Goan Cuisine

When you think of Goa, it’s likely that you envision sun, sand and palm trees. Known for its beautiful beaches, Goa is a pocket-sized paradise on the west coast of India. Goan cuisine is an exotic blend of Portugese and Indian flavours, lending to Goa’s long history as a Portugese colony.

In this Goa food box, we’ve put together fragrant and robust spices to create a delicious three course meal for four people. So you can treat your friends and family to a mouth watering meal that perfectly captures the authentic flavours of Goan cuisine. Each spice has been perfectly measured out so that you don’t have to worry about getting the measurements right!

Our Goa food box contains spices to make a succulent Lamb Goan Xacuti, sizzling Panch Phoran Cauliflower, and a delectable Dhal Curry with Pilau Rice.

We’ll start with the highlight of the meal. Xacuti (also known as ‘chacuti’ in Portugese) is a classic Goan dish which blends powerful spices, coconut and either chicken or lamb. The spice mix itself contains at least 14 different ingredients including poppy seeds, star anise and ajowan seeds. These spices are fried together with garlic and onions before adding lamb, coconut and chicken stock. Tamarind paste is mixed in for a little tanginess and there you have it - a warm, aromatic dish of soft, tender lamb.

Panch Phoran Cauliflower makes an excellent side dish. Panch phoran is an Indian whole spice blend which literally means ‘five spices’. The spices consist of fennel, fenugreek, brown mustard, cumin and nigella seed. The spice mix is cooked together with onions, ginger, cauliflower, spinach and tomato puree, plus a little amchoor powder which gives it a sour and tangy kick.

Last but not least, we have a tasty and homely Dhal Curry. Red lentils are cooked in chicken stock with Sri Lankan spice blend, resulting in a warm and comforting side curry. This is best served with a delicate and aromatic pilau rice, which is super easy to make. Simply cook some basmati rice together with our pilau spice blend until it’s light and fluffy.

But that’s not all! We’ve also fitted each Goa food box with a shopping list, cooking method and postcard. We want to make cooking an enjoyable, fuss-free experience, so you don’t have to worry about getting the shopping list right or looking up recipes. We’ve also snuck in a specially curated music playlist. As you enjoy the flavours of authentic Goan cuisine, let the relaxing melodies transport you to a far away beach under the palm trees.

Here at The Spice Pioneer, we believe that great food is made with the best ingredients. We only use premium ingredients to make our spice mixes, which we roast and blend by hand at our headquarters on the Wirral.

We may be biased, but we think these boxes make an excellent gift for any foodie out there. Check out our spice gift sets as they make for the perfect present!