There is a podder (Goan bread man) in town, and many Aunty Marias’ pouring over spice-enriched recheado masalas and asados to give you Goa, untouched, scrumptious and hitting the spot meant for soul food. This new restaurant Nossa Goa comes from a place that stretches languorously as the verdant hills during the Monsoon, painting a picture of lush green Goan afternoons away from the tourist buzz. A Goa that lives and breathes in its local village xiit kodi (fish curry rice), and unde (a local bread), chomping on a multitude of breads like khatre, pav, poi that the local bicycle pedaling and basket wielding podder bakes in his ancient bakery, and sells morning and evening to every family. It is a Goa that Goans revel in and the eclectic foodie rejoices. Nossa Goa, translated “Our Goa” (in Portuguese) is that sacrosanct place where all the elements of the beach state that might have been forgotton by the touristy riff come alive. The new restaurant, that is incidentally housed in No 38 Castle Street in what was once the Goan home of Marianne and Gregory, and was also built by a Goan architect in the 1950s. In 2017, start-up and hedge fund man Vivek Vashishta decided to turn to hospitality to reawaken the Goa he grew up in when his mother used to teach at the University. Those searchers of soul food and unknown havens of local fare will be slurp happy. And namma ooru did indeed need a good Goan restaurant.
Having just visited secret gems of the sunny state where food was soul and taste was local, Nossa Goa surprised us with its old world charm complete with the athangudi tiles and oxide flooring, dishing out authentic and delicious food thanks to Goan Chef Jude Fernandes, who was earlier with the Taj, among various other stand-alones. The Goan baker and in-house podder is busy (yay), so that all of us bread lovers need not have to pack in pois and undes from the sunny state, and freeze till the poi urge appears here! The podder makes the freshest of pois and promises other Goan breads -- fresh, local in flavour, taking lessons from their Portuguese lineage.
We started the meal the Goan sausage chilli fry even as our eyes darted to the many other starters we wanted to order (all), the sausage was pungent, tangy, spicy and delicious with its pieces of onion capsicum… we would have liked more sausage to bite into with our poi. There was pork roast that was melt in the mouth with its asado type marinade. Perfectly spiced and subtle in flavour, Juicy, with mashed potatoes and sauteed peppered boiled vegetables. What we liked was the various thalis on offer, aka local hubs in Goa that serve the best and freshest of fare… we ordered the special prawn curry thali, that came with nice pink succulent prawns, steamed rice and a nice cabbage sabji. The prawn curry was tangy and with just the right coconut consistency. There is beef, pork, chicken and seafood thalis on offer. The beef admas in green masala was a mingling of spices in a coriander rich gravy… it was alright. The pork vindaloo came next, nice recheado highs but it could have been thicker in gravy and with lesser fat. We were very exited to see the tiny nondescript poi, a wheat bran bread that was a bit dry, but dunked into the admas gravy, wonderful. The guava cake which we think was inspired by the guave cheese you get across Goa was rich and delicious. It was rum infused and yum. “Jude Fernandes our chef has been entrenched in Goan food, and he knows his cuisine. We also have an inhouse podder for the bread which we are making fresh. We have housewives doing masalas and they work inhouse, which makes the taste authentic. The idea was to give all of us who have seen Goa change back the Goa we have loved,” says Vivek Vashishta who earlier had a counter at Catholic Club which got rave reviews, and thus came this veritable Goan feast in Nossa Goa. A Goa hidden in the back waters and tiny winding lanes of its villages.
We spotted ras ommlete, a Goan fave -- pav with egg in last night’s curry (originally), now a delicacy. There are soups like Caldoverde, and a flurry of seafood and they will soon have a special seafood counter at Nossa Goa serving by the kg. We spotted roasts, Calamari, rava fried fish, and other typical Goan fare which made us happy… given our undying love for all things Goan… They will serve wine and beef soon, and keep the focus on food, thanks to chef Fernandes, the various home cooks and their awesome podder! The ambience is very old world, the waiters are helpful and the xiit kodi and podder on point. Now, for some jewan (meals) Goan style!
Address: No 38, Castle Street Ashoknagar
Meal for two: Rs 1500 onwards
Must-haves: Fish, Prawn and Seafood Thalis, sausage chilly fry, Beef admas, Pork Vindaloo, poi and a slew of other breads.
