I walk into the home of Shubangi and Vaishali Gotge. The
mother- in-law daughter-in-law duo love to spend time in their kitchen. They
live in a simple ‘middle income’ Hindu Goan house where the kitchen of the past
is still retained on the ground floor. Although the upper storied rooms with
the main kitchen have undergone modernization, it was a novel experience to
soak in the atmosphere of the past. There were many local equipments and
implements that our grandmothers used strewn around about the place. Unfortunately the fast paced life (quick fix
meals) and smaller rooms in living accommodations (bungalows or flats) do not
permit them to be used in many kitchens today.
The Gotge’s have lived here for many years, and Ms Shubangi prepares the traditional dishes
learned from her mother in law as is the custom. There is one preparation that
the locals from Pernem (Pednekars) are proud of and that is the Shagoti. It is
believed that the Shagoti’s origin was in this taluka.
Pic courtesy: Nolan Mascarenhas
The women of the Ghotge household put in nineteen ingredients into this preparation; the chilies
include three varieties...the Pernem chili, bedgi chili and green chilies. She
agrees that her preparation is
spicy as the Pernem chilies impart a ‘spiciness’ to the preparation, but its mouth
watering (in more ways than one) – absolutely ‘droolingly’ if such a word
exists- good.
The man
of the house, Mr Manohar Ghotge has many interesting stories to tell. Fish was
obtained for their daily repast in and around the taluka...Arambol, Mandrem and
Morjim (the seaside places) to mention a few.
But many villages in Pernem (away from the sea), did have a way to catch
their own fish. This taluka has many water bodies besides the sea, besides the river
there are numerous ponds. ‘One way was with the use of a fishing line on which
a huge tiger prawn was used as bait’ he informs us. While many of us might
consider it a tedious time consuming process for the locals it was a way of
life as it was a way used to feed their families. ‘The villagers sometimes
strung a net attached to a floating tube across the water (from 4 pm in the
evening till the wee hours of the morning), however although the catch would be
bountiful it would not specific to the
fish required for the curry,’ he continues.
Yes there were specific fish to be used for the Hooman. His knowledge keeps us
spellbound. He smiles and adds ‘and then in small ponds they would use a
‘khand’ (basket) to catch sweet water
fish, but also there would be the adventurous type- who were able to
catch the fish with a cloth ‘pagu’.
These are people who genuinely know and love their fish.
Excerpts from the book – The Culinary Heritage of Goa
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