Goa’s very first shawarma man

In one of the back alleys of Margao city, is a lane where you see people sitting on bikes, a few huddled on chairs and some standing in line for their turn to be served Arabic shawarma. Shawarma is basically marinated chicken blazed on a flame and rolled into a roti/pita bread with a special Arabic sauce. This is exactly what Nelson Fernandes has been doing for fifteen years from 5pm to 10 pm daily, giving Margao its tastiest shawarma.

Having returned from Bahrain after working for eight years in the Gulf in the finest bars, Nelson came home and was restless to start something new. Nelson recalls that he was pretty good with conjuring cocktails then but he decided to bring Arabia’s most famous street food – Shawarma – to Goa. He had a small space which he inherited from his mother which he set up for his new venture. 

“I went all the way to Muscat to purchase a Shawarma grilling machine where I could insert the gas pipe and fire up the marinated chicken. I left Goa on December 18, 2000 for Muscat since I was aware that it’s I could get a machine there without much delay,” recalls Nelson.

Nelson who’s now better known in Margao as a social activist always willing to take up problems that people face in government offices and the municipalities recollects how on January 06, 2001 when he started, he had just one teapoy and two chairs but his friends patronized him on the opening day and bought about 60-70 rolls on the Three King’s Feast.

“In the next two days, I sold maybe just two or three rolls but I was confident that this is what I wanted to do. The whole concept of shawarma was new to Goa and I knew it would pick up. I remember how a retired navy personnel, Cdr. T R Ananthanarayanan ran a Margao News supplement and when he wrote about us, this placed picked up and since then there’s been no looking back,” exclaimed Nelson.

“Most people had not been to the Gulf then or those that returned missed their shawarma. Therefore, starting a whole new concept was a big challenge. Today there may be over 300 shawarma outlets across Goa, but I am proud that I pioneered a new food concept in the state. It was tough at the start as business was slow but by God’s grace, it is booming now,” he went on to say. 

Nelson remembers how Pepsi’s former Marketing manager Jayesh Prabhudessai gave him a lot of support and encouragement and also gave him a freezer, napkin holders and much more. That helped Nelson slowly upgrade into a restaurant.

“My shawarma from then till now is the same. It’s cholesterol free. I use a sauce known as ‘tahina’ in Arabic which consists of ground sesame seeds and olive oil while the boneless chicken breast is marinated and served with pickled carrots and chilly and sliced tomatoes rolled in a roti which is all done here. I stack the chicken, marinate it and make the pickles myself. I just have help to cut the grilled meat,” explained Nelson who recalled his initial struggle.

Way back then and till today, people from Mapusa, Quepem, Sanvordem, Sanguem, Margao, Ponda, Vasco and Panjim would come and eat shawarma here and they continue to do so every time they’re in Margao even today. Everyone has fond memories here, he noted. “I have couples who tell me how they visited us and fell in love here and they now bring their kids here for shawarma. They tell me that the taste has not changed. It is overwhelming to hear that,” explained a clearly ecstatic Nelson who is grateful that he brought food to Goans rather than starting a bar.