We’re sure you already know what it is, but for the uninitiated, the humble Goan Thali is a composite and wholesome meal which is basically a combination of various delicious dishes served on a single plate. You have small bowls full of dishes like rice, a vegetable preparation, curries and fried fish. Some also feature chapatis along with sides of papad , pickle and salad. What’s more, almost every taluka or tinto has it’s own distinctive version of the ‘thali’ made to suit local tastes and cooking styles. For a true blue Goan, nothing in the world is as important or soul satiating as the homely comfort of a good fish thali. And the search for newer variations of this vital ingredient of ‘food for the soul’ is almost unending.
Anandashram has been rather synonymous with Goan fish, curry, rice and has been dominating the segment in the capital city for the past 90 years. Standing tall since 1945 in the quaint narrow lanes of Fontainhas, Anandashram has been serving fish thali and absolutely fresh fish to all those who frequent this place. Owing to this very fact, it is common to see long queues of people eagerly awaiting a seat to savour the offerings of this place. Therefore, it was natural for the management of Anandashram to expand, and expand they did. ‘Anandashram – A notch up’ is a result of the same efforts and has been catering to the seafood lovers in the capital city for the past 18 months.
Situated in St Inez near Basilio’s Gym, Anandashram ticks all the right boxes of a good fish thali. You have the usual suspects – rice, fish curry, kismoor, crab xec xec, and fried fish (usually a rather large generous rava fried slice of Kingfish), sharing space with the lesser mortals – the pickle and salad. The best part is that the main component of the curry – the fish – is different every day; we were lucky to have our favourite Prawn curry on our visit to this place. While there’s nothing extraordinary about the curry here in particular, there’s something pleasantly different about the masala in the fried fish that pairs it so well with the humble rice and fish curry. The result is pure culinary bliss!
Apart from the modest fish thali, we couldn’t resist ordering some of the not-so-modest dishes from the menu. The first one that piqued our interest was the Squid Masala Fry – fresh squids cooked in a masala that was rechaedo-ish but a little different from it. We quite liked it when paired with the combination of crab xec xec and rice. However, we realised that the best was yet to come, and it did in the form of Serradurra – a well-known dessert featuring a combination of whipped cream and crumbled biscuit. The dessert is a definite must-try and is highly recommended!
As I mentioned earlier, Anandashram’s synonymity with all things seafood may suggest that the vegetarian folks might have a dull time here, but we were in for a pleasant surprise. We ordered the vegetarian thali in order to see how this place fares in the greener segment of the menu. The thali did great but what impressed us the most was the Gobi Manchurian that we ordered while we were waiting for the former. Moist chunks of cauliflower with a crispy crust cooked in Manchurian sauce far surpass the expectations and chances are that most non vegetarian foodies might not resist ordering this dish, maybe with a pint of beer.
If Anandashram is busy tackling the orders of fish thali in the afternoon, in the evenings, the place transforms into a sizzler restaurant, a steak-house and a tandoor place – all forged into one. And while one can order sizzlers and steaks in the afternoon as well, one has to wait for the sun to set to savour all things tandoor.
The young man in charge of this place – Vardhan Haldankar can be spotted managing the busy-ness with a smile on his face almost always. Perhaps the smile too is a by-product of the labour in the kitchen here, if not the main product itself.
