Lokotsav –
perhaps Goa’s best attempt at
celebrating folk art and culture in a grand and well-organised fashion, could
well qualify to be a full-fledged regional food festival. Best known for its
scintillating dance performances that mesmerize the audiences at the mammoth
stage set-up every evening, the ten-day national level festival has on display
and sale, a lot of interesting offerings ranging from handicraft, furniture,
apparel, etc and lots more. And despite some of the participants still in the
middle of setting up their stalls, the food court is already buzzing with
action and attracting foodies from across the state.
A major change from last year can be seen in the fact that there
are far more local stalls, mostly by self-help women groups from across Goa, as
compared to last year. These stalls have on offer the best of Goan cuisine
ranging from Squids Chilly, Chicken Xacuti, Prawn Curry to the good ole’ fish
curry rice and more. And because these are home-cooked by our mothers and
sisters from across Goa, the love with which it is prepared is evident.
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Aside from Goan
cuisine the food court at Lokotsav is bustling with regional flavours hailing
from the rest of the country. Akin to last year, all the variations of chaat such
as kachaloo, pyaaz kachori, moong ki kachori, dahi papdi chaat, etc are
available. Then there are the jalebi guys making piping hot jalebis in
different sizes. These are not your regular orange-coloured jalebis that are
easily found in sweet marts. In fact, it’s best to try them to know what we
mean – you’ll love it! Other sweetmeats include gulab jamun, rasagulla,
rasmalai…and lots more. And when you are done stuffing down all your cravings,
there are plenty of options to wash it down with. A variety of sherbets, along
with different varieties of lassi are sure to interest you. Then there is the
tender coconut stall, the sugarcane juice stall and other pure natural ways of
quenching your thirst.
A new addition this
year is a stall by Biryani chefs from Lucknow who have brought in Mughlai
flavours to the festival. Apart from Biryani, one can find several preparations
of chicken and mutton served with roti or rice, on offer at this stall.
Head
to Lokotsav now before things start selling out. The festival is on till the
next 8-odd days.
