Flavours Of Tradition: How Chef Avinash Martins Is Reviving Goan Cuisine

There is an ongoing mission to promote and revive local Goan cuisines. With North Indian staples like dal tadka and butter chicken looming large over the coastal food culture of the state, even the state government has instructed beach shacks to offer traditional fare like Goan fish curry instead of abominations of no clear provenance like gobhi manchurian.

While many local chefs and restaurants are doing their bit by reimagining traditional recipes through fusion, celebrated Goan chef Avinash Martins, who runs two restaurants in the state, is not convinced that tweaking traditional recipes to please tourists is the right approach.

"You are neither giving diners the taste of original Goan cuisine nor its authentic flavours," he told OT. Martins' Cavatina Cuchina in Benaulim has become a beacon of innovation, reviving age-old recipes, while C'est L'avi—Table in the Hills in Velim is a farm-to-table dining experience showcasing local and farm-sourced ingredients.

Home Is Where The Hearth Is

For someone who grew up eating his Avo's (grandmother's) delicacies, like caldeirada (a seafood stew introduced by the Portuguese), food is all about reliving childhood memories.

"As kids, we used to have this on Sundays. To keep her legacy alive, I have reimagined this recipe at my restaurants using sausages but ensured that the essence of her flavours remains intact," said Martins. "Avo was a connoisseur of Goan cuisine who created magic by embracing her Portuguese roots. Her bacahlau recipe (a salted, dried codfish dish), inherited from her Portuguese family, was much ahead of its time with elements like olives and boiled eggs."

From Global To Local

Martins' culinary experiences began at a very young age. "My father and uncle were mariners, and I would travel with them to various countries and learn about global cuisines and ingredients," said the chef, who followed in his father's footsteps to join the Merchant Navy only to realise that his Zen space was cooking.

"Having travelled the globe, I noticed how countries like Japan, Mexico, and Greece celebrate their cuisine and culture, while in India, it is all about glorifying somebody else's cuisine. But I wasn't interested in offering Italian or Mexican specialities. I wanted Goan food to have centre stage in my restaurants," he said.

Storytelling is a significant part of the food experience at Martins' restaurants. A classic recipe he celebrates is tonnantle bangde (hay-smoked mackerel or fish). Legend goes that the recipe was an accidental invention by the Goan fishermen. "In the olden days, the fishermen used to take their boats to sea before daybreak. While sifting through their catch, the hungry men would throw mackerel into a fire made with hay and have them for breakfast." The unique smoky flavour made this dish popular and found a place in Martins' menu.

The culinary landscape of Goa has many such tales. For instance, tomatoes, brought by the Portuguese, were never a favourite among grannies and mothers, including Martins'. They believed eating these "foreign vegetables" would negatively influence their food habits. Instead, they used the locally available kokum, tamarind, and raw mango as the primary souring agents in food.

When the Portuguese came to Goa, there was no culture of eating bread; everyone ate rice or ragi. "So, they introduced bread and baked it using local toddy (coconut palm wine), which they used as the leavening agent instead of yeast. This is the way to do fusion food correctly," emphasised Martins.

Goan Cuisine: A Melting Pot Of Cultures

A resident of quiet Velim in South Goa, Martins' food is not just about recreating dishes but using local produce. "I love local markets with their bounty of indigenous vegetables like akur, mulyo, chirke or kanga. I wonder why they are not used more often in other restaurants," he said. "The food of Goa is an amalgam of the cultures that have shaped it, from the indigenous Kunbis, Dhangars, and Gowdas to the Saraswats, who came from Kashmir and Bengal and brought their ideas and recipes, followed by the Portuguese who introduced new ingredients like chillies, potatoes, tomatoes, and eggplants."

The origin and evolution of dishes that are now considered Goan staples never fail to fascinate Martins. For instance, a popular dish called chicken cafreal, believed to have been introduced in Goa by the Portuguese, originates in Mozambique, an erstwhile Portuguese colony.

"When the Portuguese came to Goa, they were accompanied by soldiers from Mozambique. During the Portuguese conquest, the soldiers made their traditional recipe with the local ingredients found in Goa, and that's how chicken cafreal came to be," said Martins.

Ranked among India's Top 30 Chefs by independent food rating portal Culinary Culture's Food Superstars awards, the 43-year-old chef hosts heritage Goan cuisine pop-ups nationwide and dreams of representing Goan food on an international stage.

Discover more such exciting stories in Outlook Traveller's February-March 2025 issue. Get your copy here!