Goan cooking, as it has evolved, is fusion cooking in its truest sense: the marrying of diverse flavors, ingredients and culinary techniques, in this case Portuguese and Konkani, to create a unique cuisine that has stood the test of time. This book celebrates Goan cooking. The Portuguese colonized Goa in the early 1500s and embarked on a campaign of religious conversion, that soon led to a cultural, and eventually, culinary conversion. The repertoire of the Goan cook began to include spicy adaptations of relations of relatively bland Portuguese fare, including chourigo- the spicy, plump cousin of the Iberian garlic sausage. Some well-loved Goan dishes like sarapatel and cafreal, traveled to Goa with the Portuguese from their other colonies in Brazil and Africa. As did the chikoo, cashew, tomato, sweet potato, pineapple, pumpkin, and new species of gourds and mangoes. The Portuguese introduced Goans to the culinary arts of baking and confectionery, as well as refined methods of distillation and wine making. These were eagerly absorbed and adapted by the innovative Goan cook, who created a whole new genre of paos and pastries, fruit wines and liqueurs of which cashew and coconut feni just reign supreme.
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