Pao, Prawns, Papaya and Patnem

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  Patnem, Goa, India
Monday, February 22, 2010

We are still enjoying every minute of Palolem and Patnem. Just imagine a perfect beach from about the Palmwood to the Abino lighthouse where you can get everything from toilet tissue to tonic water, to tikka masala to toothpaste without ever leaving the beach!

The food is outstanding!  The unique cuisine which stems from an intermingling of Goan and Portuguese culture is awesome!  Given the Arabian sea, it is no wonder that fish is a staple and we have loved the fish and pawn curries.

Goan cooking involves a lot of spices such as cumin, coriander, chillies, garlic and turmeric. 

Chai is the drink of the masses...more milk than tea and lots and lots of sugar.  Coffee is not what you might expect...most widely avalable is milk coffee which is actually instant nescafe made with boiled milk. 

The coutnry liquor is arak, liquor distilled from coconut palm sap, potatoes or rice.  People ae blinded or killed by the methyl alcohol in it! 

Then there is feni...clear as water and tastes like gasoline...potent feni is Goa's favourite spirit. 

Whatever time of day, people are roasting, grilling, boiling, frying...all trying to lure you in to eat. 

There is lots of chaat.... any snack food seasoned with chaat masala. 

One of our favourite meals has been the thali meal which is all you can eat vegetarian with lots of spice and rice and bread...an entire meal may set you back about Rs 50 (a bit more than one dollar!)..

Our trusty canon which has been reliable over several trips seems to be expriring so sadly we have no photos for now.  It seems to be working sporadically and if we can get some cheap internet time, the next time we update, we will post more photos!  Thanks to everyone for the comments and we will update soon.  We head north on Monday and hope to be able to post from our next Goan stop which is Candolim, Sinquerim, Calangute and Baga. 

There we will be hitting the famous markets in Mapusa and Anjuna!  More to come...

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