CHEF COUPLE Ivo and Terezinha accompanied by musicians Saldanha and Rodri has come from Goa to recreate the Goan ambience and treat the Bhopalis with the rich food of their state at the five-day Goan food festival that began at Jehan Numa Palace on Wednesday.
Talking to Hindustan Times, event manager Saldanha said, “Such type of festivals help in sprucing tourism and disseminating the culture of the State; it is really unfortunate that we don’t have a restaurant outside Goa that caters exclusively to Goan food.” Saldanha said that on an average he would arrange 2-3 such festivals every month.
Goan food has a special taste and the main ingredients used for cooking are vinegar and coconut, said chef Ivo. “Some recipes are spicy but they can be moderated as per the taste.”
“Goan food is more like Japanese food but we don’t use any herbs; Kashmiri chillies, cloves and pepper are used lavishly; we generally use soyabean oil and 70 percent of Goan food is non vegetarian,” says Ivo, who has been in cooking business for the last two decades.
Calden, Balchao, Xacuti, Recheado are some Goan dishes that are popular even outside the State, he said. The five-day festival has a laid out Goan dinner buffet which includes nine vegetarian and five non-vegetarian dishes. There are nine sweet dishes of which three are exclusively Goan.
Calden, Balchao, Xacuti, Recheado are some Goan dishes that are popular even outside the State, he said. The five-day festival has a laid out Goan dinner buffet which includes nine vegetarian and five non-vegetarian dishes. There are nine sweet dishes of which three are exclusively Goan.