Meet the Goan masala maker

A Goan in the Middle East writes a book that’s a tribute to the rogddo, once the most essential kitchen tool, now relegated to rural oblivion

In the Goan kitchen, the “rogddo” has always had a pride of place. The stone grinder—comprising a mortar (semi-circular in shape with a deep varn or bowl at its centre) and pestle (the rogddeacho fator)—is what gives the curries from this Western coastal region their flavourful distinction. And while the electric mixer may have long replaced it as a quick-fix solution, memories of watching the matriarch of the home work her hands around it, as she crushed and ground hot spices, continue to linger in the mind of Abu-Dhabi resident Perviz De Souza.

The vindalho, which is used to prepare meat dishes, is made from a paste of Kashmiri chillies, turmeric powder, cumin seeds, black peppercorns, cinnamon stick, cloves, garlic, ginger, and palm vinegar

De Souza has been fascinated with the kitchen tool since he was a child. He remembers being perched on his neighbour Tia Zanita’s hip, or on her kitchen platform, as she rolled out the first chapati and flipped it on to a hot “tovo”. He never really left the kitchen after breakfast, and would wait to see Zanita grate the coconut into “chun” and then mix it with other spices on the rogddo to prepare a thick orange paste for the day’s curry.

Little surprise why De Souza’s makes the rogddo the protagonist of his delicious new book, The Goan Grind: The Untold Story of Goa’s Ground Masalas and Pastes (CinnamonTeal Publishing). His book is a novella cum cooking guide that tells the story of a young Goan bride Milagrin and her rogddo, which she buys from a “bustling market”, soon after her wedding. The story is told from the perspective of the stone grinder. As the pages unfold, Milagrin learns to prepare everything from the basic coconut curry to recheado masala, sorpotel, sannas, cafreal and vindalho. Most of the magic happens on the stone grinder. “I had learnt to use the rogddo quite early on [in life]. My mother would begin her day at the grinding stone. And if we kids were at home, we’d help her out, too. This was typical of every Goan kitchen. Nothing really started without grinding, unless of course, you were making pulao. But, today the rogddo has become history. A decade more and you may not even find it in rural homes,” he says of the tool used to make masalas and coconut and rice pastes.

Almost every chapter has a tried and tested recipe of a paste prepared on the stone. “Most of the recipes have come from my own personal collection. There was a time when we would carry these masalas in bottles from Goa to Abu Dhabi. But when it was no longer convenient to do so, we started making them on our own, sourcing ingredients locally. My wife Zelma’s recipe books came handy.  She has them scrawled over bits of paper, lying in files and folders. That’s how it actually began.”

Recipes, he shares, are like a living being. “They belong to nobody, and keep evolving and changing,” he says. “For instance, you won’t find good toddy vinegar in Mumbai or Abu Dhabi. So, you need to find another alternative.” This doesn’t mean that a recipe without it is not authentic. Another important aspect that De Souza wanted to explore was the meals cooked in Goan Hindu homes. In the book, he explains how “every Goan culinary specialty incorporates four key flavours—heat, acidity, sweetness and salt”. “Although Goan Hindu cuisine has its distinct taste, these four key flavours remain the same.”

The rogddo is a traditional stone grinder, comprising a mortar-semi-circular in shape with a deep bowl or varn at its centre-and pestle, known as the rogddeacho fator

In one of the chapters, Milagrin’s Hindu neighbour, Swati, teaches her how to prepare chonya ros, a vegetarian dish made with chickpeas. Roasted coriander, garam masala, fennel seeds, coconut, onions and turmeric powder are ground to make a paste, which is then fried in oil with mustard seeds, curry leaves, tomatoes, and green chillies. “Our Hindu neighbour who made this delicious sasav [made with small ripe mangoes or hog plum] during Diwali, often traded vegetarian recipes with my mother.  That connection with Goan Hindu cooking is something I wanted to establish in the book as well,” he says.

His story ends, though, predictably, with the rogddo being consigned to oblivion, lying in the home unattended and unused, making you feel almost nostalgic. “Milagrin’s kitchen… has felt the influence of technology. Since she acquired an electric grinder, she finds the need for her rogddo only occasionally—usually to grind her recheado masala,” De Souza writes. “…But Milagrin will always reminisce about the old days and say with a sigh, ‘There’s nothing like a curry ground on my rogddo and cooked on a wood fire in my favourite tizal’.”

Galinha cafreal
For the marinade

Ingredients:
 A bunch of fresh coriander leaves, chopped coarsely
 1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
 8-10 cloves
 10 green chillies
 1 stick of cinnamon, about 2 inches
 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
 A piece of fresh ginger
 6-8 cloves garlic
 Palm vinegar to balance the acidity

Method:
Grind the masala ingredients into a fine wet paste and set that aside.
Chop chicken into large chunks. Season with salt, some lemon juice, and a little ginger-garlic paste. Cover these chunks in the rich, green paste and set them aside to marinate.
Heat a large saucepan and when the oil is hot enough, arrange the chicken pieces over it. Cover the pan and let the meat cook for about eight minutes on low fire. Open the pan, flip the pieces over, placing the cover back on to let them cook evenly on the other side.

Recheado masala
Ingredients

 20 Kashmiri chillies, broken into small pieces
 3/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
 15 peppercorns
 6 cloves
 1 inch piece of cinnamon
 10 garlic cloves, peeled
 1 inch piece of ginger
 A small ball of tamarind

Method:
Mix all the spices. Pour half a cup of palm vinegar into this mix and keep it aside for about 30 minutes. Grind into a paste. Throw in about a teaspoon of sugar and a little salt, and continue grinding until the seasoning has mixed in well.

Goan kitchen terminology 
Adollo: A curved metal blade fixed to a low wooden stool used for cleaning fish, dicing vegetables, and meat
Dhai: Wooden ladle for making sweets
Kunnllem: Medium-sized, flat clay vessel used for preparing curry
Pittachi Mannd: A board for rolling chapattis. Some would use a table top Tambeachem bhann: Large copper pot used for heating water for the entire family
Tizal: Large, flat clay vessel
Tovo:  A flat earthen pan used for frying chapatti, bakreo or kailoieo
Xitacho doulo: A ladle made of a polished coconut shell with a bamboo stick

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