Exploring the delicious street food and drinks of Goa

The state is full of dishes that find no mention in traditional recipe books, yet enjoy a big following among residents, tourists

- Raul Dias

The municipal council in the north Goa town of Mapusa passed a resolution late January, banning the sale of a "Chindian" street snack gobi or cauliflower manchurian during the five-day annual zatra (fair) at a temple.

Reason: Gobi manchurian - a vegetarian version of chicken manchurian, believed to have originated in Mumbai in the mid-1970s-was allegedly being made using artificial colours and spurious sauces and contained reetha (soap nut) powder, generally used as a foaming agent in hair and facial cleaners.

It made many people unhappy, for the dish was a local favourite. Goa restaurants and streets are full of dishes that find no mention in traditional recipe books, yet enjoy a big fan following among residents as well as tourists. Take, ros omelette, for instance.

Unlike what many believe, the popular street (or gaddo, in Konkani) snack of a fluffy two-egg masala omelette (I've had a version of it with fried eggs), doused in a medium-thick, coconut-laced, xacuti-like gravy called ros, and served with a couple of paos, is not a traditional dish.