Goan, Curry Up

Let me start this post by saying that I am not trying to be 100% authentic in my cooking, but am making food inspired by different cultures and regions. I am trying to be completely accurate in writing about the origins of the food I am inspired by.

Why is that important for me to say here?

Because I am making a Goan curry inspired acorn squash soup.

I am doing my best with flavor as well as history; any factual errors are mine, and please politely let me know in the comments if you catch any so I can make corrections.

Goan is a region of India famous for its pescatarian dishes. Curries from the region lean into coconut milk, balancing sweet, sour, salty, spicy, and hot. I find it complex in flavor, but mild in heat.

By contrast, spicy-hot Vindaloo also comes from the region (which I did not know, although it’s one of my favorite dishes); however, it developed from interaction with the Portuguese in Goa. That is how chilies, tomatoes, cashews, pineapple and potatoes came to India.

Please see an interesting article on the origin of Vindaloo from the South China Morning Post at the link below:

https://amp.scmp.com/.../history-vindaloo-loved-britain...

But I am not here to talk Vindaloo.

Curry from Goa typically includes coconut, tomato, onion, garlic and ginger, as well as a variety of spices.

If you’ve followed this blog, you probably know that A. I almost never eat soup, and B. There are many vegetables I didn’t eat growing up. All squash types fall into that.

So, here I am, making a squash soup.

I’m not going to go into a big story of how I got to making this dish. Just take it as read that my wife bought a bunch of winter squashes, and I had to figure out what to do with the acorn that needed to get used first.

So I reached into my bag of trick (sic), and pulled out a purée.

This is a dish you can make without a formal recipe, aka I didn’t write things down as I went along.

However, it is easy to make with a basic method, and just season the dish as you like.

This soup can be served cold or warm.

I cooked the acorn squash cut in half, face down in a little veggie broth into which I added some minced garlic and ginger, in the microwave until soft, but not mush.

I scooped out the flesh, placing it in a blender with the stock it cooked in, plus additional stock to ensure it would blend to a smooth consistency.

I added powdered coconut milk, The Spice Lab’s Goan Curry Powder (not sponsored), and processed.

Tasting to adjust seasoning, I added a little lime juice, which picked up the salt in the curry blend, and brightened everything.

—

I was going to roast some carrots and blend them in for some natural sweetness, but totally spaced.

Because this is more about technique than ingredients, you can do a lot here to add more vegetables (like carrots, or caramelized onions, or roasted poblano peppers, etc.) as you prefer. Change up the seasonings and transform it into a Mexican, or French, or Middle Eastern, or whatever your heart desires soup.

—

We added crispy roasted chickpeas (seasoned with salt and smoked sweet paprika) for protein and crunch.

I made tostadas in the oven with corn tortillas seasoned with salt and sweet paprika - not smoked.

Those cooked right on the oven rack at 350 F for about ten minutes or so. They were perfect for breaking into pieces and spooning up the soup.

I topped the soup with some vegan unsweetened coconut yogurt, with another sprinkle of sweet paprika.

While Goan curry is not uber spicy-hot, the yogurt provides a nice bit of refreshment to your palette as you eat.

Next time I make this, I’ll be sure to get measurements to share. But you should feel free to take this to wherever your household’s tastes prefer.

This is why I am not concerned with this being an ‘authentic’ curry dish. The argument for ‘authenticity’ falls apart when you realize that each family in a region has their own preferences, likes and dislikes, that change how a regional dish is individually prepared.

Make what you like with what you like. Let the Authenticity Police take a flying leap.

Have fun, and enjoy your meals!