#blahvsfood goes to Avo’s Kitchen, Goa
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| With founders Amey and Gaurish Naik |
I went to Avo’s kitchen 6 days after it opened with no real idea of what to expect and ended up being blown away by the food. It has some stuff for kids and tourist types like pizzas and pastas and Chinese food. But avoid all of that and go straight to the Saraswat Brahmin food because you will not find a better representation of that cuisine in any restaurant in India.
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| A Saraswat feast |
The restaurant is owned by brothers Amey and Gaurish Naik, founders of the well respected Panjim institution Peep Kitchen. Avo’s Kitchen though focuses on the food cooked at their home by their mother Vidya, food that you just can’t get in a restaurant.
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| Shallow fried chonak |
I had the best chonak I’ve ever had, just a basic marination and shallow fried, no recheado and no rawa, allowing the fish to really sing.
There was also a decent chicken xacuti but honestly I was so blown away with the vegetarian food that I didn’t really register the xacuti as much. I had never seen or tried these dishes and I don’t know how they achieved so much flavour with cooking that feels deceptively simple, so light and so fresh.
Whether it’s the shallow fried bread fruit starter or the chopped cashew nuts and grated cucumber canapés, the two kinds of mango curries (ripe with mustard and raw with coconut), every dish was spectacular.
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| Farm to Table! |
Some of the dishes were literally farm to table. They plucked some fresh green amaranth from the garden and lightly sautéed it with onions and fresh coconut, complementing the depth of the curries.
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| Phansache Dhonas |
Even the deserts were unusual and unlike anything I had ever encountered. Steamed semolina cakes made from jackfruit and mango, with jaggery and pulp and soul!
I strongly recommend Avo’s to anyone who wants to explore more facets of Goan food. I have seen Goa go from shack food to western style fine dining to more specialised restaurants to the luzo Portugese and Goan Catholic renaissance and the celebration of local produce and food. But Avo’s goes further than any other Goan restaurant to take you to an actual Saraswat home kitchen and eat dishes that you can never even imagine having in a restaurant. This restaurant is an absolutely stunning discovery and on my list of must-do recommendations in Goa.
We ate:
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- Neerphanas kapa: Shallow Fried Bread Fruit or Neer Phanas as it is called in Konkani |
- Cashew nut forminhas: Forminhas, a kind of an hors d’oeuvre often served as an appetizer at most Goan weddings and other parties. A stuffed canapé stuffed, the Avo’s version is made with some chopped cashew nuts and grated Coconut.
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| Tisreo Sukke (clams) |
- Dhavi Bhaji: onion & fresh coconut laced green amaranth...
- Ghontache sansav: Small ripe sucking mangoes are known as ghonta in Konkani. 'Ghonta Sansav' is a mustard based mango preparation ('sansav' comes from the word sansva which means mustard seeds)
- Amlechi uddamethi : The Amlechi Uddamethi Recipe also known as the Goan Raw Mango Curry is a one pot dish that can be made for lunch or dinner. A lovely combination of raw mangoes cooked in a flavour packed coconut spice curry
- Goan Red Rice, specially milled to leave distinctive red streaks. Goan rice is also called Ukade rice and is known for its reddish color and thicker grains. Its firm texture and slightly nutty grains make it ideal for coconut milk based curries.
Desserts:
- Amyache Dhonas: Goan style steamed mango cake made with semolina,mango pulp and jaggery
- Phansache Dhonas: Goan style steamed jackfruit cake made with Jackfruit, Semolina.
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