Goan Vegetable Cafreal Green Masala

Method

1. 1

   Make the cafreal green paste: Place all the paste ingredients in a mixer — coriander leaves, mint leaves, green chilli, garlic, ginger, cumin seeds, black pepper, cloves, turmeric, vinegar, lemon juice and salt. Add 2 tbsp water. Blend for 3 to 4 minutes to an extremely smooth, bright green paste. Taste — it should be intensely herbaceous, spicy, tangy and pungent. Adjust chilli if needed.

2. 2

   Prepare the vegetables: Boil baby potatoes until just tender — not fully soft, they will cook more when pan-fried. Cut cauliflower into medium florets. Cut capsicum into large chunks. Leave mushrooms whole if small.

3. 3

   Coat vegetables in the green paste: Place all the prepared vegetables in a wide bowl. Pour the cafreal green paste over them. Mix thoroughly with your hands or a spoon until every surface of every vegetable is coated with the bright green paste. Marinate for 20 minutes.

4. 4

   Heat oil in a wide pan: Heat 2 tbsp coconut oil in a wide, heavy pan on medium-high heat. The pan should be large enough for the vegetables to spread out in a single layer — crowding causes steaming rather than frying.

5. 5

   Add vegetables in a single layer: Tip the marinated vegetables into the hot pan along with all the paste clinging to them. Spread in a single layer.

6. 6

   Cook undisturbed for 3 minutes: Cook without moving for 3 minutes. The paste on the bottom will begin to char slightly — this charring is desirable and adds depth.

7. 7

   Stir and cook further: Stir and turn the vegetables. Continue cooking on medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes total, turning every 2 to 3 minutes, until all the vegetables are cooked through and the paste has dried and charred in places.

8. 8

   Check cauliflower doneness: Pierce the thickest cauliflower floret with a fork — it should enter easily with only slight resistance.

9. 9

   Add a splash of water if paste is burning: If the paste starts sticking and burning aggressively before the vegetables cook through, add 2 tbsp water and reduce the heat slightly.

10. 10

    Serve: The finished cafreal vegetables should be green-brown with charred spots of paste, fragrant, spicy and slightly charred at the edges. Serve with steamed rice, Goan bread or as a side dish.

11. 11

    Note: Cafreal (from the Portuguese galinha cafreal meaning chicken in the African style, brought by African soldiers to Goa during Portuguese colonial times) is traditionally a whole chicken marinated and grilled in this green paste. The vegetable adaptation makes the same bright green masala accessible to non-meat eaters. The street food area of Baga beach in North Goa is particularly known for cafreal preparations.