I
usually turn down invites and/or catch up requests for Sunday afternoon. Waking
up just a tad before noon, lounging in my PJs and doing absolutely nothing are
my ideas for a 'puuuurfect' Sunday. But there are 'evil' people in this world who decide to host Goan Saraswat
(read: non-veg and seafood) pop ups on a Sunday afternoon and the pull towards the event is so darn magnetic that one cannot help but be the first to make a
reservation. That is exactly what I did when I first read about this festival
on Face book.
Fish, crabs, prawns, sol kadi, et al will get this Bawi out of
bed, early, on any Sunday morning. Not only did I get out of bed early, I roped
in a few crazy foodies to join up for the pop up. After all having friends at
the table is always more fun! (angelic, docile smile: read: evil grin)
The Goan Saraswat Authenticook pop up was held at Tvum. The terrace section of
the restaurant was set to host 105 hungry carnivores. The home chef who co-hosted
this pop up was Soniya Goankar. I had never heard of this lady hence I had no
clue how this meal was going to turn out. I do believe, though, that one must take a chance on new
people coz you never knows when you may encounter a gem and that is
precisely what happened; I took a chance and discovered a gem!
Our
server, Nikhilesh, (I hope I have the name right but in case I haven’t he is
the Virat Kohli lookalike.. psssttttt, I told him so and he blushed to the
colour of a beetroot) offered to bring us beers and mocktails. I opted for a
strawberry mocktail while the others chose Kings, a Goan brand of beer. The
mocktail was extremely refreshing and perfect with regard to sweetness.
We were
then brought a glass of Tival (a kokam based drink). Ideally the drink should
have been served cool but they served it warm; also, it was too sour. That hint
of sweetness was totally missing. This was a bit of a letdown.
The Sol Kadi was served after the Tival and, unfortunately, that too was
served warm. Again, the temperature at which it was served was a letdown but, only with regard to temperature; with regard to taste, I have to honestly
admit, this was one of the best Sol Kadi ever! Now if only it had been served
cold.. if only.. sigh!!
The
pre-prepped thalis were brought to our table and each thali consisted of, Rawa
Fried Halwa (black pomfret), Sungta Sukhem (Prawns Sukkha), Tisryo Sukhem
(Clams Sukkha), Crab Xec-xec (Crab Curry), Sungta Hooman (Prawn Curry), Chicken
Xacuti, Bhenya Bhaji (dry Orka preparation), Mulya Bhaji (dry Raddish
preparation), Sukhe Sungta Kismoor (Dry Prawns Kismur), Goan Polo (better known
as neer dosa), red Goan Rice (steamed) and Koshimbir (a onions tomato salad).
The
Rawa Fried Halwa was fresh and fish was fried to the correct texture. I found
absolutely no fault which these delicious babies. I, of course, did not touch
the salad because I am highly allergic to raw food. That’s my excuse and I am
sticking to it! :P :D
The masala
for the clam sukkha and the prawn sukkha were different and both were excellent
in their own way. It was the same with the prawn and crab curries. The chef had
ensured that no two flavours on the thali were the same. This says so much
about Soniya as a chef. It tells me she doesn’t believe in taking short cuts
just to put food on a thali. The rice, the kismoor and the okra bhaji were very
well made! The neer dosas were brought to our table straight off the stove; it doesn’t
get any better than that! I ate rice with those luscious curries and that
superb sol kadi. I mashed the sol kadi into the rice and then once the rice
absorbed the sol kadi, I added some more kadi and hogged on it. The perfect way
to eat sol kadi-rice! Such simple pleasures of life always bring a satiated
smile to my face!
Lastly,
they served us Serra Dura, a layered biscuit crumbs and cream dessert. It was a
simple dessert but it was quite nice. As rightly mentioned on the popup menu, after
such a heavy meal this was a light dessert to mark the end of an extraordinary
meal.
Except
for the tival each and every dish served that afternoon was stellar! Each dish
was a rock star and shone in its own way. Could Tvum have made arrangements for
marrow spoons to be placed at each table (for the crabs)? Yes they could have.
Did they? No, they did not but, they should have. I hope the next time, if
ever, I am to eat crabs at Tvum, they provide marrow spoons. The next time the
excuse of ‘we tried to procure them but were unable to’ may not work as well as
it did this first time. I say it like it is, I prefer not to sugar-coat!
Was
this thali, this food, these dishes, the same as those served commercially at
restaurants in Goa? Hell no, and thank God for that! This was authentic Goan
Saraswat home cooking hence in no way can it be compared to food that is
commercially served/sold in Goa, at Goan restaurants. This thali would, in
every way, win hands down. The only place one may find such food in Goa would
be at a home stay. This meal was Goan Saraswat cooking at its very BEST!
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