How the women of Goa cook

The making of mutton biryani in this writerrsquos home at least is the most elaborate affair Right from marinating the meat to sauteacuteing the onions with whole spices chillies and gingergarlic paste to cooking the basmati ricemdasheverything requires technique skill and time But watching a less intimidating Instagram video involving the preparation of the Goemchi dum biryani by Bibi Sugra Khan from the Konkani Muslim community of Chandrawado in Fatorda South Goa makes it seem rather effortless In the video Bibi Sugra is seen slathering the meat in curd and a rich spice mix before cooking it in a pressure cooker this is followed by layering the mix with rice and garnishing it with fried onions ldquoThe ingredients for the masala come from my own backyard and the recipe has been handed down to me from my grandmotherrdquo she shares Bibi Sugra is one of the many faces behind a new curated masala blends brand called The Women of Fatorda run by former adman and Mumbaikar Shankar NairGoemchi dum biryaniNair first came in touch with these women through friend and social activist Usha Sardesai whose husband Vijai Sardesai is MLA of Fatorda and former deputy CM of Goa ldquoShe has been running a selfhelp initiative for women where they make a lot of things including candles and soaps selling them at affordable prices What caught my attention were the homemade masalas these women made They were simply deliciousrdquo recalls Nair who recently moved to Goa ldquoSince I am a foodie this resonated with me I particularly enjoy clams and prawns so doing something with masalas from Goa was right up my alley Someone asked me why not start a handmade soaps business but I canrsquot eat soap or I would haverdquo jokes Nair It took Nair a couple of years to bring the plan to fruition he says The company was registered in 2018 but work only began a year later after securing an FSSAI licence Nair who formely ran a brand consultancy firm in Mumbai says he was able to infuse his expertise into building the venture in Goa While The Women of Fatorda was officially launched in 2019 it took a beating in the pandemic He has only just begun to revive the company even if slowly he saysPork vindalooFatorda about 30 km from the Goan capital city of Panjim is a suburb in the Salcete region of Madgaon ldquoIt is home to many indigenous tribal communities including the Kunbis who are said to be among the earliest settlers of the region and the Gavlis who were traditionally herdsmen and eat only vegetarianrdquo says Nair For the brand he and his team handpicked masalas which best represented the diverse communities of the region The company directly buys from the women who make it exclusively for them At present 12 masala blends are available and Nair insists that they are all vegetarian and donrsquot use preservatives The packaging mentions a sixmonth shelf lifeThere is the Portuguese and Africainspired Frango a Cafreal made with green coriander fennel seeds ginger garlic and whole spices The masala is used to make a spicy green thick chicken gravy dishmdashthe cafreal is believed to have travelled from Mozambique on the South East coast of Africa which like Goa was a Portuguese colony for around 500 years Another interesting blend Aamso tiksso traces its roots to the Goan Hindu community The spicy and tangy masala locally known as the ambotik is used to prepare fish prawn or calamari curries A masala we were unfamiliar with is Gavli bhaji attributed to the pastoral Gavli tribe whose cuisine Nair says was largely unknown and untried at one time since theirs was a closeknit community This can be used to prepare an array of vegetarian specialtiesThe 12 masalas available in the rangeOther options include Kunbi xasti a masala prepared by the Kunbi tribe to make tisryo clams and kurlya crabs Green recheado used in fish stuffing or as a seafood marinade and Pedne shagoti a masala that traces its origins to the Pedne taluka of Goa Nairrsquos personal favourite is the Fishermanrsquos barbecue which is made with basic ingredients like Goan green chillies ginger garlic lime white vinegar and salt ldquoThis masala mirrors the simple lives of the fisherfolk along the Konkan Coastrdquo says Nair adding ldquoJust like language is a carrier of culture so is cuisine It gives us insights into the community and their traditions The ingredients they used were minimal They couldnrsquot afford anything elaboraterdquoShankar NairNairrsquos vision for the brand is to move beyond Fartorda to include masalas from other communities of Goa ldquoFor instance there are a lot of Mangalorean Christians in Goa and their food also informs Goan cuisinerdquo He is however particular about not selling the products on retail stores ldquoIt might seem like a selfimposed restriction but currently I am focusing on building the brand rather than selling it I donrsquot want the sales to pull my cart What I want to do is to empower these women and eventually make them equal stakeholders in the business They are after all the heroes of the brandrdquoMIDDAYrsquoS TASTE TESTFor those with little knowledge about Goan cuisine The Women of Fatorda website is a neat primer on the explosion of flavours you could expect if you were to buy from the store With every masala on their menu comes a detailed backstory about its origin ingredients and a suggested recipe which is simple to make We picked up the Aamso tiksso Goan recheado Vindaloo de Goa and Gavli bhaji all cost around Rs 150 each Some of them are wet masalas while others come as dry powders in sealed packets The masalas were delivered within four days of placing the orderMussels prepared by this writer with Aamso tiksso served with rice and bangda fryThe ambotik curry is a staple in most Catholic households from Goa and Mangalore including this writerrsquos Traditionally itrsquos made with shark mori but you can use any fish like rohu or catla Interestingly the day we were attempting this dish the fish market had none of the above On the suggestion of my mother we used the masala to prepare greenshelled mussels which are juicy as well as fleshy It seemed like an interesting choice but my motherrsquos call to use fresh grated coconut in this dishmdashaamso tiksso gravies are always made sans coconutmdashmeant that this could go either way We marinated the halfshelled mussels with turmeric and salt We followed some parts of the suggested recipe on the blogmdashsauteing onions in a kadhai and adding three tablespoons of the wet masala But since we like our gravies to be spicy we added an extra tablespoon of red chilli powder followed by the mussels and grated coconut Much to our surprise this unusual combination turned out to be an absolute treatmdashsweet spicy and tangy in parts and very flavourful We had it with bangda fry and rice A hearty Sunday meal And even though the Goans might not approve of ambotik and coconut we definitely doWith the recheado a masala made with fresh Goan chillies whole spices and white vinegar we once again broke away from the norm The recheado generally comes as a red or green masala and is used as a stuffing to make bangda fry or as a marinade for fried fish We used it in a bombil Bombay duck curry and the experiment was somewhat of a successThis came close to the Konkanistyle bombil green curry that we make at home What we think works for these masalas is that their preparation is not set in stone If you enjoy experimentation love your fish and have some basic knowledge of Goan cuisine anything you try with these will lead you to GoaWomen of Fatorda didnrsquot know we were buying Midday reviews anonymously and pays for food and drinksTo buy httpswwwwomenoffatordain