Sharvani ChandvaleEvery morning in Goa, along with the crowing of a rooster, one hears the faint pee-po of the poder on his cycle. It gets louder as he closes the distance between him and your home. You hear your neighbour call out to him. You rush to get your hands on the hottest bake of the morning and the sweet smell leaves you spellbound…and hungry! Everything tastes better with the Goan pao and you can’t deny it!
The story of the Goan Pao
Around 400 years ago, apart from their vinegars, the Portuguese brought the art of baking with them. Goa hasn’t been the same since.
A tiny bakery sits along the railway station in a village called Majorda. It is believed to be the point zero of Goa’s fascination with the legendary Pao. The Portuguese Jesuit missionaries offered to teach Catholic Goans bread-baking as a means of sustenance for them. This slowly spread on, along the northwest coast as the bakers moved to set up shop elsewhere. Eventually, it also reached Mumbai and that’s how the vada got its pao (not pav!)
How the Goan Pao is made
Traditionally, Goan Pao was fermented using a palm vinegar/wine called toddy. It gave the Goan pao a dense, yet fluffy texture along with a mild sour taste. However, Goan Pao-making is no longer a viable business. Bakers are either switching professions or have opted for cost-effective methods, such as replacing toddy with fresh yeast.
Making Goan bread is a rigorous process. The poder, a localisation of the Portuguese word for baker ‘padeiro’, will wake up before sunrise to start work.
“I wake up at around 2-3 am to start preparation. My pao is special because I add salt and sugar for a little taste and softness. You mix all the dry ingredients first and then add water. Yeast, the main ingredient has to be put with caution. Some bakers use toddy instead of yeast, but it’s getting rare now. Fermentation takes about 3 hours and then we prepare it a bit more. The pao rolls are then shaped then left to rest for another 45 mins.”, says Mr Godinho, the poder from Majorda.
These beautiful rolls are then put into the pre-heated traditional wood-fired ovens where they bake and rise within a few minutes.
“You need to take them out quickly, or they burn!”, adds Mr Godinho.
You make the famous poli or Goan poie using the same process.
“It’s just that we use wheat flour with wheat bran and a little maida. The fermented dough is rolled into balls, dusted with wheat bran and then rolled into discs which are baked.”
Types of Goan Pao
We don’t stop at just the pao; poies, buns, katryache pao, and kakonns take their special places at meals. As simple as they look, the Goan breads are nothing short of art.
Poie
The famous poie/poee is Goa’s representation on the international stage. Be it delicate poie pockets at a high-end bar, or the good old cafreal pao at your favourite roadside stall, poie has its place. It’s a round bread with a rough exterior and a pocket-like structure. Its often made with wheat flour instead of maida, and pairs well with everything!
Katre Pao
Katre Pao is a square bread with pointy corners that are said to be shaped with scissors, or kator in Konkani. This is where the bread gets its name from.
Undo
The undo is a round bread with a hard exterior and soft interior. You might not find it easily, except for in the Mapusa market. It’s generally enjoyed with a steaming hot plate of Goan Chilly Chicken or Xacuti.
Kakonn
Kakonn can be found easily with any poder cycling around with his hot bread. It’s a ring-shaped, crunchy bread that tastes best with a cup of tea. Don’t forget to share!
Simple Pao
The Goan pao courses through every local’s veins. The soft, pillow-like bread soaks in the flavours of all your favourite Goan curries. And if you’re not a fan of those, it works just as well with omelettes and vadas too!
Other honourable mentions in Goan bread (that are not baked)
Polle
The polle is a steamed flat pancake made with a rice and coconut batter. It’s a festive delicacy served with a local coconut alsande tonak (coconut curry made of white cowpea).
Sanna
The Sanna is a steamed cake made from red rice, coconut and lentil batter. It’s like idli but thicker and with a lighter texture. Popularly Goan catholics enjoy sannas during festivals with sorpotel (a spicy curry made of pork).
Bhakr
Didn’t think Goans eat bhakri did you? While wheat, jowar or bajra is not as popular in Goa, the ragi bhakri is. While its mostly made during the winter months, it tastes just as good with all local curries!
Why Goans love their pao
If you ever talk to a baker, you’d know the pride they feel and the effort that goes into making a perfect pao.
“It takes patience, persistence and waking up at odd hours so the hot bread is ready to go out as the sun rises…or sets!” says Mr Godinho from Majorda. The 70-year-old has picked up his father’s profession post-retirement.
If you ever ask a Goan to pick one over the other, they won’t be able to say. The pao goes well with ross omelette, the poie goes well with a certain mushroom xacuti/bhaji; the katre pao on the other hand, a bread that is shaped using scissors to have 8 sides, goes well with most gravies and looks pretty stunning while doing so, and the undo, famous for its presence at important meals with vindaloos and sorpotel and cafreals.
The undo is commonplace, yet mysterious. Most bakers say that it has the same recipe as the pao. Yet the structure is so different! It’s crunchier, and mind you, not burnt but crunchier on the outside and softer on the inside! Marked by a slit across its top the bread, the temperature and the duration is integral to making a good undo, says Shweta Gadge, a Pune-based upcoming chef and creator of Goenche Kitchen.
“It’s an art that’s dying out, pao-making in general. I’m just trying to keep it alive in my way.”
Final Thoughts
One says monotony gets to you, yet Goans will never be bored of pao. Somehow the first bite always feels the same. Yes, it’s not the most profitable of professions, yet it rests at the core of Goa’s existence, creating a harmonious narrative that gets passed down for generations. When the sun rises, it’s not just the rooster that wakes us up; it’s the poder, the breadman, on his cycle rolling through the streets sounding his typical air horn and leaving behind wafts of sweet bread in his wake!
