It might seem strange to find Goan recipes in a book about food in Lisbon, but there are long culinary threads binding Goa and Portugal, just as there are between other former Portuguese colonies like Brazil, Macau, Angola, Cape Verde and Mozambique.
The Portuguese colonised Goa in the 16th century, making it central to the spice trading routes that ran from their colonies in east Asia to Europe and on to the Americas. They introduced the hot chilli pepper to India from its native South America, along with vinegar, which Goan cooks learnt to make from palm wine and coconut toddy. Goa remained a colony until the 1960s, and, as with other colonies, many Portuguese settled in Goa and many Goans settled in Portugal. (Because of the sizeable Catholic community in Goa, it is one of the few places in India where pork is eaten; they have their own style of spicy chouriço (chorizo) sausage.) The family who own Cantinho da Paz and Restaurante Nova Goa have been in Lisbon for generations, but the food in their wonderful restaurants remains true to their roots. These crunchy, juicy beef samosas, the Goan Green Coconut Chutney on page 59 and the Spicy Onion Bhajis on page 62 are all inspired by several meals that daughter Ana Fernandes treated me to; the Goan Fish Curry on page 132 is a dish I was taught to make by founder and father, chef Sebastiao Fernandes.