Voddio

I discovered this delicious ingredient on a trip to the local market. Voddio are sun dried morsels of umami goodness, adding flavour and punch to coconut curries and delicious eaten as a kismur by themselves. They are made of mashed white pumpkin and uddid dal and spices that are then dried into little crinckly discs or voddios, its pungent moreish taste is extremely unique and will definitely leave you wanting more. Look out for the packets of the voddio made by goan village women when you shop at the friday market in mapusa or at the Goan Mahila Mandal stores. Here are two delicious recipes to try. Happy Cooking.

Voddianchim Kismur

Ingredients

1 cup voddio

2 medium onion finely sliced

1 cup freshly grated coconut

1 tablespoon oil

1 teaspoon red chilli powder

Salt to taste

Fresh Green Chilli to garnish (optional)

Method

Heat the oil in a pan and fry the voddio over low heat, taking care not to burn them. They crisp up on cooling. Pound the voddio. Fry the sliced onions till translucent. When ready to serve, toss the crushed voddio, fried onions and freshly grated coconut together. Season with salt and chilli powder. Garnish with sliced green chillies if you like. Serve immediately with rice and curry.

Voddiancho Ros

Ingredients

2 cups coconut milk

1 teaspoon chilli powder

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

¾ cup voddio

2 teaspoons oil

¼ teaspoon mustard seeds

1 small onion, finely diced

2-3 tablespoons tamarind pulp

salt and sugar to taste

Method

Roast the voddio in a little oil over low heat heat,taking care not to burn them . When lightly fried, keep the voddio aside. Heat some more oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, allow to pop, add in the onions, saute till soft and translucent, then add ½ cup of thin coconut milk, chilli powder, turmeric and tamarind. When warmed through add the fried voddio and remaining coconut milk and simmer on low for 5 minutes. Season with salt and add a little sugar to balance. This ros is delicious served with some hot steamed rice.

Creme Caramel (Pudim)

The classic Portuguese custard (pudim) needs only a few ingredients and is an easy recipe to make. With its delicious custard and caramel, it's very similar to the French crème caramel.

Ingredients:

500 ml milk

200 ml condensed milk

3 large Eggs

1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract

4 +3 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons Water

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 Degree C. For the caramel, in a non-stick pan add 4 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons of water. Swirl the pan to help it to melt down. Let the caramel come to a boil allow it to bubble up, the caramel will slowly colour from blonde to lovely brunette. Don't stir the pan. Pour this caramel in a baking pan and spread it evenly.

Place the condensed milk, the milk, 3 tablespoons sugar and the eggs into a blender and blend on high till a very smooth consistency is achieved, taste for sweetness and adjust sugar if required. Pour the mixture into the baking pan over caramel.

Now take a bigger pan and fill it half way with water. Place the caramel pan inside that pan and bake at 160C for 45 minutes. Allow it to cool a bit. Put into the fridge for around 3 hours. Run a knife along the sides of the custard to release, place a serving plate over the tin, invert the tin and plate and unmold carefully. Serve chilled.

Goan Sausage Pulao

This Goan chorizo flavoured pulao is a fragrant one pot meal made out of rice and spicy goan sausages. Perfect accompanied by some salad for Sunday lunch when you don’t want to spend too much time slaving over the stove. The goan sausages can be replaced with any other kind of sausage and made as spicy or mild as you like. You could also add veggies like fresh peas and/or finely diced carrots to make it  a more nutritious meal.

Ingredients

2 cups basmati rice (rinsed, soaked for 1/2 an hour and then drained)

4 cups hot water

25-30 Goan  sausages, casing and string removed

2 medium onions – finely diced

2 medium tomatoes – finely diced

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

1-2 Maggi cubes (Chicken flavour) to taste

1 tsp. red chili flakes/ 2-3 green chilies, split lengthwise

4-6 garlic cloves finely chopped

salt to taste

1 tbsp oil

Whole spices- 4 cloves, 1 inch cinnamon piece, 6 peppercorns, 2 bay leaves

Coriander leaves to garnish

1/2 Lime

Method

Heat the oil in the pan, add the onion and fry them till they become soft and translucent, then add the. Garlic, cloves, peppercorns, bay leaves and cinnamon  until they release their aroma. Add the tomatoes, sausage pieces, green chillies/chili flakes and turmeric powder. Saute till the tomatoes become soft. Add the rice and  fry, stirring occasionally till it starts browning lightly. Add  the hot water, Maggi cubes and salt to taste, stir once, wait till it starts boiling, cover the pan, reduce the flame and let it cook for 10 to 15 minutes till rice is done and liquid has evaporated. Remove the pan from the flame and let it sit covered for another couple of minutes. Serve garnished with some coriander and some lime juice.

For a special touch you can soak the goan sausages in 2 tbsps of  feni before adding to the pulao. This adds a heady aroma to the pulao.

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.