It is perhaps beyond dispute that it is
almost impossible to find authentic Goan food in most of the shacks along the
northern or the southern beach belt. Although the state has modified itself, by
having more pure vegetarian (and even Jain) restaurants to suit the needs of
the domestic tourists that seem to dominate in numbers alone, it is nothing
short of a shame that a visitor or a local cannot stuff themselves with
mackerel in a recheado preparation or the good-ole’ Chicken Cafreal at a
beachside shack. What is surprising is that along with their non-Goan
counterparts, even the Goan shack owners appear to be fine with the given and
disputedly sorry situation and don’t see the need to change it.
If you’re walking along the Palolem beach
stretch, almost all the shacks seem to boast of serving ‘authentic Goan food’.
Deepak, who moved to Goa from Nepal about 11 years ago, manages a shack by the
name of Royal Touch along the same belt. He has employed about 7-8 people from
his hometown, who help him run the business here in Goa during the season,
before heading back home during the monsoons. Ricky Fernandes, who used to own
a shack along the Palolem coast about 3 years ago, says, “If observed
carefully, almost all the shack-owners in Goa find it preferable to employ
waiters and chefs from the North-Eastern part of India and Nepal, due to their
hardworking nature.” However, what takes a hit in the process, is the Goan
palate, as one cannot expect them to churn out local cuisine of high standards,
at least not in their initial years of employment in Goa.
Menino Fernandes of ‘Golden Palms’, a shack
in Calangute says, “To employ Goan chefs is next to impossible. Their availability
is an issue and the work output of the North-Eastern workforce is relatively
higher in nature. Thus, it is important that the non-Goan chefs are given
proper training in preparing authentic Goan food by the local chefs till the
point where they can independently execute it to perfection. Also, the spices
and the preparation time required for some of the Goan dishes make it
impractical to churn out during peak hours.”
Chef Kapil Muchandi of The Park in
Calangute has been serving as the head chef at the beachside property and every
dish that comes out of the kitchen does so under his supervision. Chef Kapil
says, “To maintain the authenticity of the food, we have a local lady from a
neighbouring village, who we lovingly call ‘auntie’ and she supervises the
cooking process of Goan dishes, alongside me. All the spices, mixtures and
sauces are prepared by her and the finishing of the dish is done by a senior
chef as we do not wish to utilise her expertise only in crucial stages of the
cooking.” Before parting, the senior chef suggests an idea that may be used to
change the situation for good. Chef Kapil says, “One may want to try employing
local elderly women and homemakers from the Goan villages who prepare the best
of curries and masala that one can ask for. We can have these women, one per
shack, and seek their assistance in the kitchen in preparing Goan dishes.
Additionally, the government may explore options of giving them special
privileges or status. It is important to get a reality check and understand the
intensity of the issue before it is too late.”
