As the Portuguese took control of Asia, Goa was their first colonial outpost and eventually the centre of their empire. Further, it influenced Goan culture, including food! Since Christmas is celebrated on a large scale in Goa, there are traditional desserts served around that time. Sameera Reddy has shared a platter of traditional Goan Christmas sweets which you shouldn’t miss out on!
Sameera Reddy Shares Traditional Goan Christmas Sweets
Indian actress, Sameera Reddy, took to Instagram to share some of the traditional Goan Christmas sweets which you should definitely try! The video featured the actress, her mother-in-law and digital blogger, That Cheesy Goan.
Here’s The List Of Desserts Shown In The Video
1. Neureos
Neureos are classic crescent-shaped pastries with a coconut filling and sugar or jaggery for sweetness.
2. Rose Cookies
During the holiday season, Goa, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu make this traditional sweet dish.
3. Marzipan
A confection called marzipan is mostly made of sugar, honey, and almond meal, with the addition of almond oil or extract on occasion.
4. Jujubes
A popular confection, particularly during Christmas, goan jujubes are a spin-off of Turkish pleasure.
Also Read: Kolkata’s Park Street Christmas Is So Iconic. But Have You Wondered Why?
5. Bebinca
Bebinca, also known as bebinka, is an Indo-Portuguese layer cake with seven to sixteen layers.
6. Perad
A traditional Goan treat produced especially for the Christmas season is called perad, perade, or guava cheese.
7. Pinagr
Pinaca, also known as pinagr, is usually prepared with coconut, palm jaggery, and parboiled Goan rice.
Doce, which translates to “sweet” from the Portuguese word grao, is a Goan dessert that calls for very few ingredients, a lot of patience, and a lot of stirring. There is no Christmas celebration without a cake! And in Goa, they make it with lots of booze. It’s a delicate coconut treat created around the Christmas period. This dish is really simple and quick to prepare, using basic ingredients.8. Doce
9. Christmas Cake
10. Gons
11. Kormola
These are deep-fried Goan cookies that resemble flower buds or conch shells and are sweet, crunchy, and flaky.
All year long and especially for Christmas, the highly favoured Goan coconut semolina cake is known as batk or batica. This round coconut jaggery cake is created with wheat and toddy and is perfect for festive occasions such as Christmas or weddings. A combination of chocolate and rum flavouring is added to cakes, brownies, or biscuits to create rum balls. Bolo sans rival, literally meaning “cake without a rival,” is a decadent yet delicate dish.12. Batica
13. Bol
14. Rum Ball
15. Bolo Sans Rival
Dodol is a popular treat in Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, resembling toffee and made from sugar palm. Bolinhas are coconut and semolina cookies from Goa. They have a soft interior and a slightly sharp outside. A pastry filled with egg custard and possibly coated with cinnamon is called pastel de nata or pastel de Belém in Portuguese.16. Dodol
17. Bolinhas
18. Pasteis De Nata
Also Read: 8 Countries & Their Christmas Dishes
Which of these Goan Christmas sweets have you tried yet?
Cover Image Courtesy: Sameera Reddy/ Instagram
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