Sao Joao Festival in Goa

Just when I start feeling I know everything there is to know about Goa and my village (Benaulim), something new pops up. Friends from Panjim invited us to join them in celebrating the Sao Joao festivities. After a few emails back and forth and instructions to carry towels, a change of clothing my daughter and me were ready for a Holi like day in Goa.

Some background on Sao Joao festival, Sao Joao feast is held to felicitate the patron Saint, John the Baptist. This festival is specially important for the village of Benaulim where we have a beautiful old church dedicated to him. The story goes that the pregnant mother of St John the Baptist and Mother Mary with Christ in her womb were together, recognizing Christ to be god, St John took a leap in his mother’s womb. This leap is called the leap of faith and to imitate this leap of faith, young men of the village jump into the wells to show their leap of faith.

So far so good, till Shreya mentioned that St John the Baptist was older than Christ and he was already telling people about the arrival of Christ in the deserts of Palestine. My daughter asked, how was the other story possible? I told her that it’s our turn to take a leap of faith and believe in the stories told by Alex’s grand-mom and join the festivities.

We stopped at our local pond near the church in Benaulim, the village boys were busy decorating around it with balloons and streamers on poles, exotic fruits hanging from the tree branches and a boat placed on the side. The others were hiding bottles of beer and other liquors in the pond. The point being, boys from the village will jump into the pond and search for the alcohol that will be drunk as they find it. Now I wonder where that came from …… grownup baptism of sorts I guess!

As we traversed the distance between Benaulim and Siolim where the festival is celebrated with much more pomp and show. We noticed young men and women with beautiful floral wreaths driving down. Anjali and Noyna wanted their very own wreaths and I was hoping to purchase them on the way … that was not to be, as everyone makes their own special wreath. We have many ideas for next year, equipped with our flowers and staplers we shall make a gorgeous wreath that Julius Ceasar shall envy.

Siolim was decorated in a similar manner though instead of the village pond, it was beside the river. An old man dressed in gold lame lion cloth and a fake tiger skin was baptizing a pretty young kid in a white dress. The highlight of the stay was an upbeat song sung by two young kids in Konkani. Rain had abandoned us, which is normally necessary for the celebrations. Off we went to the party at the Riviera. Modern young kids were dressed in casuals with flowered t-shirts or girls with flowered hair ties. All gyrating to the DJ’s music or drinking beer, our arrival definitely skewed the average age of the party.

Similar parties were just beginning all over Goa with a promise to go on till wee hours of the morning. I am left with the thought that, would I have to allow Noyna to part take in these celebrations a few years from now? Two boys drowned in the shallow pools……….read the newspaper next morning.

Kathi Roll

This one is for Teesta After looking high and low for the best Kathi Roll in Kolkata I have come to the conclusion that “Hot Kathi Roll ” on 1/1 Park Street, Kolkata is by far the best. Yes it has 2000 calories per roll, the paratha (bread) is deep fried in Dalda (hydrogenated oil, containing high amounts of trans fat) and then coated with eggs and stuffed with masala mutton (a pure cholesterol shot), but as you bite into its crispy shell savoring the texture of the soft egg and then the chewy meat it makes it all worth it.
Whilst I am at it I thought of delving a bit into the history of “Kathi Rolls”, this is by far the most popular street food in Kolkata, rolls of dough are neatly piled on the side of the Tawa (girdle) ready to be rolled out and fried. The meat is precooked and ready for stuffing however in the olden times the meat was put on bamboo skewers (and hence the name “kathi” which stands for the bamboo skewer) and grilled before being stuffed and rolled in the Paratha.
A restaurant called Nizam’s in 1932 in Kolkata for the office goers who wanted a quick hearty snack on the run launched Kathi rolls. (Who would have thought that fast food was a necessity 100 years ago!) Nizam’s originally used metal skewers to grill the meat but later switched to bamboo skewers. These skewers are referred to in Bengali as “Kathi” and hence the name.
Today the “Kathi” skewered meat has been abandoned for precooked stuffing that comes in various forms – chicken, mutton, paneer and potatoes. Even the bread in various parts of the country has been substituted by roomali roti (thin whole wheat bread) or Nan bread.
Coming back to the original reason for this blog - Teesta is a dear friend and is craving kathi rolls, I am happy to share my healthier version of kathi roll for her.

Crowd gathering at “Hot kathi roll”

Nizams kathi roll being rolled out

Cooking in Kolkata

Sushoma and Anjona
For the past 18 years I have been coming to Kolkatta on one pretext or the other and indulging in the fabulous cuisine of this state. This time I had an opportunity to be taught the cuisines by 2 beautiful Bengali women “Anjona” and “Sushoma”. Sushoma lives in a near by slum and works in 4 homes doing everything from cleaning to cooking. She is a wide-eyed beautiful women with a ready smile and a can do attitude, with some education she would have been an ideal fit for a fabulous corporate career. I don’t even think she has any idea about what she could have achieved had her parents been able to afford her a proper education, today she shies from even trying to read a grocery list that she asked me to write for her.
Anjona is quite and shy. She seems like a diligent worker with a mind of her own. She doesn’t reveal much about herself other than being a tough negotiator. After being interviewed and offered a position by my husband, Anjona said that she had 2 conditions. (It is not normal for house help in this part of the world to have any say in the matter so it was a first for him but he was pleasantly surprised) Her two conditions were
“I have a four year old son so sometimes I might come at 8.15 am instead of 8.00 am, and that should not make you upset. Secondly I need to head back home at 7 p.m.”
Rony was touched by sheer irony of her situation and life where even though she would be working 11 hours a day for $6 (for the entire days work) she felt her conditions could be rejected.
My agenda in this 8-day vacation was to get my blog going and learn some simple Bengali cooking to add to my repertoire. So here goes
Menu for the day:
Chicken stew (Murgi Jhol)
Mutton curry (Kasha mansho)
Moong lentil with vegetables (Dal torkari)
Pan-fried eggplant (Baigun bhaja)
Tomato Chutney
Rice
Please note that if you want a precise recipe then do write to me and I will post it for you.
Rony wanted a soupy stew so extra water was added to the curry. I was a bit unsure as to how it would turn out but the flavors of the green peppers and sweet carrot made it delicious wholesome meal in it self. The kids enjoyed the curry as much as we did. I was amazed that with just one spice she could achieve so much. Anjona would have preferred less water in the curry.
Chicken stew (Murgi Jhol)
Marinate the chicken with chili powder and keep aside
Add oil to the wok and heat it. Add finely chopped garlic followed by finely chopped shallots. After the onion starts to brown add the chopped ginger. Then add chopped mixed vegetable (peas, carrots, potatoes, green peppers) and sauté till they start to brown, at this point add the chicken and salt and brown it on low flame stirring occasionally.
Add a whole tomato and cook for 5 minutes with the lid on. Mash the softened tomato in and add water. Cover pan with a lid and boil till chicken is cooked.
Once again the utter simplicity of this dish amazes me. My daughter who is normally a picky eater devoured those slices like there was no tomorrow. I must say that it is difficult to go wrong with these beautiful, plump long almost seedless green and aubergine variety of eggplant.
Pan-fried eggplant (Baigun bhaja)
Marinate eggplant in salt, sugar and turmeric
Heat mustard oil in a shallow pan; add the marinated eggplant in flat slices and pan fry till they turn soft and brownish on both sides. The sugar is added to enhance the browning.
We had been enjoying slices of tomatoes sprinkled with salt and sugar with our toasts in the morning and exclaiming over the sweetness and flavor of the tomatoes. Today we thought of making the chutney and I placed the request to the two ladies in-charge of the kitchen. Sushoma immediately came up with the suggestion of adding “Aam Shukto” (dried mango jelly) to the chutney and the result was absolutely stupendous. I like the idea of using minimum spices to cook but this practically one spice cooking was inconceivable to me and yet good.
Tomato Chutney with sweet dried mango jelly Heat mustard oil in a shallow pan and infuse with mustard seeds. Add the grated tomatoes and chopped mango jelly; allow to cook on low flame for a while and then season with some salt and a few tsps of sugar. Voila the tomato chutney is ready to serve.
Sushoma did say that some times she would even add a dried red chili and a cinnamon stick to enhance the flavor.
To start with I must say that the variety of moong lentil used in Bengal is small and fine, very different from the plump and yellow variety used in the North. So I have decided to carry some with me to Hong Kong. Traditionally I have not been a very Lentil person however in recent year I am becoming quite a convert. It is so easy today to serve a completely vegetarian meal and not think about protein balance etc. This lentil curry cooked with abundance of vegetables is indeed a delight.
Moong lentil cooked with vegetables
Cook moong lentil with salt, turmeric, finely chopped mixed vegetables (potato, beans, carrots) and a green chili in a pressure cooker.
After the lentil is cooked, add oil in a small shallow pan (I normally use my tarka pan) and infuse with cumin seeds. Once the seeds start to splutter add the infused oil with the spices into the cooked lentil and vegetables and season with some sugar and chopped coriander.
I have finally figured out that the term “Kasha” in Bengali basically means “Bhuna” in Hindi. Which is the art of browning the meat and all the ingredients on low heat stirring occasionally.
Spicy mutton curry (Kasha Mansho) Marinate the mutton with lemon juice and keep aside for a while. Grate ginger, garlic, and onion and season it with red chili, turmeric and salt. Apply this to the mutton and keep aside.
Heat mustard oil and infuse with bay leaves and cumin seeds. Add the sliced onion to it and sauté till it browns. Now add the mutton and slow cook it on medium flame stirring as you go till it brown
Separately heat oil and cut potatoes in half and fry them till they turn light brown. Remove and keep aside.
Mixed in the potatoes with the meat and pressure cook. Before serving add a pinch of garam masala and serve hot.
After this fabulous meal my father in law has relented to taking me shopping with him and show me the secrets of his shopping at the fresh market in Gariahat. I believe the best Aar fish is the Rs. 400 a kilo and not Rs. 165 as the larger the fish the more expensive it is and the tastier it is. I must say that I still find it difficult to differentiate or appreciate the differences of each of these delicious river fish. I am going to work on it because it not “a fish is a fish is a fish” (Oscar Wilde did not say that!)