As per the Hindu calender, the month of ‘Paush’ sees several jatras happening in and around Goa. The ongoing jatras that are attracting huge crowds are the Shri Shantadurga Kunkolienkarin at Fatorpa and the Shri Bodgeshwar jatra at Mapusa. Though there is faith and devotion attached to the jatras, many have one more reason to visit these places: to relish the delectable treats available at the jatra fairs.
Youngsters Sneha and Upendra Chodankar
love to eat gobi manchurian at jatras. “We usually bring home khaje or
laddoos from the fair. For major festivals, khaje is even distributed among
relatives and family members. Basically, it is a way of sharing joy and faith.
However, when we are at jatras, we generally head straight for the gobi
manchurian; it’s tasty. While chaat stalls quite common, gobi manchurian stalls
are hard to find, that’s probably why many fans of the snack never miss a fair.”
Konkani film actress Sonam Morajkar has
quite a different craving when it comes to jatra food. She says, “I love the
white khaje, hot jalebi and orange ladoos.” Like Sonam, artist Damodar
Madgaonkar too enjoys white khaje.
Since the Bodgeshwar Jatra has already
begun, youngsters have started marking days to head to it and have fun. Besides
the tempting food, the joy rides are another attraction. Since the jatra site
is right along the Mapusa highway, ease of access is another reason the
festival sees huge crowds.
Though the newer trends like gobi manchurian, sweet corn,
chana masala and chaat are garnering attention, many still stick with
traditional sweet treats. Rohit Khandekar from Ponda says, “I am fond of eating
orange laddoo (boondi laddoo) and either chone or bhikna (grams
and peanuts). While the new treats are fine, it is the original stuff such as khaje,
ladoo, bhikna and chone that form the essense of these traditional
festivals.”
“Apart from the already made snacks,
you also get hot-from-the-oil bhajjias. I usually avoid buying them from any
hotel and instead, head here for a hot snack,” says Nikita Kavlekar from Vasco.
Though not very common, certain big
fairs also have rarer sweets such as gulab jamun and rasgulla. “In recent
years, we have witnessed that sweet stalls sometimes also sell rasgullas, peda
and gulab jamuns,” says Puja Narvekar, Panjim, adding, “It’s nice to have
variety.”
“I have a soft spot for the chaat made
using chana, masala and raw mango; it is simply delicious. The masala sweet
corn is another favourite,” adds foodie Michael Rodrigues from Cortalim.