Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: New Year in India (2016/17)
Let's get cooking
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| ABOVE: Arrival at Rita's Gourmet and the welcome sight of breakfast | ||
I'm sure that heading is an oft-used line on Masterchef -
ah well, I'm allowed to dream!
Speaking of which, a wake-up alarm was essential today. We needed to
be on the road bright and early, and breakfast would be taken care
of later. Our respective morning ablutions swiftly completed, Bruce
and I managed to secure a taxi for a one-way journey to attend a Goan cookery class that we had booked prior to leaving the UK. The
class was run by Rita's Gourmet, and the location was close
to Goa International Airport. We were first to arrive and were able
to watch an all-UK group of eight people assemble, consisting of
ourselves, two sisters and a couple with their two teenage boys.
There was an initial choice of cinnamon coffee or chai tea to drink,
followed by a traditional local breakfast served on a tray, with
sauces in little metal bowls.
The group was then driven to the nearby town of Vasco da Gama, and specifically its all-day (well, 7am-9pm) farmers market. Two of Rita's staff took four class members each and gave a tour of the many stalls, while at the same time purchasing supplies for the class to follow.
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| ABOVE: Shopping complete, and does that include the ability to prepare this food properly? | |
After that, we all returned to base, where in this climate, the open-air design with a solid canopy overhead was much appreciated.
Then began the job of cooking lunch, a process that would take several hours to complete. Everyone was kept busy helping out, under the close supervision of Rita and her staff. I was one of the first to be chosen for a specific task, which proved to be a good thing. I had felt a little nervous, and making a decent job of my first allocated task worked wonders for my self-confidence. For me, one of the most enjoyable experiences was making different types of Indian flatbreads from scratch - first making the dough, then rolling it out, cooking the bread, ensuring that it did not burn, and finally eating it.
We eventually had lunch between 2:30 and 3:30, washed down with Indian-brewed Tuborg beer. We had collectively managed to turn out an impressive spread, if I may say so as one of the participants, and everyone agreed that it was all quite delicious!
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L U N C H Rissois de Camarao (Portuguese Prawn Puffs) Butter Chicken Recheado (Stuffed Fish) Aloo Gobi Tawa Naan Paratha (Indian Flatbread) Bolo Mimosa |
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Duly satisfied, in terms of both having a full stomach and being thoroughly pleased with the experience, we said our farewells to the rest of the group. Rita helped us on our way by driving us first to a working ATM and then to the airport, where taxis were much more readily available. Nevertheless, getting a cab predictably proved to be something of a hassle: they initially demanded 2,000 rupees, but the simple act of walking away prompted one of the drivers to follow us. Once off the airport site and out of earshot of his colleagues, he was perfectly happy to agree on R1,300.
We arrived back at the Radisson Blu a little before 6pm. After a short breather to reflect on what fun it had all been, we returned to Mike's Place for drinks and a very light, snack-type evening meal.