The secrets to Portuguese oven-baked bread in India and Macau
When explorer Vasco da Gama landed in Goa, India, he introduced Portuguese cuisine, including oven-baked bread, a pattern repeated when his countrymen sailed on to Macau and Portugal’s African territories
It is rush hour at Cafe Corner in Mapusa, a town in North Goa District, India, and the locals are queueing up for breakfast. On each table is a plate of curry made of red beans, potatoes or white peas, paired with different varieties of Goan leavened bread.
In addition to rice, bread is a daily source of carbohydrates for Goans. Varieties include pav, a rectangular, pull-apart refined flour bread, the pita-like poi, katro pav (butterfly bread), and kakon, which resembles a bagel.
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I never knew about these Goan breads until recently. Having lived my life in Pune, a city more than 400km away from Mapusa, I only knew of pav, which we stuffed with a deep-fried mashed potato patty coated with chickpea batter.
Imagine my surprise when I learned that the Portuguese introduced oven-baked bread to India. It happened centuries ago, when they were in search of a sea route to India. Navigator and explorer Vasco da Gama was the first European to reach India by sea on May 20, 1498, landing in Calicut in Kerala. In 1510, Goa became one of the Portuguese holdings in India and was later the capital of the Portuguese Estado da India (State of India).
In her book Curry: a Tale of Cooks and Conquerors, Lizzie Collingham details the strong Portuguese influence on Indian cuisine. They introduced vinegar marinades, chillies, potatoes, tomatoes, pineapples, cashews, fennel and guavas.