Category: India

BREAD SHED. While rice is the traditional staple food of Goa, bread and bread-making were introduced by Portuguese colonialists in the 16th century. Over time, Goa developed a distinctive and rich tradition of baking culture and cuisine. Amost every large village in Goa has its own local bakery making various types of breads, cakes and pastries. Mapusa market has an entire section devoted to breads, supplied from various villages around North Goa. The bread types have interesting local names. For example, a hard-crust doughnut-shaped bread is called 'Kangon' - the Konkani-language word for 'bangle'. Typically, the freshly baked breads go out to individual homes via 'Poders' — delivery men who ride bicycles fitted with big bread baskets, and distinctive sounding air-horns used to announce their arrival in a neighborhood.