The cashew fruit gets its due: Restaurants in Goa innovate with the tangy apple

The cashew nut has long outshone the fruit in popularity. Finally, the tangy apple is being discovered by restaurants and enjoying its moment in the Goan sun

In Kakoda, South Goa, cashew farmer Agnelo Baretto is frenetically supervising his collection team. The plantation, strewn with cashew apples, is a melee of colour — red, orange and yellow.

The air is redolent with the astringent aroma and the workers move, following their nose. Indeed, Come summer and cashew plantations in Goa are abuzz with activity as it is harvest time. Almost 90% of the cashew apples in Goan plantations are crushed to extract a juice which is then fermented and distilled to make the State’s iconic urrak and feni.

But there is more to the cashew apple. Recently, chefs have have been unleashing their creativity on the fruity portion, creating dishes like cashew sorpotel, where cubed cashew apple pieces replace pork in the traditional dish, making use of the distinctly astringent flavours of this fruit. Cashew apple chutneys, jams and even a pickle on the lines of a balchao, are other new offerings from Goa.

Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) has been creating interesting local events around it to popularise cashew among tourists. Goa’s first cashew festival held at Socorro, Bardez, in 2015, had ladies from the ‘waddo’ cooking and bringing along cashew apple dishes, including cashew sorpotel. And now hotels, too, are doing their bit as are home kitchens.

The erstwhile Park Hyatt Goa, Cansaulim, used to conduct an annual Cashew Trail showcasing its varied uses. Now, Novotel Hotels in Goa have taken on the baton. Through a curated experience, which includes a visit to a cashew plantation, the ‘cashew retreat’ highlights the use of the apple in a myriad ways, including in food menus.

Chef Alex Dias, Novotel Goa Candolim and Novotel Goa Resort and Spa, says, “The cashew’s fruit and varied delicacies have been limited only to the locals. But I strongly believe that story of the tree and it’s connection with Goan culture is gaining popularity amongst everyone due to these cultural trails.”

However, although trails by hotels popularise the fruit, the apple does not find favour with too many guest palates, hence it takes creativity to put it on restaurant menus. Chef Abhijit Naik, executive sous chef, The Leela Goa, explains, “It is difficult to digest and most people tend to chew it and throw it away. They don’t really eat it. Also, probably the strong and distinct aroma has a lot to do with this.”