A Taste Of Goa, One Sundowner Bite At A Time

IT'S SEASON TIME IN GOA – that time of the year populated by film festivals, carnivals, and a lot of merrymaking. But we've got you covered if you're low on social battery and want to enjoy just a quiet sundowner. Folks at Courtyard by Marriott in Colva, Goa can help arrange a tranquil time at their rooftop restaurant CEU, with all things Goa at your disposal – hors d'oeuvres with a local touch and beach views during sunset.

White sofas on a wooden deck, with green stretches of palm trees reaching out to you from both sides, the rooftop restaurant has just the right blend of colours and textures to host a cosy sundowner. Chef Manoj Bisht placed the customised hors d'oeuvres on a delicate two-tier pearl-white china stand. The borders of the plates were adorned by a golden streak, further accentuated by the reflection of the receding sun. It felt like the sun was as much a host as the star of the show.

Savoury bites

Chef Manoj struck a balance between sweet and savoury bites, vegetarian and non-vegetarian options, tradition and innovation. Of the two non-veg dishes, the first one was Chicken Cafreal Canapé. “It's usually used as a filling inside the Goan poi bread or even a roll these days. But I served it on a canapé because that makes for a light snack, and at the same time, is easy to eat,” said Chef Manoj. 

Chicken cafreal is prepared by marinating the pieces in a paste of green chillies, fresh coriander leaves, onion, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, pepper, chilli, mace, clove powder and lime juice. But the process doesn't stop there. The leftover paste after the marination is made to simmer in a pan, in which the chicken is tossed again for another round. “This is a Portuguese recipe, so it was originally consumed with the skin and the bones on. That made it crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. But nowadays, people prefer it without the skin and the bones.” 

The other non-vegetarian option is Rissóis de Camarã aka Prawn Rissóis. Prawns are cooked in a white sauce gravy, made of cheese and refined wheat flour. The prawn gravy is then filled into a puff pastry crust, made of wheat and egg deep-fried in oil. In case you don't have the appetite for seafood or are a vegetarian, you can request the chef to replace prawn with mushroom. Mushroom Rissóis makes for an equally part-creamy, part-crunchy delight. 

For the vegetarian options, Chef Manoj prepared poi bites filled with Veg Xacuti. A Portuguese-style curry made of white poppy seeds, sliced onions, toasted grated coconut, and large dried red chillies, it consists of potatoes, mushrooms, and peas. “Usually, Goan Chorizo (pork) is packed into a poi. On the other hand, Veg Xacuti is consumed with rice or chapati. But I mixed and matched these dishes so that if you're a vegetarian, you get to taste the two Goan specialities – poi and Xacuti – in one bite,” added Chef Manoj. 

The other vegetarian dish was also adapted from a popular Goan meat/egg dish. Veg Ros, a vegetarian version of Ros Omelette, is made by cooking cauliflowers and mushrooms in a spicy gravy consisting of onions, curry leaves, black mustard seeds, scraped coconut and spices. “Ros means ras in Bengali. So the chicken is cooked in this gravy and then spread over an omelette. But to make it more suitable for a sundowner, I cooked a vegetarian gravy and served it in a canape,” pointed out Chef Manoj.

Sweet bites

Of course, since spicy is the default palate of the Goan cuisine, it had to be balanced with some sweet treats. So there was bebinca, a signature Goan layered dessert made of flour, sugar, ghee, egg yolk, and coconut milk, garnished with nutmeg. Along with bebinca, there was the Bolinhas, crisp coconut and cardamom cookies that melt in your mouth as soon as you crack them open with your teeth. 

As the third dessert offering and the most appropriate for a lasting post-sundowner aftertaste, Chef Manoj prepared forminhas, which translates to bite-sized. Apples, strawberries and other seasonal fruits were chopped and placed on a bed of whipped cream inside a canape. With the sun settling into the sea and golden hues mingling with the inky sky, this sweet and spicy sundowner helps you ease into the darkness, but also not go gentle into that good night.