Sunrise to Sunset and beyond

24 hours, makes up a day? Doesn’t it? And what defines a day is simply to wake up in the morning, get our routine on and by sundown, back to our comfy beds till sun-up again. Now imagine just the comfy, after the routine part – ‘throughout’ the hours of a day. This is what Goa is all about. Now I don’t just say it because I am on a holiday back here, but purely because the Goan streak runs in my blood. Mother being born and brought up here (and if you consider spending 4 months in a year for half of my lifespan in Goa a reason enough to be Goan, then well I am Goan too). I always had that bit of a laid back, content trait in me, in a good way. I take life as it comes, rarely stress over the speed breakers in the path of life and best of all, sit back and enjoy a drink every evening.

Every year when I make my trip down here, I fail to see the difference in the lifestyle, atleast amongst the locals. Year after year, the tourists come and spoil the beaches with their atrocities, the drunks aimlessly splash around in the water or loll on the beach with a heady buzzing noise which not only plays in their head but reverberates around when you pass them, but a certain section of Goa remains as is. If you shade off the superficial layer of the colorful and vibrant unwanted, the hues of Goa are brought into focus and a beautiful, old fashioned and astonishingly surreal picture emerges from the silhouettes. The people, the chatter, the love and the warmth is all conceding to ones beliefs and ideas. An experience which is best viewed when seen from the eyes of a true blooded Goan.

I am back here to my roots, with a nice and easy sabbatical from work to live blog on the regional and so-called ‘coastal’ cuisine of Goa. I got here a week back with a couple of friends who joined in on my coastal soiree and stayed on for a frivolous four day extravaganza where morning and night merged, much like the horizon of the sea to the sky. In the course of this unceasing revelry I had my nose out to take in the best the coast offered as far as food was concerned. We hit the local joints on the yellow ochre sands of Baga where we sat from sunrise to sunset, schmoozing with a couple of tall chilled bottles of draft and picking on perfectly spiced prawn curry and rice, lazily gazing at the crashing waves of the sea and not a care in the world when the spray hit our hazy sunglasses. I also got to thinking of not only trying out some locally made dishes but to learn a little bit on the history of the dishes and learning to pound up regional Masalas which I could take back with me to the City and try out fun combinations.

I intend cooking up some local dishes and some dishes which are creations of my own, ensuring that I religiously use local ingredients. The very first dish before I start off with the elaborate stuff is a simple summer salad using fresh local ingredients. This salad has been inspired by the flavors, colors and fruits of Goa and pretty much sums up what Goa is all about. From Sunrise to Sunset, this will take you beyond…

Papaya & Ambarella Salad with Mint and Honey Dressing

Ingredients:

• 1 medium size Papaya (peeled, seeded and diced)
• 3 small Ambarella* (washed and cut in juliennes)
• ¼ cup Fresh Coconut (grated)
• 2 tablsp Honey
• 1 tsp Lime
• 6-7 leaves Mint (chopped finely)
• ½ inch Ginger – (cut into juliennes)
• Pinch of Salt

Mix the honey, lime, mint and ginger in a small mixing bowl, slightly crushing the ginger to release the juice. Keep aside.

Place the diced papaya and ambarella in a large bowl and toss in the dressing. Toss the salad well and add the grated coconut, toss again and serve cold.

This simple salad can be had on any cool summer day and of course tossing it up is quite a breeze. Keep a look out for some amazing coastal recipes coming up in a short while. I am sure your kitchen will be well equipped to bring out the flavors of Goa.

* Ambarella – A tropical, south Asian, seasonal fruit, also grown on the coasts of Goa. The Portuguese call it the cajá-manga. It contains a fibrous pit, quite sour and dry on the palette. This fruit can also be had the traditional fun way by sprinkling some chili powder and salt.