Goa's breadmaking traditions
Goan PAV
By
Melinda Pereira Kamat
Christians all over the world pray to God everyday asking Him to give them their daily bread. Goans are still nostalgic about the suriche pav available in Goa during the Portuguese rule. The original Goan breads are pav, pokso or pokshi [ called undo by the locals], poyi, katrya pav, revdo, godd poyi and kakon. Bread making requires skill , use of proper measurements and temperature. Pokso requires a temperature of above 250 degrees celcius for baking. A cut is made in between the dough ball so that it bakes properly from inside and puffs up. It should have a crisp upper crust just like the broon available in Mumbai and Pune. Poyi is made from whole wheat flour with the other ingredients just like pav and rolled like a puri and no sugar is used in the dough. At times after making puri it is rolled in bran [kundo] . Revdo has got concentric circles. Katrya pav has a H shape. Kneaded flour balls are cut with a knife to give a particular shape and then with the edge of the little finger and palm it is pulled without exerting pressure. Godd poyi has more sugar content . Kakon is shaped like a bangle . Dough prepared for kakon is kneaded very tough with very less water and baked above 250 degrees. The ingredients used for pav, pokso, katrya pav, revdo , kakon are the same. To prepare the typical Goan pav select superior quality , superfine maida in which more than 10% gluten is present. If the gluten content is less then 10% then the bread is hard on the inside. For ½ kg maida use 1 wati of lukewarm milk and not boiling hot milk. The first step is to mix thoroughly till it dissolves, then add 1 heaped teaspoon of fresh yeast , 4 teaspoons of sugar in lukewarm milk with a sprinkling of little maida . Sugar gives it a reddish brown colour during the process of baking. This is kept for 10 minutes so that it ferments and starts frothing.. Only fresh or wet yeast is used as it contains active yeast cells. Yeast should never be kept outside the refrigerator as it looses its power to ferment. Then add this flying ferment to ½ kg of maida and little salt. Salt adds flavour and helps the dough to puff up during baking. At this stage it is important to be gentle with the flour . Knead it with only the tips of the fingers , add clean water and 1 tbsp of oil. Do not press the dough or else it will not ferment . The dough should be loose , firm and kept closed for 1 hour. Bakers in Goa keep dough for 2 hours for fermentation in a tank made of cement called konbi. After 1 hour knead the dough that has risen and has become porous. At this stage knead it nicely with 1 tbsp of oil , till it is elastic with a glaze. Take a well greased tray and keep the dough balls on it leaving some space between . Let it rest for 20 minutes. Do not overferment the dough. After 20 minutes preheat the oven , keeping the temperature at 225degrees celcius and keep the tray with dough balls inside . The tray is kept very gently without shaking it. Bakers bake bread in traditional stone ovens called khorn or forn. When the colour of bread becomes golden brown remove it from the oven and brush the top portion with a mixture of ghee and oil. Keep it for 2-3 minutes so that it gets a glaze. Do not keep the bread in the electric oven after it is switched off because the steam inside will soften the bread. Traditional bakers remove bread from the oven with a long shovel called hoorpone . A perfect pav resembles a honeycomb from inside having thin cell walls , with a golden brown crust on the outside. Instead of using maida if whole wheat flour is used then it is called brown bread . The rest of the procedure is the same like maida bread. Dietitians advice eating brown bread as it is nutritious. To prepare suriche pav add fresh toddy , sugar and mix with whole wheat flour. Bread is eaten with masala tonak, batat bhaji, ambot tik , kalchi kodi , atoili kodi etc. Leftover bread could be made into breadcrumbs or fatyo.
Monday, February 16, 2009
CHILLIES OF GOA- A Genetic treasure trove
CHILLIES OF GOA- A Genetic treasure trove
By
Melinda Pereira Kamat
The Portuguese came to Goa to spread Christianity and as a happy accident introduced chillies (Capsicum species) from Brazil in 1565 A.D. From Goa the chillies reached other parts of Indian sub continent. The origin of Capsicum annum and C. frutescens is South America. Chillies play a great role in the lives of Goans and their innovative culinary art. Goans did considerable experimentation with Brazilian chillies and evolved their own local varieties. During my research for an illustrated monograph on ‘Chillies of Goa”, I came across 23 local varieties- making Goa a genetic treasure trove for germplasm of Chillies in world. This is an irreplaceable crop genetic heritage. The Capsicin content of local chillies is not known. Once upon a time the village of Aldona was famous for chillies all over Goa. If timely measures are not taken then our sambare, hooman, ambat tik, gojju, sansav, tonak , khatkhate, harve, xacuti will loose its authentic fiery hot taste. Certain varieties like the Moidechi moti mirsang , Aldonechi moti kali mirsang, Aldonechi kali gaunti kashmiri mirsang which are traditionally used for pickles , rosachi kodi, bhoje, sausages, vindalho, takatli mirsang, bharilli mirsang are almost extinct. Aldonechi moti kali mirsang is paprika and has lot of demand in the European market . It has a pigment called lutein which is essential for the health of the retina. There are just 1 or 2 families in Aldona growing these chillies. Say Macaris and Franskin Alemao “problem with this variety is late ripening and it remains in the field till 15th May , cattle feed on it and 50% of it discolours , so it fetches less price”. Morjechi mirsang is thin skinned , blood red in colour and preferred for hooman. In Canacona during rainy season kholchi mirsang, lambat mirsang and motvi kamtanchi mirsang is grown while during the rabbi season porsantli mirsang is grown . The lambat mirsang has 3 strains , is transparent , thin skinned whereas the porsantli mirsang is plump , maroon in colour, medium sized and less pungent then the small sized kholchi mirsang. Chandelche barik butao, Datt salichi massoori mirsang , Mandrechi mirsang, are preferred for pickles and dry masala powder. Sataritli gaunti mirsang, dhangari pavsali mirsang, bugdi mirsang, dhangari unhali mirsang, patal salichi masoori mirsang, Harmalche butao, Cuncolechi mirsang are preferred for various types of curry preparations. Portugali mirsangs are of 7 types in Goa , with the smallest called piment malaget and is used for cafreal masala. Pandhri jalgi mirsang with pointed tip, tambdi jalgi mirsang has medicinal value, dhavi lavngi mirsang, tambdi moti portugali mirsang, lam taroti mirsang are used for making papads, dangere, vadyo and shev . Local chillies are pathogen resistant and require very less pesticides. Nursery beds called Aina or Khandla are raised between 10 th to 18th of November. Size of these beds is generally 3m length , 1m breadth and 15 cm height. Seeds are sown evenly in these beds with ash, organic manures, covered with hay, irrigated with pot everyday. After 12 days of sprouting remove hay. After seedlings [rompe] develop 10-12 leaves they are transplanted . After every 8 days weeding is done. Soil from the footpath [paivat] is removed during flowering and put near the rootzone to make a ridge called maag . Small furrow called chori which is ½ inch deep is made next to the rootzone [ ½ inch from the plant] for application of fish manure, groundnut cake, human urine. Organic farmer Govind Parsekar from Mandrem grows one row of turmeric after every 2 rows of chillies to keep the plants healthy. He uses organic manures in the beginning , then mulches the crop and maintains row to row distance of half meter. Vishram Parwar from Corjuem grows brinjal, knolkhol, marigold, field beans as an intercrop to reduce pest incidence. Chillies of the first crop which are reddish , plump , disease free and with lot of seeds inside are selected for seed purpose for the next year. It is high time that the government gives subsidies and awards to people who have taken the pain to conserve this rich genetic diversity and the Department of Agriculture takes practical steps to conserve the original varieties of Goa .
By
Melinda Pereira Kamat
The Portuguese came to Goa to spread Christianity and as a happy accident introduced chillies (Capsicum species) from Brazil in 1565 A.D. From Goa the chillies reached other parts of Indian sub continent. The origin of Capsicum annum and C. frutescens is South America. Chillies play a great role in the lives of Goans and their innovative culinary art. Goans did considerable experimentation with Brazilian chillies and evolved their own local varieties. During my research for an illustrated monograph on ‘Chillies of Goa”, I came across 23 local varieties- making Goa a genetic treasure trove for germplasm of Chillies in world. This is an irreplaceable crop genetic heritage. The Capsicin content of local chillies is not known. Once upon a time the village of Aldona was famous for chillies all over Goa. If timely measures are not taken then our sambare, hooman, ambat tik, gojju, sansav, tonak , khatkhate, harve, xacuti will loose its authentic fiery hot taste. Certain varieties like the Moidechi moti mirsang , Aldonechi moti kali mirsang, Aldonechi kali gaunti kashmiri mirsang which are traditionally used for pickles , rosachi kodi, bhoje, sausages, vindalho, takatli mirsang, bharilli mirsang are almost extinct. Aldonechi moti kali mirsang is paprika and has lot of demand in the European market . It has a pigment called lutein which is essential for the health of the retina. There are just 1 or 2 families in Aldona growing these chillies. Say Macaris and Franskin Alemao “problem with this variety is late ripening and it remains in the field till 15th May , cattle feed on it and 50% of it discolours , so it fetches less price”. Morjechi mirsang is thin skinned , blood red in colour and preferred for hooman. In Canacona during rainy season kholchi mirsang, lambat mirsang and motvi kamtanchi mirsang is grown while during the rabbi season porsantli mirsang is grown . The lambat mirsang has 3 strains , is transparent , thin skinned whereas the porsantli mirsang is plump , maroon in colour, medium sized and less pungent then the small sized kholchi mirsang. Chandelche barik butao, Datt salichi massoori mirsang , Mandrechi mirsang, are preferred for pickles and dry masala powder. Sataritli gaunti mirsang, dhangari pavsali mirsang, bugdi mirsang, dhangari unhali mirsang, patal salichi masoori mirsang, Harmalche butao, Cuncolechi mirsang are preferred for various types of curry preparations. Portugali mirsangs are of 7 types in Goa , with the smallest called piment malaget and is used for cafreal masala. Pandhri jalgi mirsang with pointed tip, tambdi jalgi mirsang has medicinal value, dhavi lavngi mirsang, tambdi moti portugali mirsang, lam taroti mirsang are used for making papads, dangere, vadyo and shev . Local chillies are pathogen resistant and require very less pesticides. Nursery beds called Aina or Khandla are raised between 10 th to 18th of November. Size of these beds is generally 3m length , 1m breadth and 15 cm height. Seeds are sown evenly in these beds with ash, organic manures, covered with hay, irrigated with pot everyday. After 12 days of sprouting remove hay. After seedlings [rompe] develop 10-12 leaves they are transplanted . After every 8 days weeding is done. Soil from the footpath [paivat] is removed during flowering and put near the rootzone to make a ridge called maag . Small furrow called chori which is ½ inch deep is made next to the rootzone [ ½ inch from the plant] for application of fish manure, groundnut cake, human urine. Organic farmer Govind Parsekar from Mandrem grows one row of turmeric after every 2 rows of chillies to keep the plants healthy. He uses organic manures in the beginning , then mulches the crop and maintains row to row distance of half meter. Vishram Parwar from Corjuem grows brinjal, knolkhol, marigold, field beans as an intercrop to reduce pest incidence. Chillies of the first crop which are reddish , plump , disease free and with lot of seeds inside are selected for seed purpose for the next year. It is high time that the government gives subsidies and awards to people who have taken the pain to conserve this rich genetic diversity and the Department of Agriculture takes practical steps to conserve the original varieties of Goa .
The Rich Cultinary Heritage of Goa
Endowed with bountiful natural resources, Goa displays great culinary traditions..this blog is all about the culinary heritage of Goa based on my own research and writings
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