Sharvani ChandvaleCome summer in Goa and all you want to do is spend your days at the beach, sipping cold cocktails and lazing in the shade. It’s no secret that the Goan summers can get hot, but you cannot let it ruin your well-planned Goa trip. Moreover, after the peak tourist season crowds, Goa starts getting quieter which makes it perfect for people who love a little peace. You’ll have Goa all to yourself! Goan summers are for foodies. The season brings mouthwatering, limited-edition local produce. So, all you foodies looking for famous food in Goa, pack your comfy cotton outfits and SPF 50 sunscreen. This list of amazing summer food to try out in Goa will help you make the best of your Goa holidays.
Cashew Apples, Niro & Urrak
Goa flourishes with colourful produce every summer, but the hero has always been the cashew apple. Also known as kaju phoga, the cashew apple, grows in reds, yellows and oranges. The many orchards spread across the state connect to a small local distillery. First, walking through these orchards, and picking out cashew apples makes for a fun picnic idea. If you’d like to go a step ahead, you can visit the local distillery and watch the worker squash out fresh cashew apple juice, also known as niro. Niro is a refreshing non-alcoholic drink found in Goa. It rehydrates and soothes your body in the scorching heat. Some sell fresh Niro while others distill it to make urrak – a famous Goan alcohol, known as jungle juice. The urrak is a perishable drink you find only during the summer. Pair it with Limca, salt and chilli for the perfect Goan cocktail.
The Cashew seeds are roasted on an open fire and de-shelled for the cashew nut inside. You can eat the raw cashew seeds, known as bibbe, but locals love making a curry of it. They then roast the remaining cashew seeds and pack them. You will find them as chakhna or transformed into dishes like the kaju katli, and a Goan cake – the bolo sans rival.
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Jackfruit jackfruit-based delicacies
Goan summer fruits are a colourful medley perfect for your light afternoon meals. A popular local favourite is the jackfruit. The jackfruit is a hard-shelled, thorny fruit that takes the effort of a thousand people to crack open. Once opened, the sweet, juice jackfruit bulbs are worth the struggle. One of the most famous foods in Goa, the jackfruit, is best eaten as is. However, Goans love cooking it into a bhaji, baking it into a cake (also known as phonsache dhonos), roasting/steaming the seeds, cooking the seeds into a curry (also known as bhikna ros), and making a thousand other Jackfruit-based dishes with it. Even the jackfruit leaves are used to steam sweet rice batter dumplings, known as holle. So if you are planning a Goa trip in summer, do try as many jackfruit dishes as you can find!
Mangoes and mango produce
Well, popularly known as the king of fruits, the mango makes up Goa’s heart and soul. Mind you, it’s not just any mango. The delectable Mankurad Mango steals the show every year. But it’s not just the ripe fruit that people want. Goans love their raw mangoes just as much. They can pickle it, brine it (known as chepnim tor), or put it in a curry (also known as torancho ross). The ripe mangoes are also used to make aam ras, mango curry (known as ghotanche saansav), a mango preserve (known as mangada), a prawn curry (also known as samarachi kodi) and a bunch of other Goan mango-based dishes. Apart from the Mankurad, you can also try these local Mangoes in Goa.
Kokum and kokum-based dishes
The Mangosteen is a popular sweet fruit found in Kerala, and the Kokum fruit belongs to the same family. The kokum in its fresh and dried variants gives most Goan dishes their magical flavour. Make a refreshing kokum soda which is the perfect non-alcoholic drink in Goa. You can even mix it with some urrak for a chill summer cocktail. Apart from that, kokum is used to make the solkadhi, a post-meal refreshing digestive. While locals use dried kokum in almost all Goan curries, you’ll find fresh kokum only during summer. Head to a local market in Goa such as the Mapusa market, get your hands on some fresh kokum and taste it as is. Goans also make fresh fruit juice (bhinnachi kodi), a refreshing non-alcoholic drink in Goa!
Breadfruit
Breadfruit – a spiny fruit that ripens during Goa’s summer season is a gold mine of flavours. Like Jackfruit people treat it as a good substitute for meat but the fruit is more than that. You can easily find it in any local Goan market. Local Goans slice it up and fry it in rava (sooji) or chop it up and make a bhaji. Its mild sweetness and chewy texture, mixed with the spiciness of the preparation is a dance party of mindblowing flavours. You might not find it in local restaurants, but you can take one home and try cooking it yourself!
Rose/Water Apple and other forest berries
During the summer season in Goa, locals would venture into forests for berry-picking. You will find Chunna or Cotton fruit, Jamuns, Gooseberries and Karanz in most local markets. They’re served in small pouches made of jackfruit leaves. If you’re a foodie in Goa, looking to explore some seasonal produce, the diversity of flavours in these berries can be something to look forward to!
Bimblis
Bimbli is a tangy, tiny cucumber-shaped fruit that grows during the summer in Goa. It’s super tangy and a popular souring agent in many Indian households. Locals use Bimbli to make juice, pickles, chutneys, and Bimbli curry (known as bimbliche saansav). If you like discovering local ingredients, visit any local market to buy this exotic fruit.
Planning your summer Goa trip?
You should consider indulging in all the colourful fresh produce that grows here and take some back too! Visit a cashew apple farm, taste some urrak, pack a piece of bolo sans rival, add kokum soda to your vodka and pack a few berries and fruits to take home. Goan flavours go beyond seafood and summertime produce is proof of that.
