Food Talk: Goa’s fiery cafreal gets a veggie twist

A mere mention of Goa conjures up visions of a beautiful land on the western coast synonymous with resplendent delicacies. The only trouble is that much of the Goan repertoire comprises meaty fare. We dare not commit sacrilege in the fortnight that goes by the name of Pitripaksha, aka Shraddha. This is the time marked in the Hindu calendar to perform rituals, pay respects to departed ancestors. This is when meat is eschewed. Nor is chicken and fish allowed to pollute the plate.

The monsoon has been unusually heavy this year, and though it has been flooding in most of northern India, we have not been able to keep our mind away from Goa. Monsoon makes Goa even more beautiful. The sea turns turbulent and dangerous, but the land is seductively verdant. How tempting is the taste of cafreal in the land of its birth!

During our many visits to Goa, we have been treated to many renderings of chicken and fish cafreal by local hosts. Gourmet friend Rocky Mohan has included it along with recipes for xacuti, sorpotel, vindaloo and balchao in his mouth-watering cookbook. Let’s not linger in the prohibited culinary territory for long lest we stray from the straight and narrow virtuous path.

We spoke to many Goan friends who assured us that Goans enjoy vegetarian dishes, including green leafy ones, like anyone else. They also boosted our confidence that we could try cooking mixed vegetables with a new twist, giving them a cafreal masala garb to don. The green masala adds exceptional zing to anything cooked with it.

We are pleased to share the results of our experiment with our dear readers. Not only is the dish refreshingly different from pretentious bawali-deewani handi and subz miloni hyped by the Awadhi bawarchi, the veg cafreal does mimic meat realistically with ingredients like jackfruit, mushrooms and tofu. The contrasting textures and natural flavours that remained untouched by light stir-frying make this exceptionally satisfying.

The cafreal masala is allowed to shine unhindered.

Veg Cafreal

Ingredients

Potatoes 50 gm

Carrots (orange) 50 gm

Cauliflower 50 gm

Capsicum 50 gm

Jackfruit 50 gm

Paneer/Tofu 50 gm

Button mushrooms 50 gm

Zucchini/bottle gourd 50 gm

Peas 50 gm

Coriander leaves 75 gm

Garlic cloves 10

A piece of ginger 1 x 1/2 inch

Cumin seeds 1 tsp

Cloves 6

Black peppercorns 1 tsp

Cinnamon stick 1x1 inch

Green chillies (tops, tips removed) 4

Malt vinegar 1 tbsp

Refined oil 1/4 cup

Salt To taste

METHOD

• Wash the vegetables. Pat dry and cut into bite-sized pieces.
• Prepare the marinade by blending coriander leaves, garlic cloves, green chillies, ginger, capsicum, whole spices, vinegar and salt in a mixer to obtain a smooth paste.
• Place the vegetables in a bowl. Pour this marinade over them. Mix well and keep aside at least for half an hour.
• Heat oil in a thick-bottomed pan and stir-fry the marinated vegetables till moisture evaporates and the vegetables appear a bit charred.
• If a gravy dish is preferred, add a little water. Bring to boil, reduce to low flame and simmer till desired consistency is obtained. Enjoy with steamed rice or bread of choice.