For a quick
meal on the run, Taverna in Panjim offers a tasty array of compact dishes with a take on Goan and Indo
Portuguese dishes and a few world cuisine favourites. We started off our
gastronomic journey with something called Bhindi Kurkure – besan-coated, finely
sliced okra that has been deep fried and served with a dash of chaat masala.
This simply named dish was actually quite the favourite and it had us reaching
in for seconds and thirds. Another yummy dish that was difficult to resist was
the Chorizo Nachos – nachos topped with beans, pieces of pork sausage, cheese
and salsa. The nachos also have an option in vegetarian with beans, avocado and
salsa, as well as Chicken Nachos with avocados and chicken and Prawn Balchao
Nachos.
The next dish we tried was the well plated Stuffed Squid
Recheadas. The squids were cooked perfectly, with the right amount of Rechado
masala. It was slightly less spicy as the usual rechado masala prepared at home
but that just added to the appeal. One of the highest selling items of the
restaurant is the Crispy Chicken Picante, so we had to try it. The dish has
finely cut pieces of tender chicken, coated and fried and then liberally tossed
in picante sauce. The picante sauce here is a spicy condiment found in a variety
of dishes; the restaurant’s Goan take on the popular barbecue sauce. We found
the dish quite relishing, packing a lot of flavour.
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As we moved to the
main course, though I have to mention here that a selection of starters can
also suffice to fill you up, we learnt that Taverna chooses to lay emphasis on
home-cooked and wholesome meals. Goan flavour is a signature in every dish and
even Goan Portuguese dishes are added to the menu. The menu is also infused
with world cuisine to cater to the crowds that walk in.
The restaurant has
also been experimenting with Indo-Portuguese dishes, especially those that are
on the brink of being forgotten in Goa. They have already tried Pork with
clams, Arroz Refogado and want to introduce a special section on the menu. One
classic dish that we tried was the Pastelão. Cooked and baked with mixed meat
(beef, sausage and chicken), macroni and vegetables, with pastry on top,
Pastelão is wholesome dish bursting with flavour and easily makes for an entire
meal.
The highlight of the
meal was the bowl meal. The idea of Taverna was to have one big meal,
especially for lunch. With the idea that the thali system was becoming too
common and the one bowl concept was actually picking up in a variety of
cuisines, they decided on the special bowl meals. Taverna offers the Taverna
Fish Bowl, Taverna Chicken Bowl, Taverna Carnivore Bowl and Taverna Veggie
Bowl. Each bowl meal has a number of dishes and a gravy accompaniment.
As it is the season
of Lent and many people are forgoing meats, we decided to try the fish and
veggie bowls. The Taverna Fish Bowl has a serving of prawn curry, two slices of
rawa fried fish of the day, prawn balchao, a vegetable, rice, pickle, salad and
a papad while the Taverna Veggie Bowl consists of a Paneer dish, Goan vegetable
of the day, Chole Masala, a serving of Pulao, two slices of crispy fried
brinjal (or potato), a fresh salad, slices of water pickle and a papad
accompanied by a vegetable xacuti.
The flavours of these
bowls are local and reminiscent of home food. The portions are quite big and
will defiantly fill you up, fuelling you for the rest of the day.
For those who are
more interested in the meats, the Taverna Carnivore Bowl consists of pulao,
vegetable, two slices of roast tongue, two slices of pork roast and beef chilli
fry and the gravy is chicken xacuti along with salad, papad and pickle. The
Taverna Chicken Bowl comes with chicken wing picante, chicken cafreal, chicken
xacuti, one vegetable, rice, papad and pickle.
The
bowls are also a great way of getting a taste of what the place has to offer as
all items in them are available on the menu.
