Chefs Maia
Laifungbam and Sanchit Behl from Sol de Goa collaborated with Lore’s Johnson Ebenezer, a Michelin
Noted Chef & Mythrayie Iyer who honed her skills at Noma. Over seven
courses, this team of chefs weaved stories of war, love and peace in Goa, bringing
the past and present alive in a single spoon literally.
It wasn’t a regular dining experience at all, it was a story
telling session, the food looked like a work of art, the paired cocktails by
Stranger & Sons went down too well with the food and thus this
collaboration between Sol de Goa and Lore was a wholesome dining experience
that words cannot justify.
Dating back to the first settlers in Goa, the Saraswat Brahmins
and their love for sea-food, the course began by serving an oyster which the brahmin’s
fondly addressed as the pearl of the sea and moved on to the simpler things
that they ate like lentils, porridge and cucumbers.
The next course was inspired by the romance between Chandragupta
Maurya and his Greek wife Helena. It told the story of how at that time, he
sourced ingredients from across the globe in order to let his wife enjoy her
side of culinary delights. Figs, Peach, Cheese, Walnuts and Melon made for an
interesting salad and refelected the era gone by.
From a riot of flavours bursting in a single dish, ‘The Deccan
Seduction’ explored 6 different tastes and flavours with Astringent Chick Peas,
Sour Bimbli, Salted Egg, Sweet Crab, Bitter Greens and Pungent Choriz and each
and every taste stood out. One could literally feel the sour, sweet, salty,
bitter and pungent tastes all at once and it was one helluva dish.
A twist of taste was presented with ‘Bheja Brulee’ wherein the
dish drew inspiration from the Mughal era and chefs brought in their amazing
twist by preparing a fried version of the bheja and literally making it ‘Bheja
Fry’ over a creamy sauce which too was made using the brain and it was a truly
delightful play on the regular custard, who would imagine a custard made out of
brain
The sailors from the far west inspired the chefs to try their
hands at bread fruit, flat bread and rice, feni coral and fish with yesterday’s
curry and the dishes turned out to be superlative in taste and presentation.
The pulled pork served with a sauce made with pork itself was another winner
dish.
The use of local
ingredients, seasonal fruits and vegetables made the experience even more
worthy, since everything felt Goan in all ways.
The dessert platter
which had a jackfruit ice cream with coconut chips and gauva made the use of
Goan ingredients even more evident and the last meal of the course was a
surpise element for which the chef aplologised before hand. A whiskey tart, a
tobacco jelly and an edible note of currency with sugar powder depicted the not
so beautiful and rather ugly side of percieved Goan culture. Alcohol, tobacco
and drugs with pun intended summed up the Goan meal in a fun away and ended the
journey over centuries old flavours with the current times scenario.
This
truly was Goa’s tale in a mouthful, the variations of flavours inspired by
different settlers in Goa, the art of story telling, curated cocktails and the
ever so charming ambiance of Sol de Goa made perfect ingredients for a perfect
evening!
