, lighting pace routine, apprehensions & things material. I love Mumbai for all its worth, especially since I have lived all my life here, I have also traveled for leisure to many places, but none of them leave you with a desire to put down everything you have and embrace it like Goa does. One fine day it might just happen as I do have a strong pull towards the place and its people – till then have to nurse the wounds that have been wrought on being bitten by reality, now and again.

An infamous Goan dish “Chicken Cafreal”, widely appreciated as its simply roasted chicken – Goan Style. An elegant and generously spiced up dish, yet delicate in flavor. The preparation of this dish as explained to me by Mr. Rui is that Cafreal is originally an African dish made by using few locally grown ingredients which were ground together to form a paste and coated onto fresh game. The marinated meat was then roasted over an open fire and savored hot. The African descendants living in Goa during pre-liberation days introduced this preparation and it went through many stages before it was adopted by the Portuguese who introduced Chicken Cafreal to Goa and thus widely consumed till date.

Mr. Rui, used to whip up one of the best Chicken Cafreal dishes in Goa at one point and till date, still does. After giving me a demonstration from scratch, I was tucking in the meal like there was no tomorrow and beamingly accepting the fact that I would be the proud owner of an authentic Chicken Cafreal recipe. This recipe is his personal best and a far cry away from most Cafreal dishes, one which he has willingly let me have and share.

Chicken Cafreal

Ingredients

• ½ kg Chicken (Cut into 4 pieces)
• 1 tablsp Ginger Garlic Paste
• 1 tablsp Tomato Puree
• 2 tablsp Bancal Sauce* (alternatively ‘Worcestershire Sauce’)
• 5 nos Green Chilies
• 1 tablsp Peppercorns
• 100ml Oil
• 2 nos Limes
• 5 nos Cloves
• 3 sticks Cinnamon
• A pinch of Turmeric Powder
• Salt to taste

Wash the chicken well and tenderize with a kitchen mallet or a tenderizing hammer, especially on the joints. Poke the chicken randomly with a fork and apply the lime and salt. Place into a large bowl.

Grind the rest of the ingredients in a mixer till well blended. Spoon the marinade onto the limed and salted chicken and rub well till coated all over. Keep aside for a couple of hours or ideally overnight.

In a large frying pan, pour the oil and heat on a low flame. Once heated, add the chicken pieces into the frying pan and cover with a flat metal plate. Ensure that the plates circumference is smaller than the pan so it sits over the chicken. Take a large metal weight or a heavy vessel such as a iron pestle or a heavy metal bowl filled with water, place over the flat metal plate to weigh down and press the chicken to the frying pan. Roast well on a low flame for about seven minutes. Turn the semi-cooked chicken over and press down with the weight and cook for another seven minutes till well done and the skin has a nice brown roasted color.

Remove from the fire, cut into desired size or serve it up as is. You may return it to the pan to cook in its juices for a more succulent dish.

Serve with sliced potatoes which are fried in the same oil and green salad.

Variation Kick

For a fun party element and a rustic woody taste to the dish, add a dash of dark rum (preferable old monk or rum which is aged well in oak barrels) to the marinade.

Incidentally, Mr. Rui also suggested another restaurant, which was a couple of kilometers away from his resort, by the name of ‘Florentines’. The owner, a close friend of his, has a distinctive recipe for Chicken Cafreal which he serves up; it has a spot of green chilies and fresh coriander in the marinade. The restaurant is one of the best in Goa today for authentic tasting Cafreal dish and oft frequented by locals and tourists alike. I visited Florentines during my stay there, tagging along a few of my entourage who would enjoy eating meat and we were left quite satisfied. Though I did not get a chance to meet the owner (he was travelling), his manager was kind enough to show me around and ensure that I had the best Chicken Cafreal experience the restaurant was so well known for. Do visit Florentines when you in Goa the next time and a different culinary experience at Ronil Resorts where Mr. Rui so generously let me in his kitchens.

A fantastic image of one of the famous Churches of Goa, captured in the dead of night by Nonchalant Inspirer – Nikita Modi, who could not but resist sprinting off to take a few memories of this place. This Church is right by Florentines and a pretty good landmark to spot your favorite restaurant.

*Bancal Sauce – is a locally (Goan) brewed sauce, available in most Goan general stores. Its ingredients are locally grown and the taste is somewhat similar to Worcestershire Sauce. If you get the sauce, well and good, otherwise its alternative does the job well.