Latest News – Page 14

Vodafone presents Tourist Pack-400 offer in Goa

27/12/2011

Published on: December 24, 2011 – 01:57

PANAJI: Vodafone India recently launched Rs400 Tourist Pack offer specially modelled for tourist customers in Goa coming from other countries. With the first recharge of Rs400 it enables new customers to enjoy ISD calls at reduced rates.

Priced at Rs 400 it also gives a talk-time of Rs 360, free 30 ISD SMS (30 days validity) and is valid for 1 year. The reduced ISD call rates are for select countries like Russia, UK, China, USA, Canada and Gulf (Kuwait/Saudi Arabia/Yemen/Bahrain/UAE) and the tariff validity is for one month. The local and STD call rates for Vodafone and other mobile operators is 1.20ps/sec and the local and STD call rates for Vodafone to landline is 1.50ps/sec. The national roaming – outgoing and incoming is priced at 0.80ps/min.

Wines for your Christmas Spread

27/12/2011

Published on: December 24, 2011 – 02:17

By Mini Ribeiro
Christmas lunch promises to be an elaborate affair with a delicious spread. And wines almost always are an intrinsic part of such an occasion. So the right wines must complement the meal if you want to do justice to both.

Red and white, you may have a mix of both, but remember to team it with the correct meats or seafood. Only then the palate is ready to be delighted even more
Surely most of us are set to enjoy your Christmas lunch with some great wines today. I too have selected my wines already. What is an elaborate Christmas family lunch without the right kind of wines to go along? Food and wine get along famously as they complement and contrast each other. We Goans love our Port wines and I am no exception, but trust me, try some other wines this afternoon and your Christmas will be memorable.
Since roast turkey is must on every Christmas lunch menu, try a Bordeaux red. It goes well with turkey, which is a delicate meat. This red, maybe powerful but does not overshadow the flavour of Turkey. Even Pinot Noir is a good choice. Many feel a light red such as Zinfandel too would work well with Turkey. But I think this dark and intense, fruity Zinfandel is best enjoyed with mince pies. Some relish this with dark chocolate too. To each his own I guess.
If you are eating roast beef, lamb or duck, include the powerful Cabernet Sauvignon, as it brings out the taste of these. Delicately flavoured wines like Italian whites and Muscadet, pair well with shellfish and seafood. A useful tip, as most Goans may want to eat seafood today apart from sorpotel of course. Gobelsburger Riesling Urgestein, with its mineral, floral, fruity aromas, coupled with intense acidity on the palate, will complement the sweet preparations, such as the braised apple, that accompany pork chops. If you’re into continental fare, opt for a Gobelsburger Zweigelt. This wine should be sipped with a Cannelloni of Trio mushroom with saffron sauce and asparagus nibs, tomato confit. The elegance of this wine with its dense flavour of cherries and spices combines perfectly with the mushroom cannelloni and Zweigelt being lighter, the tomato confit’s sweetness will get enhanced, offering a contrast to the palate.
Moët and Chandon Rosé Impérial, with the rich, harmonious diversity of three grape varietals, is distinguished by its radiant colour and flamboyant flavour. If an Indian meal is what you are planning to enjoy today, then make sure you have this. Tandoori cuisine using red meat or meaty fish can nicely pair with this wine. Also Braised Lamb Leg, Goan Pork and Liver, Kerala lamb curry, lamb kebabs, Hyderabadi mutton biryani/nizami pulao and spicy meatballs can be relished with this.
Finish your meal with a Chenin Blanc or a Schloss Gobelsburg Eiswein as you bite into the sinful Christmas pudding. There couldn’t be a better way to celebrate Christmas. And if you’re not celebrating Christmas at home but going to a hotel for lunch. Well then too, the choices are many.
All it takes is a little initiation or knowledge to enter the seemingly complex world of wines. It’s almost like getting into any other acquired taste, like music. So take the plunge today on Christmas with your new-found interest and you will soon be a connoisseur yourself.
(Writer is a food Columnist)

Partying in goa a costly affair

27/12/2011

TEAM HERALD teamherald@ herald- goa. com

PANJIM: Traveling to Goa for year end- New Year revelries is sure to blow a hole in the pockets of merrymakers seeking to welcome 2012 in Goa.

Air and bus fares have skyrocketed to ridiculous sums. For instance, Mumbai- Goa and Pune- Goa bus fare has shot up by almost four times, and same is the case with airfare as everybody wants to get their share of fun and frolic in Goa this year end.

While Volvo bus fare for Mumbai — Goa route at normal times is between Rs 500 and Rs 600, however on Monday it went up to Rs 2000. One way ticket from Pune- Goa has gone up to Rs 2300, travel fares are expected to be at the zenith during the week or so.

A travel agent informed that rates have gone up also because of the mega Sunburn music festival which is slated to commence Tuesday.

Escalation in air fare on all routes leading to Goa, has been quite extraordinary.

On Monday, a one way ticket from Mumbai- Goa had crossed Rs 10000 mark.

A steep rise in fare during festive season has been witnessed during last few years. But during the last two years fares have gone up ridiculously.

When contacted Swapnil Naik, Director of Tourism, said according to his information, at least, until last week rise in travel fare was less than that of last year.

When asked, if this level of escalation in travel fares, hurt tourist interest of Goa in the long run, he said that now there is flow of tourists until second week of New year, when travel rates drops to normal.

“ Tourists have been adjusting their arrival,” Naik added.

When contacted Arun Dessai, Director of Transport said they have absolutely no control on hikes, effected in bus fares during peak season. “ It is a contract between the customer and the bus owner/ agent and we can’t do any thing even when rise effected in bus fare is four- five times more.” However, he pointed out that this is not applicable to government undertakings and they are allowed to charge seasonal and non seasonal rates. So while private bus owners mint money during peak season , KTC and MSRTC can’t take such liberty, and charge more than what is permitted.

draining the pocket

Christmas the Goan way

24/12/2011

Christmas the Goan way
Published on: December 24, 2011 – 02:15

By Maria Lourdes Bravo da Costa Rodrigues
In Goa, the Catholic community celebrates the birth of Christ with great pomp. Christianity was brought to this tiny hamlet by the Portuguese, who converted the native Hindus and Muslims of Goa.

However, they were not successful in converting the entire population, even after having offered incentives -monetary and otherwise – and having ruled over Goa for 450 years. Consequently, Goa never had more than 40 per cent of Catholic population during the long span of four and half century of Portuguese domination. But, they have left indelible influence in our socio-religious and cultural life, and Christmas celebration is one of them, though with a very Goan touch.
Christmas was a time for the family to get together and celebrate. Old and young would all join in the celebration. Preparations for X’mas would start well in advance. The young lasses would look out for the latest arrivals and the tailors would be kept be kept busy making the dresses as per the fashion in vogue. The youngsters were occupied with making decorative items for X’mas tree, the star and the crib. The house would wear a festive look, with the star lit and the lights put in the verandah of the house and around the crib.
The women were kept busy preparing an assortment of goodies. This array of sweetmeats and other items prepared for Christmas is in Portuguese called consuada and in Konkani cunsoar. However, it is interesting to note that the Portuguese use the word in different connotation. Consuada for them is the supper the family has on the eve of Christmas, at midnight mass or after the midnight mass. The Christmas supper is very significant because all the family members join in this meal, and those who do not live in the same house village or city, come home on this occasion. This traditional supper is called the ceia de natal consists of bacalhau cozido com batatas, overtemperados com alhos, azeite e vinagre acompanhado de couve cozida. (Boiled dry cold fish with potatoes and eggs, to which garlic, olive oil and vinegar is added to taste, along with boiled kale)
Although many food habits have directly influenced the Goans, and those in contact with the Portuguese have a penchant for bacalhau. This traditional supper did not come to Goa, and if at all it came, it did not stay.
Very few Goans families observe this tradition of Christmas supper, and the main meal is Christmas lunch when all the family members join to celebrate the birth of Christ the King.
For Goans consuada would invariably include the neureos and voddes, a must in every house (Unless mourning the death of a close relative, who departed not more than a year ago) along with mandares, dodol, cormolans, teias de aranha, pinaca, doce de grao. Babinca, rebucados de caremal, fruit cake were additional items for the more sophisticated, which also include doces cristiali zados and marzipans.
Preparing the consuada was a ritual to the house wife, and some of them were prepared well in advance. Many family members also joined in the preparation. As a child my favourite pick was the rebucados de caramel, which was toffee of hardened sugar caramel, wrapped in colourful papers. Sometime the paper would stick to the toffee and it was troublesome to remove it. Frutas cristalizadas are crystallized fruits.
The consuada prepared, the crib and the star lit, the family is now ready for the Christmas mass. The Missa de Galo ie the midnight mass is the main event of celebrations. The mass starts a little before midnight, so that at midnight the priest can intone the Gloria in Excelsis Deo. At this moment the church bell rings joyously to announce the birth of Christ the king. Burning of crackers accompany the bells to make the moment more festive. After the mass, relatives and friends wished one another Boas Festas.
The main meal on Christmas Day usually consisted of chicken, pork sorpatel or cabidel, voddes and arroz refogado. Sannas could also be added, though not usually a practice on this day. The more sophisticated families had a more elaborate menu, which include the turkey.
Friends and relatives visit one another during the festive seasons, which end with the feast of Three Kings, on January 6. In Daman there is a tradition of visiting in group, in the evening during the festive season, the Catholic houses, in adoration of the infant Jesus. (The same way we take “Our Lady” from house to house in Goa). These visits are called louvores (to praise the Lord) and prayers are recited. After the prayers vale nascido (beans) are served to those present.
Another tradition was that during the X’mas season the kumbhars (potters) would exchange their ware for voddes. Money was sent in the past, and the living standards were low for most of the people and therefore the barter system existed in Goa. I was told that children could buy with the kumbhars the earthern toys, like budkules, mitheiro for as much as 3 to 4 voddes.
Life has changed today and traditions occupy the back seat, in a society where everybody seems to be busy, and rushing to reach their destination. Let us hope people will make some time and observe the Christmas festival in a traditional Goan way.

Goan Fenny set to lose its odour for better status

23/12/2011

PANAJI: The connoisseurs of alcohol who shun Fenny from their menu for its strong odour may soon have a reason to raise a toast as researchers are not only burning the midnight oil to produce the quintessential Goan brew sans smell but also to grant it an exotic status.

Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), a Union government initiative, has been working closely with the Fenny producers here to prepare a new odourless concoction which could find more social acceptability than its present avatar.

Fenny, which is usually brewed from cashew or coconut, has already attained Geographical Indication (GI) status following a protracted struggle by its ardent supporters.

The high grade fenny has 42 per cent alcohol content.

ICAR Director Narendra Pratap Singh said the scientists have been working methods to make this drink more socially acceptable, without tempering with its originality.

“We are not touching its flavour. We want to make it more acceptable,” he said.

Senior ICAR scientists S B Barbuddhe and A R Desai are studying the entire process of manufacturing the brew, which has given them required clues to remove strong smell from this country-made liquor.

While Fenny sans odour may not augur well for die-hard freaks, the experts feel that this scientific innovation will certainly help the drink get more acceptance amongst tourists.

ICAR team has discerned that Fenny types depend upon the technique employed for distillation and natural flora which causes its fermentation.

The research has also suggested that the method of extracting juice from Cashew Apple is unhygienic, which needs to be standardised.

“Use of tin or iron containers for storing the juice during fermentation process causes blackening of the juice which may affect the flavor of the finished product,” a senior scientist said.

Mechanisation of juice extract has also been proposed as one of the ways to do away with the strong odour.

As per state estimates, there are nearly 2000 Fenny-makers involved in this seasonal business across the state.