------------------------------------------------------- CONVENTION OF THE GOAN DIASPORA FROM GOA INTO THE WORLD Lisbon, Portugal June 15-17, 2007 Details at: http://www.goacom.org/casa-de-goa/noticias.html -------------------------------------------------------
The coconut shack's goan menu A. Kadumukasa Kironde II Place: The Coconut Shack Rating: X Location: #5 Dewinton Road, opposite the National Theatre Food: A daily local buffet coupled with a continental menu Menu: Goan Price: A meal for two with a beer will set you back a couple of tenners Service: Not the best, when we were last there one waitress served all the tables Ambience: Could be better Open: Seven days Parking: Available in the evening Smoke Free Zone: Not sure DELICIOUS: Chefs at The Coconut Shack prepare food. Photo by Ismail Kezaala Much to our surprise this little Goan joint has been around for more than a couple of years. Admittedly this is news to us and for that matter, it was not until a month ago when I saw their advert that piqued my curiosity. We all know that the best form of advertising has always been word of mouth, and some places like Nalongo of Katwe, have never advertised their services and yet people go there in droves. When I inquired from a few chums of mine if they had ever heard of the place, not surprising none of them had ever heard of the place. Be that as it may, a while back, a fellow trencherman and I decided to mosey over and check out the place. I am certain that few people in town are aware of the difference between Goan and Indian food and for that matter they should be forgiven since the two do have similarities. Those who have visited Goa are inclined to think that food there means fish, curry and rice and to a large extent this is true. But that is just the tip of the iceberg. Owing to the diverse history and colonisation of the country their food is very diverse. They were ruled by the Portuguese for a long period, not to speak of the Muslim and Hindu Kingdoms thus it was only natural that these influences would conspire to leave an indelible imprint on their food. By the way, getting back to the Coconut Shack, one could only feel sorry for the poor lone waitress who had to juggle about the few tables that were occupied. A quick glance at the menu reveals a lot of familiar items such as chicken tikka, paneer tikka Masala and quite a few more than are generally associated with mainstream Indian cooking save for mainstays such as Goan fish curry and sorpotel or pickled pork. It goes without saying that in as much as Goa was very much a Roman Catholic State the issue of preparing pork was never an issue. Sorpotel is a tremendous tour de force that requires patience and loads of time since it is the sort of dish that requires different types of preparation before arriving at the final step. For starters you will need a decent loin of pork, pork liver and pork heart that are cooked in a medley of spices, chilies, malt vinegar and then allowed to marinate in the fridge for at least two or three days. Actually, the longer the better, though given the exotic nature of the dish, I very much doubt if this is the case at the Coconut Shack. I would have loved to have seen a pork curry on the menu but no such luck. Though I do recall seeing some sort of pork muchomo on the menu that I promised myself to order as a take away; something that I have not got around to doing as yet. Sadly and conspicuously absent, are the bounty of seafood that are an essential must with any Goan menu. These include prawns, lobsters, pomfrets, crabs, clams, ladyfish, oysters, mussels et al. Not to be left out are artisan dried and salted fish dishes.
