Serradura (Sawdust Pudding)

Serradura or Sawdust Pudding was brought to Goa by the Portuguese and is thought to have come from Macau, another Portuguese colony at the time. It gets its name from the texture of the crushed biscuits that make up this extremely easy to put together recipe.  Modern variations of this recipe include substituting crushed Oreo cookies for Marie biscuits and flavoring the cream with crème the menthe/ Kahlua etc. Have fun making this traditional yet simple and delectable sobremesa.

Ingredients

 1 cup heavy whipping cream

 ½ cup condensed milk

20     Marie Biscuits, finely crushed

 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
 2 tsp gelatin, dissolved in 3 tbsps. water

 ¼ cup cashew nuts, finely chopped and roasted (optional)

 Chocolate Shavings/cocoa and whole cashewnuts to Garnish

Method

In a chilled bowl whip the whipping cream, add in the condensed milk and vanilla extract and whip it up till peaks are formed. Check for sweetness and add condensed milk according to your taste and preference, mix the dissolved gelatin into the condensed milk and then add it to the whipped cream. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Mix the crushed biscuits and cashews together if you are adding nuts.

In a transparent glass or bowl, add a couple of spoonful of the biscuit and nuts mixture making sure all the sides are covered. Then spoon in the cream. Then again biscuits, then the cream and continue till the top. Garnish it with some chocolate shavings/cocoa if you like. Refrigerate till set for about 4 hours and dig in.

Feni Pancakes

Mushroom Tondak

Ingredients

4 cups sliced/Shredded Mushrooms (Button mushrooms work well)
2 cups diced onions
4 flakes garlic
1 cup grated coconut
1 sliced onion
1 marble sized ball of tamarind (soaked in some water to make a pulp)
3-4 tblsp goan sambar powder
Salt to season
2 tbsp  oil for sautéing

Method
In a pan, heat  1 tbsp oil & sauté the sliced onion till translucent, add the garlic and cinnamon. Add the coconut and fry till golden. Cool and grind this mixture to a coarse paste. Keep aside. Heat the remaining oil in a pan  and fry the diced onions till soft, add the mushrooms and cook for five minutes, add the ground paste,sambhar powder, tamarind pulp and salt and cook till the gravy thickens. Serve this delicious mushroom dish with chapattis or pao.

Three Wise Men Yuletide Fruitcake

My ‘Three Wise Men Yuletide Fruitcake’ has a generous portion of the three wise men of alcohol, and no its not Jim, Jack and Johnnie but our Goan friends; the ornery old monk, the fine teacher and the priestly tipple –Vinicola. Soaking the fruits in the alcohol and then feeding the cake each day with some more adds a unique depth and flavor to this Christmas cake. This is the  perfect recipe when you want to show off some baking prowess. Feliz Natal.

Ingredients

½ cup Old Monk Dark Rum

½ cup Teachers Whisky

½   cup Vinicola Port wine

3 cups dried fruit (a combination of golden and black raisins, glace cherries, dates, figs

and orange peel ;as per your preference), chopped

1 cup salted butter

2 cups packed brown sugar

4 large eggs

3 cups flour

1 cup nuts (a combination of almonds, cashewnuts and walnuts), chopped

1 tblsp ground mixed spice ( a combination of cinnamon, cloves and ginger)

2 tblsp orange marmalade

Zest and juice of 1 orange

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tblsp baking powder

2 tblsp molasses/ treacle or a dash of caramel colour

Mix the alcohols together and use half of it to soak the fruit overnight in an airtight container. Keep the rest of the alcohol aside for feeding the baked cake later. You may soak the fruits for longer if you desire.

To prepare the cake batter, cream the butter and sugar well, and then add eggs one at a time, beating well, in between each addition. Fold in all the other ingredients till well incorporated. Pour into two 7 inch lined pans and bake in a preheated oven at 170 degree Celsius till done.  Leave the cake to cool, remove from pan and douse with some of the remaining alcohol. Wrap the cake in cling wrap and parchment paper and keep in a cool dry place. Feed the cake with the remaining alcohol for a couple of days to a week before serving.

Batica (Batega)

Batica/Baath or  Batega is essentially a traditional Goan Christmas cake. This cake, made of semolina and the usual suspects gets an exotic flair with the addition of rose water and some aromatic cardamom.  Soaking the batter in a cool place allows the semolina to soften and absorb the flavours of rose and cardamom and ensures that the cake turns out moist, soft and crumbly. A slice of Batica with a hot cup of tea is the perfect evening indulgence.

Ingredients

250 gms semolina

1 ½ cups fresh coconut, ground

3 eggs

1 ½ cups Sugar

5 tblsp butter/ghee

1tsp salt

½ tblsp baking powder

1 tblsp Rose water

1/2 tblsp ground cardamom

¼ cup milk

Method

Beat the eggs, sugar and butter till fluffy. Add the semolina, coconut, cardamom, salt and rose water, mixing well. Set aside for 12 hours, or overnight in a cool place so that the semolina can soak and soften. Add the baking powder and the milk beat together and pour into a 7 by 7 inch lined pan and bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees till done and the cake passes the skewer test. 

An Ode to the Bombay Duck

-Anonymous

Consider the unfortunate Bombay Duck.
Neither from Bombay, nor a duck
Clearly a fish out of luck
Named for a train that brought it to the city
Ugly as sin, it deserves your pity.
But squeeze out the Arabian Sea in which

But, squeeze out the Arabian Sea in which it was spawned

Embalm it in a pungent mixture carefully ground

Slow cook it over an embracing flame

Warn your veggie neighbours – especially Mrs Jain!

Soon, a pungent odour will rise in the air

Redolent of oceans, trawlers

and rugged men with wind in their hair

As the edges begin to sizzle and the skin turns to gold,

You'll feel as elated as Sanjay on his third parole.

It's crispy, it's crumbly, it's a winner without doubt.

Its flavours explode against the roof of your mouth

They swirl and they roll like the surf on the beach

they access parts of you even Budweiser cannot reach

The end is now nigh, you slower the pace.

You regret having started with stuffing your face.

But, as the last piece disappears,

you so want to cry :

You just finished your plate of Bombil Fry!