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Goa Sudharop Annual Awards
January 5, 2011 - 3:45 - 6:30pm
Hotel Mandovi, Panaji, Goa
Details at: http://bit.ly/GoaSudharop2011
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Christmas and the Goan Families of Pakistan
By Menin Rodrigues (menin...@gmail.com)
Old Karachiites are quite familiar with Goans and their traditions – be
it everyday lifestyles or special occasions like Christmas. The
community has played an admirable role in the making of Pakistan during
its early days and helped achieve many milestones. Christmas festivities
in the city are confined to the cultures of the Christian community in
general but a Goan Christmas is uniquely special because of its several
heartwarming customs and values.
Walk into a Goan family home during Christmas and you will be welcomed
with the tantalizing aroma of ‘Sorpotel’ a succulent and exquisite
specialty that can stimulate one’s taste buds to dizzying heights. It is
best relished with ‘Sannas’ small rice-based tangy cakes. There are a
variety of Goan dishes to partake of at a family lunch or dinner but
sorpotel takes center stage.
The Goan community of Pakistan (www.goansofpakistan.org) predominantly
in Karachi has played a significant role in the development of the
nation. They have worked closely with the Quaid-e-Azam (Mohamed Ali
Jinnah) in matters of nation-building, be it education, medicine, civic
and social set-ups and sports. The delicious ceremonial cake on the
occasion of the first civic reception hosted in honor of Jinnah by the
Mayor of Karachi in 1947 was prepared by the famous P.F. Pereira’s
Bakery; in as much as the writing of the national hockey constitution by
O.B. Nazareth, and the creation of the city’s first township
(Cincinnatus Town, now Garden East) by Cincinnatus D’Abreo.
A Christmas celebration in a Goan family is all about making traditional
sweet-meats. The custom has been passed down from generations where the
central role of parents, in particular the mother, has been the reason
d’état why the Goan tradition of making home-made sweets is so popular
and continues to flourish despite the availability of an assortment of
sweets in the open markets. Goan children and youth gather around the
dining table and kitchen to learn the finer points of preparing these
delicacies.
The build-up to the making of Christmas goodies begin early in November
when Goan ladies and men start purchasing ingredients, such as almonds,
pistachios, raisins, currants, walnuts, cherries, orange-peel, condensed
milk, cocoa, baking powders, variety of essences, coconut, jaugery,
ground grams, cashew-nuts, flour, rice-flour etc. Empress Market has
been the traditional hunting ground for mums and dads in search of these
items.
“Actually it is in the making of sweets and special dishes, in which
every member of the family takes part in their own small way, makes
Christmas so special in a Goan home,” says Fatima Noronha who finishes
her sweets at least a week before Christmas.
My wife Veronica has the passion and skill for making a variety of
Christmas sweets by the dozens, this year her list includes, SWEETS:
Kulkuls, Neurees, Wohrahs, Marzipan, Swales, Carrabolla, Cheese-bows,
Walnut Toffee, Coconut Toffee, Pistachio Toffee, Almond Toffee, Cashew
Toffee, Doce, Coco-shells. CAKES: Fruit Cake, Marble Cake, Baath Cake,
Caramel Brownie and Chocolate Brownie
The most famous of Goa's sweetmeat is Bebinca, a wonderful concoction
made from layer upon layer of coconut pancakes. Dodol is another famous
Goan sweet, traditionally eaten at Christmas time, and made with rice
flour, coconut milk, jaugery and cashew nuts. It is usually cooled in a
flat pan and served in slices, and is very sweet. Doce, made with
chickpeas and coconut is another favorite.
Here are some of the most famous Goan Christmas delicacies that you will
come across in a Goan home in Pakistan, plum/fruit cake, neurees,
kulkuls, jujups, wohrays, cocad, coconut baath, toffees, dodol, sannas,
marzipan, chaklios, bolinhas, godshem, filoz, dhonos, doce, banana
fritters, chocolate walnut drops and many more, depending on where a
Pakistani Goan has his/her roots in the pristine villages of Goa- its
folklore and cuisine.
Goan traditions in Pakistan, in particular Karachi, remain as strong and
vibrant in homes where every effort is made by parents to safeguard the
community’s rich history and heritage. Despite changing social trends,
children are encouraged to speak in Konkani (mother-tongue) and value
Goan traditions, customs and the value of their revered upbringing -
their unique characteristic. Goans like to party, play music and are
good sports people.
The 100 years old Karachi Goan Association, with its club premises
opposite the Grammar School in Saddar, and its vast cricket grounds,
including facility for badminton and tennis, continues to offer social
and sporting activities for the Goan community. An organization by the
name of Goenkars Own Academy (G.O.A.) is a popular group of
Konkani-speaking individuals who have collectively kept the spirit of
Goan traditions alive in Pakistan. The group was recently honored at the
Konkani Ekta Day on December 9, 2010 in Manglore, India.
( ENDS )
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