The GSB Shravan Thali will feature such thing as heritage dishes as…ambadechyo sasav, khatkate, mugache ghati, chanyache tonak, karatyache raite, mirchi and batat bhajin, puryo, mirsangacho ross, sukur une, waran, saar, xit, sol kodi, papad, pickle.

By Tara Narayan

THE month of Shravan is an extra special month for most Hindu households when fasting is encouraged. But the one meal a day may turn out to be a most piece de resistance meal and over the years in Goa I’ve got addicted to some of the Gaud Saraswat Brahmin monsoon-time temptations at the table! As usual my friend Sangam Dungat never fails to remind me that it’s Shravan-ka-mahina and their Voltaire Goan Kitchen & Bar is open for the usual mesmerizing vegetarian delights in their Suwadik Shravan thali – feel free to go out and eat at their restaurant, or order home delivery.
A GSB Shravan thali meal deal is a grand affair and the dishes without onion and garlic (for some reason we are advised to stay away from these two items in our food while fasting) it will feature a whole host of monsoon time veggies like tender corn cobs, tender hog plums in “ambadechyo karam” or tangy “sasav” (the tender sour hog plums may be chewed through as exquisite flavor flavor fills the mouth), then there’re bamboo shoots or ki’lle, red amaranth or tamdi bhaji…my constant favorites are mooga gati, khatkhate, ambadechyo sasav and sometimes a drumstick “toy” (thick aromatic masur or tur dal) which can be unforgettable. Eat with your hands and the aroma may never wash off afterwards.
Other usual item numbers on the menu as it changes daily…think “chanyache tonak, karatyache raite, mirchi and batat bhajin, puryo, mirsangacho ross, sukur une, waran, saar, xit, sol kodi, papad, pickle.” The appetizers will usually be some “kappam” or rava fry of raw banana/breadfruit (neer phonos), potato or sweet potato or even tapioca or brinjal…one time I remember crisply fried okra itsy bitsies, very nice. “Sukur une” is a remarkable flavorful steamed ball of a sweet, other sweets may be “pais” white or brown, “seviya kheer,” “mangane,” “kelocho halva” which I prize the most (the bananas used are the long yellow Moira bananas and the ghee desi).
Do Shravan thali luncheon, that’s best for afterwards there are no hunger pangs till the next day, and after some time one gets used to it, just one grand meal a day and feel blessed about it too! Find Shravan thali meal deals at Kokni Kanteen, Fortune Miramar, Peep Kitchen, Kokum Curry, Copperleaf and a few other places in capital city Panjim. Priced from Rs250 to Rs500 with add-ons at some places. Happy Shravan fasting and feasting!

WHAT IS A KETOGENIC DIET?

QUITE a few of my friends on the heavyweight side are raving about the ketogenic diet which is doing all kinds of good things for them. I’ve been playing with it myself if you know what I mean. What is a ketogenic diet? A keto or ketogenic diet is a low-carb high fat diet that puts the body into burning fat instead of sugar – it’s a process called ketosis.
Most of the time our excessively high glycemic carbohydrate eating means we’re burning sugar and exhausting our pancreas where insulin is created …so much so most of us who are overweight are also insulin-resistant.
In short we have a hard time losing weight. There’s so much fascinating science to all this which I’m learning courtesy the American California-based Dr Eric Berg’s marvelous illustrated video talks which so easily describe how body beautiful works on oiled wheels or so to speak – of course, how most of us suffer from what we do or do not put into our mouth, along with the kind of mind and body, heart and soul lifestyles we live.
Most of us we survive on glucose as fuel to burn in our cellular mitochondria factories – our excessively high glycemic carbohydrate eating is deadly and at the root of the many degenerative diseases we suffer from…also unfortunately, we eat too much hungry or not hungry.
Dr Eric Berg is one of the world’s best guru on the subject of how if we live predominantly on a low carb high fat diet we do better for ourselves in the health department. His advice is to eat low carb, less meals! Low carb means no sugars, fruit, grains, starchy foods – he says eat seven cups of veggies! Forget all the cereals and seed oils…instead eat eggs, meat, veggies…do you know food may be fixed out of almond flour and cauliflower puree turns into terrific pizza base? Fruits are sugar alcohols although the better fruit to eat, he says, are raspberries, blue berries, black berries…and nuts, these are okay for living a keto diet.
Check it out. Keto eating to burn away all the fat stored in body beautiful here, there and everywhere…and go walking too to tone up slackening muscles. Wake up to a new healthy life to stay out doctors hands, doctors basically know more about drugs than body beautiful and what foods you may eat effectively to get your blood pressure down, blood sugar evened out and the rest of it.
Funny or not funny, I’m now convinced that the high incidence of diabetes in Goa begins with all the bread local or industrial which Goans eat morning, noon and night. Another rule if you’re going keto…no snacking. No snacking in between two low carb high meals at all. Skip breakfast for brunch and tea time treats for early dinner.
Well, I’m going to try, I must confess I’m a shudh vegetarian more or less and gave up whatever meat I may have eaten once upon a time; but maybe I can eat four eggs in various ways poached, fried sunny side up, scrambled, boiled…eggs Benedict, eggs royal, eggs Florentine, spinach feta omlet, masala omlet, eggs Turkish style, etc. Eggs in scores of different ways – instead of this daily pile of white rice smothered in potato bhaji or skinned moong dal!
Although for lunch these days I usually do what is called a “poushtik kichadi” – mix of rice (50%) and moong, masoor, urid, tur dals, a teaspoon of fenugreek seeds, making up the balance 50%; soak for an hour and cook, adding in ginger, garlic, veggies of choice…season with sambar/rasam masala, do a jeera-hing tempering in desi ghee. Enjoy with a bowl of dahi/Greek yogurt/buttermilk. Remember the seven cups of veggies!

AT THE BLUE BRICK WALL CAFE & BEER BAR
IN the meantime I must tell you my friend Kishore Thukral of the cosy Blue Brick Wall Café & Beer Bar is doing some exciting Saturday evenings with the menu listing such things as Pork Platter, Pork with Mustard Greens (Lai Xaak), fish Platter (pan-fried fish in black sesame sauce), also veg platter (okra in poppy mustard sauce)…they had a spaghetti marinara special evening featuring mutton Bolognese, chicken balls, veggie mélange, and this Saturday of August 10 you may go have some fun with feni, as in conversations about and around feni, a taste of tasting session and crafted cocktails, etcetera. They also have this BBW Adda-torium upstairs where you may catch a vintage film like William Wyler’s “Roman Holiday”…call up and enquire, register, book your meal in advance! Kind of cosy and crazy Blue Brick Wall. These days I’m looking for keto food menus to see if I can save my heart from going bust, whatever that means.