THE GREAT GOAN DIET

By Wendell Rodricks

Pre-lunch, whenever I visited my friend, the late Lucio Miranda, he would be sitting Buddha like over a bowl of Goan kanji. The first time I saw him with his kanji I asked if this was a daily routine. “Every single day” he replied. “It’s the best diet, our Goan way of eating”.

Many years later and after experimenting with many diets (in an attempt to cleanse the system once a year) I have come to the conclusion that Lucio is right.

Today, our dietary patterns and physical activity have been altered so drastically that I decided to go on what I now call The Great Goan Diet.

Before anyone goes on the diet, it is necessary to reflect on the
lifestyle of our ancestors. Imagine a Goan village a hundred years ago. Villages had no electricity, few cars and no telephones for sure.
This meant walking to the wells, schools and market places. Messages were also passed on by foot (unlike the present phone-call-away sloth). Our ancestors walked, climbed and rode the humble but effective bicycle. Doctors today will affirm that riding a bicycle into old age is the best way to keep one’s balance. Come rain or shine, all villagers went for a daily passoi (promenade) each evening.
Most importantly they ate frugally and at fixed times. Once this routine is accepted, half your weighty problems are eliminated. A few rules…… all old Goan wisdom. No canned or bottled products. If it’s not fresh, forget it. Imagine that your refrigerator is solely for ice. Better still believe it does not exist and hence does not become the repository of frozen food, bottled sauces, junk food left overs and ugly soft drinks. If you want juice do it from fresh fruit.

Back to the Great Goan Diet. Begin the day with a cup of weak tea with a spot of milk. In the old days sugar was scarce and barely used. If you need sugar a tiny piece of good old Goan molasses (jaggery) adds sweetness and a lot of flavour. Local fruits such as guavas, mangoes, pineapples, papayas, bananas and humbler fruits from the hills such as zomnas found their way to the breakfast table. One of the principles
of yoga is to eat what Mother Earth gives you in season. This simple principle drastically cuts out all the sugar laden apples and pears
that now arrive from lands as far as China and Israel . Buy and consume local seasonal fruits. The same applies to vegetables but more of that later. Not many families could afford an entire poyee or kankana per person. But a fresh poyee or chapatti made of whole wheat flour was consumed. Most often families shared half a poyee or kankana. Consider
chapattis made from nachne (red millet). Consume village eggs from local hens (when available) once a week. Nothing like gaunthi eggs fried in coconut oil and drizzled with garden grown black pepper.
English eggs? Never! Just the thought of those million chickens
sitting in always lit cages has put me off chicken forever.

That takes care of breakfast. And that rules out butter, jams (except home made with seasonal fruit as a Sunday treat), cheese, cakes, biscuits croissants and all such luxuries that have invaded our modern lives.

At 10.30, a bowl of Goan rice kanji water flavoured with a hint of homemade pickle or creamy kalchi kodi on the side. Insist on “homemade” as too many chemicals and preservatives go
into commercial pickles.

Ask any gym instructor or doctor and they will confirm that six small
meals are best for health. This mid morning kanji wards off voracious hunger pangs at lunch which make you eat more than necessary.

Lunch comprises Goan boiled rice, fish curry made with small local fish and a piece of fried fish or local tisreos. It is amazing today to see lunch tables groaning with kingfish and one pomfret per person.
In my youth my Mom expertly rationed one rechado pomfret on Sunday between four sons, my Dad and herself. Insist on local fish: sardines, velios, tisreos, catfish. Reserve the luxurious chonak, modso and larger fish for Sundays or feasts (like our ancestors did). A vegetable is also welcome. Here as well, go for the local field grown tambdi bhaji or lady fingers.

At 4.00 pm, indulge in a cup of tea or chilled lemonade and a sweet. It was only at tea time that Goans enjoyed bolinhas, home made cakes and biscuits.

Whether you work or not, have long evening walks. Better still bicycle and play a game which involves rigorous physical activity. Have an early dinner. Yes you are allowed one or two drinks prior. Here again, go local. It’s safer and cleaner to have a feni or urrack than a potent foreign liquor (Consume those on feast days).

If one goes back in time, dinner comprised dal or meat with a
vegetable preparation. Chickens and pigs were feasted on only during village feasts, family weddings and religious festivals. Nowadays, chicken, pork and beef are a daily affair. Not only has it been proven unhealthy for the liver, meat is not advisable at night due to the excess digestive impact when meat is consumed. Many families ate Goan curry rice at night too. Some enjoyed hot, whole wheat chappatis. Be
prudent when it comes to vegetables. Goa was not a great consumer of what the Western world now calls the “new vegetables” post 1495, such as potatoes and carrots. Goan families have always eaten the healthier options of beans, viril (runner beans), gosalim (ridged gourd), red leaf (tambdi bhaji), ladies fingers, brinjals, tendlis, white pumpkin and tapioca. All other modern vegetables especially potatoes entered our lives a few hundred years ago and have been proven to be unhealthy sources of carbohydrates. The only alien vegetable intake that I encourage is salads and sprouted legumes, as a first course at lunch or dinner.

Ancestral wisdom should apply to the quality of food cooked such that there is never any food thrown away. I admire how my mother and my grandmother before her made exacting quantities and forced us to eat everything. No excuses were tolerated for not consuming vegetables. A single Five Star chocolate bar was split six ways. Dad would insist that no one rose from the dining table till all the food was consumed.
Today I am shocked to see people throwing mounds of cooked rice into a bin. It’s appalling. Deserts were reserved for special days. On the rare summer day, an ice lolly was a real treat. We ate khotkhote (caramelized Goan jaggery chikki) when grandma wanted to treat us. The occasional ExtraStrong mints from the local posro were reserved for summer holidays once a week. Best post meal “desert” is to go way back
in time and reflect on Goa ’s grandeur by chewing on a single paan (betel) leaf.

After dinner, have a small leisurely walk (to admire the moon or stars). Do not look at this as an exercise because exercise in any form post a meal is not recommended. A leisurely walk (especially in villages) encourages the intake of fresh air and ensures sound sleep.

Before retiring, a glass of fresh local goat or cow milk (bottled milk is unhealthy) is an option. Milk in packets or long-shelf bottles are obtained in most part by keeping cows in a lactating state forever and then dosed with preservatives. If you cannot source fresh milk, it’s better not to consume milk at all.

One final tip on the Goan lifestyle. Once a month we were rudely awakened to a tablespoon of castor oil forced into our mouths followed by hot sweet tea. It kept us in the loo for the entire morning but away from ill health.

Try the Great Goan Diet. It will change how your body, face and skin looks(and feels). Whoever coined the phrase “age old wisdom” certainly knew about the wisdom of the good old Goan way of life.