Goa

The most surprising aspect of Goa’s food is that for so small a state it offers an intriguing variety of cuisines—each as colourful and full of zest as its people. There is the Christian food and there is the Hindu food. There is the cuisine of the Brahmins (both Hindu and Christian) and that of the non-Brahmins (both Christian and Hindu). Then there are the various influences—Kashmiri (since the Saraswats, who derive their name from the river Saraswati, which originates in the Vale, came from there), Muslim (Goa was annexed by the Mohammedan rulers of Bijapur) and Portuguese (who came in the early Sixteenth Century and stayed until the middle of the Twentieth). The result is an exquisite cuisine—one of a rich variety of culinary styles, with each style boasting of a distinct flavour.