🫶7 iconic dishes from Goa's vegetarian food heaven

Not far away from the bustling beach shacks serving meaty vindaloo curries, seafood and sausages, there is a charming world of vegetarian, at-home cuisine that involves the passionate use of local and seasonal ingredients. Goan slow food, if you will.

Our resident Goan food expert has picked these seven vegetarian classics that are lesser known to the outside world.

Khatkhate: A celebratory stew of seasonal vegetables

Khatkhate is a coming together of a number of seasonal and local vegetables.

Predominantly cooked in Hindu homes, khatkhate is primarily made on special occasions like Ganesh Chaturthi festivities, religious ceremonies held at home, and a community event called Samradana.

Oil and onions are absent in the preparation of khatkate. Instead, the vegetables are boiled, and cooked in their juices with coconut, lentils, and spices.

Best eaten with steamed rice, Khatkhate has a staggering variety of flavours, textures, and colour that satiates not just the taste buds, but provides a variety of nutrients from just one dish.

Solkadi: A satisfying savoury drink

This pretty colored cooler drink is an indispensable part of a Goan meal.

To make Solkadi, kokum fruit petals are soaked in hot water and the extract is added to Coconut milk. The mixture is spiced up with green chilly, garlic and salt. Garnished with coriander and served chilled.

A refreshing and slightly tangy drink, Solkadi is usually eaten with rice or washed down at the end of meal.

Patholi: Steamed rice pockets with a sweet filling

Patholi are jaggery-coconut stuffed rice rolls that are steamed in fresh turmeric leaves, a method which gives the dish its unique aroma. For a precious few weeks between mid-June to September, fresh turmeric leaves are abundant in Goa.

Most Marathi and Konkani households in Goa make these delights during the month of Shravan (especially on Nag Panchami), and soon after on Hartalika, which is the day before Ganesh Chaturthi.

You start by smearing fresh turmeric leaves with a thick rice paste. Place a mixture of grated coconut and jaggery on top and fold the leaf over.  Then, steam the 'dumpling'. Gently peel off the leaf, drizzle some ghee and bite!

Anasache Sasav: Pineapple with a twist

Anasache Sasav is a sweet and sour curry that pays homage to the Goan pineapple, first introduced to Goa by the Portuguese via Brazil. Sasav comes from the word ‘sasva’ which is the Konkani name for mustard seeds, so Ansache Sasav is a mild cocunut based gravy made with pineapple, mustard seeds and curry leaves.

A firm, ripe pineapple is ideal for this dish. For the gravy, spices are roasted and ground to a paste with coconut. Pineapple is tempered with mustard seeds and curry leaves before adding in the paste and cooked along with jaggery.

Enjoyed with rice, this sweet-tangy curry will leave you craving for more!

Shakun Unde: Very moreish sweet lentil fried dumplings

Shakuni Unde can be served as a special festive dish, as a hearty dessert or even as a fulsome tea snack.

The filling is made with split gram cooked and mashed with jaggery, coconut, cardamom and poppy seeds. Portions of the filling are then covered with a skin made of rice flour and milk and fried until golden.

Amlechi Uddamethi: Raw mango curry that packs a punch

The Amlechi Uddamethi emphatically hits sweet and sour notes, thanks to the jaggery and raw mango that go very well together.

"Uddamethi" meaning udda - urad dal and methi - methi seeds is a traditional dish which Goans prepare as a festival treat or special occasions. Served with steamed rice, this dish scores really high on the comfor food scale.

Rosatle Fov: A Diwali classic starring poha and coconut milk

It’s at Diwali that Goan Fov or poha truly gets its place in the sun. Rice being Goa’s main crop, Diwali coincides with the end of the harvest season in Goa and with new rice in abundance, fov is thus consumed in different forms.

Rosatle Fov is simply fov beaten and cooked in coconut milk, jaggery and cardamom until it becomes porridge like consistency. Many Goan Hindus will recall starting Diwali days with Rosatle Fov, right after the morning pooja - a festive favourite!

❤ There you have it, our seven must-try vegetarian dishes on your next trip to Goa. Which among these made your taste buds tingle? Gave you a wave of nostalgia? These are just seven of probably hundreds of Goan vegetarian food recipes.