The Konkani among spices Local ingredients like kokum, teppal and Sankeshwari chillies are what give Konkani food its unique flavours,

The Konkani among spices

Local ingredients like kokum, teppal and Sankeshwari chillies are what give Konkani food its unique flavours,

The kaju shahale arrives in a copper vessel, a colourful mix of orange and red with a sprinkling of green. “It's our signature dish,” the waiter informs me. I bite in and understand why: The crunch from the tender coconut is balanced by the softness of cashew. “This is a famous Goan preparation,” says Sudhir Jadhav, head chef at Kokum & Spice restaurant at Alibaug's Radisson Blu Resort & Spa. The creaminess of the dish, he says, comes from cooking it in coconut water. Shahale is meant to be sweet and sour, not spicy. “We use very few dry masalas — just chillies, haldi and jeera — so as to preserve the natural taste of the vegetables that go into the dish,” he says. Being a Goan myself, I'm intrigued about the origins of the dish, but Jadhav doesn't know about the history of kaju shahale. Instead, he's eager to discuss other bestselling Goan dishes, namely the fiery vindaloo and the chicken xacuti. The main course arrives. The first dish is the chicken jeere meere, a spicy dish that uses two main ingredients — cumin and black pepper. “This dish is from the Malwan region,” says executive chef at the Radisson, Devwrat Jategaonkar. “Its spiciness is largely because of the pepper and helped in no uncertain measure by the Guntur and Sankeshwari chillies.” Dishes at Kokum & Spice come from the coastal regions of Raigad, Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, Goa and Mangalore. Throughout this belt, chillies such as Guntur and Sankeshwari are commonly used. There are a number of fish preparations too on the menu, and despite the season, they serve a fresh catch every day. A platter of fish arrives, dosed liberally with freshly ground Konkani masalas: a shallow fried pomfret in Manglorean masala, the rava fried bombil bhajias, bangda fried with Karwari masala, and prawns fried in a batter of red chillies, ginger and garlic. What sets these dishes apart from other coastal fish preparations is that they do not use lemon. Instead, they use tirphala or teppal, a strong spice resembling Sichuan pepper. “It's a dry, whole spice that is soaked overnight. The water is then used in curries. The spice is never ground as it is too strong and grinding tirphala makes it bitter,” says chef Jadhav. A common ingredient is the humble fruit kokum. It is largely used as a souring agent in fish curries. But its best use is in the refreshing sol kadhi, a frothy pink drink blended with spices. “It's best to use fresh coconut. That gives the drink a creamy taste,” says chef Jategaonkar. “All you need besides that is ginger, jeera and green chilli for the punch.”

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