Goan Food You Cannot Miss When in Goa

Goa is a criminally underrated food destination. And by this, I’m not referring to the upscale bistros in Assagao or the ever so trendy beach bars where the menus are a carbon copy of selections that you can find every metropolitan city with a side of Kingfisher to give you the ‘Goa feel’. I am referring to the rich blend of cultures and flavours that Goan cusine is, where every morsel carries a story of the past and each bite transports you to this unique yet undiscovered corner of India’s diverse cuisine.

So the next time your Goa plans finally make it out of the group chat and into the state, consider indulging in local Goan Food that you won’t find anywhere else in India. Here are some of my personal favourites:

Here’s a List of Food to Try in Goa

The Goan Pork Chorizo:

You know when someone asks you to pick only one thing that you could eat for the rest of your life and you need a moment to think? Not me, not after I had my first bite of the choriz roll from the Confetaria 31 de Janerio in Panjim because now the answer is always that!

First introduced to Goa some 400 years ago by the Potugese, this Indo-Portugese sausage is a Goan household staple and is also considered a crucial part of the Goan Catholic Cuisine. Don’t mistake this for your regular European sausage, for this one truly imbibes local flavours cured with red chillies, garlic and vinegar before being smoked into treasured strings that can last for several months. Spicy, tangy and extremely versatile, you can enjoy it in many forms – fried up with onions, stuffed inside a fluffy pao, coupled with rice to form a delicious pulao, prepped into a delicious sweet and savoury jam or even as a fun topping on pizza, this Goan food is a must try.

Bolo Sans Rival:

Imagine a cake so decadent, it stands unrivalled. With Bolo meaning cake in Portugese and Sans rival meaning ‘without a rival’ in French, you may wonder what is it about this particular dessert that makes it so exclusive – think layers of scrumptious meringue and cashew nut crumble bound together with a rich buttercream frosting. 

And yet, sadly this cake dangles dangerously on the verge of extinction. Compared to the popularity enjoyed by the famous Bebinca this intricate dessert remains relatively unknown. Plus with new, trendy bakeries popping up around Goa that would rather serve a Tres Leches since it is all the rage on Instagram at the moment, lesser establishments seem to be serving this slice of Goan heritage. 

There are of course a few traditional Goan bakeries who are working hard to keep the recipe alive and pass it onto the next generation. You can get your fix of this rich cake at Confetaria 31 de Janeiro in Panjim and Fernando’s Nostalgia in Raia, South Goa but I strongly suggest sharing a slice between two people.

Chicken Cafreal:

When i first took a bite of Chicken Cafreal in a poi, my only regret was not having bought another piece. Believed to have originated in Mozambique (also a former Portugese colony) and introduced to the state by African soldiers serving in Goa, this was nothing like I’d ever tasted before.

Homestyle chicken curries in north India always meant brown gravies with an onion tomato base and yet there it was – green, fragrant of chicken doused in a punchy flavourful yet extremely light curry. Equal parts herbaceous and spicy thanks to the liberal use of coriander and green chillies – you can find different serving styles throughout Goa – with either tender boneless pieces of chicken tossed in a Cafreal gravy or a perfectly roasted leg with the same curry poured over it. Like other Indian main courses, this Goan food can be eaten with rice or naan but in my experience it pairs best with a crusty piece of toasted katre pao. Thanks to its popularity in Goa, this Goan food can be easily found in most local restaurants but it is usually the small street vendors that fully do justice to it. And should you (like me) get completely smitten with the flavours, there is also premade cafreal masala available in the supermarkets to take back home.

Salad Bhaji:

Ask a Goan for breakfast recommendation and this humble dish will probably be the first on the their list. While onion and tomatos tossed in a mustard tempering and basic seasoning might sound ordinary, when scooped up with a piece of sumptuous Goan banana bun, the combination makes for a deliciously comforting meal.

While I myself was sceptical about trying such an alien duo, the spice from the bhaji coupled with the mellow sweetness from the banana buns feels like a match made in heaven – think of it as your favourite Poori Sabji with a unique Goan twist. This is also one of the dishes you get to try in a legendary century old cafe if you join Soul Travelling’s ‘Secret Food and Tavern Trail’ in Panjim.

Ross Omellette:

A Goan streetfood classic and a whole meal in itself, this one is pretty self explanatory to any Indian – bits of omellete dunked in ‘ras’ i.e. gravy. Sounds pretty ordinary right? I thought so too, but dont dismiss it until you have tried it for yourself. What makes it standout is how simple yet scrumptious the dish is.

Imagine waking up to a piping hot masala omellette doused in last night’s leftover xacuti curry, scooping it up in a poi which soaks all that liquid goodness, accompanied by a side of lemon and finely chopped onions for that extra freshness – truly what dreams are made of.
While this Goan Food gets increasingly hard to find in North Goa, the Susegaad Food Truck opposite
Cream Choc in Anjuna is one of the few good ones whipping up a mean Ross Omellete till late at night. And if you’re feeling a bit fancier – Antonio’s in Fontainhas, Panjim also serves Ross Omellete as part of their Goan inspired tapas menu.

Xacuti:

Long before Aarambol became synonymous with touristy cafes and trans parties, it was a little Hindu village called Harmal where local fishermen have been said to prepare a frangrant onion gravy, seasoning with local spices like black pepper, chillies, turmeric, nutmeg and more. Finishing this off with toasted coconut and white poppy seeds before serving it with the catch of the day – they gave birth to the ‘Shogati’, now known as ‘Xacuti’ (pronoounced as ‘Shaa-Kuti’) which can be found on restaurant menus across the state.

Not the biggest fan of coconut in my food (barring the chutney with my idli), I didn’t have high hopes from this particular dish until I was served mushroom xacuti for breakfast at local fisherman’s house on Divar Island – I can still remember the magic my tastebuds experienced as I write this. With bold yet earthy flavours, it’s one of those dishes that blurs the lines between home-cooked and restaurent style – light on stomach and palatte just like a homestyle curry yet the nutty and creamy thanks to the coconut.
Popular Xacuti choices include crab, fish, chicken and mushroom among several others. However, whichever you pick must be relished with an undo baked the same day.

Serradura:

Owing to the texture of the finely crushed (almost powdered) biscuits, the name can be literally translated to ‘Sawdust’ in Portugese. On Google, Serradura is actually classified as a popular dessert from Macau, given that it was also a Portugese colony, it is unsurprising that this pudding made its way to Goa and eventually my heart – so much so that I consumed three portions of it at Viva Panjim before a friend called to my good senses and reminded me of my lactose intolerance. 

With a mere three ingredients – whipped cream mixed with condensed milk and subsequently layered with India’s beloved teatime Marie biscuits – this delicate dessert makes for a perfect ending to a heavy meal, especially when a Bebinca or Baath may seem too daunting. A few restaurants also do modern versions that use Oreo or Biscoff cookies, but I would strongly urge you to try the original, for when it comes to remixing food and songs – often old is truly gold. 

Now that you’ve got the inside scoop on some great Goan grub, ditch that plate of pasta and dig into some hearty local food!