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Sorpotel is one of the most popular pork dishes cooked in Goa, India. The word is derived from another Konkani word soro, which means alcohol, also one of the ingredients used in the dish. Its roots trail back to an ancient Portuguese dish called sarapatel but modified to suit the Indian pallet.

The dish consists of pork, cooked in a sauce prepared from different spices. The secret of its taste is that the dish is prepared at least five days to allow the meat to marinate well, before it is actually consumed.

Recipe

1) Ingredients

1 kg boneless pork

1 pork liver, 1 heart, 1 tongue, 2 kidneys3 cups water

12 dried red chillies/peppers

12 peppercorns

12 cloves garlic

1 inch piece ginger

1 tsp cumin seeds

8 cloves

2 one-inch pieces cinnamon

¼ cup vinegar

½ cup oil

1 peg (60 ml) coconut fenny or brandy or wine

Salt to taste

6 green chillies/peppers, chopped

4 medium onions, finely chopped & fried.

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Preparation

Thoroughly wash and pat dry the meat. Parboil the meat in a pot of water for approximately 20 minutes, after which dice it into small pieces. Do not throw away the stock of the boiled meat.

Blend all the spices with the vinegar into a fine paste, except the green chillies, feni and onions. Heat the oil in a deep pan, on medium heat, and lightly fry all the diced meat,until lightly browned. Add the spice paste and stir fry for 5 minutes. After the stir fry add the stock, feni, onions and green chillies. Lower the heat and let the sorpotel simmer for 45 minutes or more, stirring it occasionally. Remove from the fire when the oil comes to the top and the sauce thickens. After it cools down to room temperature, freeze it. Five days prior to the day it needs to be served, be sure to re-heat it once a day and re-freeze until the day it is to be served. It is a tradition to serve the dish with sannas (spongy rice bread), pulao (flavored rice) or even a plain bread.

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The Goan culture and Sorpotel origins

Goa, the smallest state in India, was a Portuguese colony until 1961 (14 years after Indian independence) (1). Hence till date the state, has a very strong Portuguese flavour in its culture. And the dish sorpotel is embedded in the Goan culture, especially in Catholic households.

It was the Portuguese who actually introduced the dish in Goa, after they landed in the 1500s. The current recipe used by the Goans is more adapted to suit the Goan taste buds because usually Goan food has a spicy and tangy flavor. Some of the ingredients used originally by the Portuguese is fresh mint, parsley, red wine vinegar and lard (2).

Since Catholicism comprises roughly 30% of the population in Goa, it is one of the most celebrated religion in the state. Apart from the regular church feasts and parish feasts, there are also local feasts of the chapels and crosses erected in the villages(3). The cuisine served on all these feast days and other auspicious occasions like birthdays, weddings and anniversaries, is incomplete without sorpotel (4).

A traditional menu for small local feasts would include boiled chickpeas mixed with shredded coconut, a puff stuffed with beef or chicken, and a small serving of rice with sorpotel, all prepared by the community. On bigger feast days, sorpotel is served with other traditional delicacies. Also whenever there are big parish feasts, food stalls are set up and some of them sell the dish either in packets to carry out or the sauce is thickened and stuffed into a bun, for expediency purposes.

For the feast days, since the sorpotel needs to be prepared atleast five days prior to the occasion, the men folk would help out by catching the pig and slaughtering it. And the women folk of the community would meet in one of the homes and help out preparing the dish. In the good old days, they would usually cook it over fire wood, and in clay pots. Although this process takes more time than cooking on a regular gas stove, it ensures that the meat is cooked well and the authentic taste is retained.

However in the current times, the use of gas stoves is usually used to cook the dish. Although in some village households, the use of firewood is still prevalent for cooking certain dishes, such as sorpotel. Another modern practice, is that people would source the meat from the store, especially if its to cater for a smaller crowd. These modern practices have brought in a marginal difference to the original taste of the dish.

One of the cultural identities in India, is street food where little food carts are stationed at different locations almost on a daily basis, and usually sell local cuisines to tourists. The dish has found its popularity even on these food carts in Goa, and sometimes one can find such food carts even in other cities like Mumbai [[ http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2010-07-16/news/27568103_1_goan-street-food-chillies%7C(5)]]. The dish is also popular in traditional Goan restaurants, in and outside Goa, but usually it is not on the daily menu but listed among special dishes, which are prepared on certain days. The dish is popular even in certain Indian restaurants, which are operated in Western countries, especially if there is a significant Goan population, especially in countries like Canada, USA, England etc.

The surprising, yet strange aspect of this dish, although one might not be able to tell, is that a native of Goa will be able to identify the taste of sorpotel prepared in the North region of Goa than that of the South. Its taste is very subtle, and its relevance to the culture is the fact that each region claims superiority over the other.

It is claimed that the recipes are family secrets, handed down from one generation to another. However, there are two main ingredients that retain the original flavor of the dish: the Goa toddy vinegar and the feni. The vinegar is made from the sap of the coconut tree and it has a light greenish color. Whereas the fenny is alcohol distilled either from coconut or the juice from a cashew fruit.

Traditionally the meat of the pig is not bought from the store, but the pig that is reared in a house or village faces the knife. Therefore, the diet and the health of the pig that has to be cut is carefully kept under review for months, and its health is monitored for any sickness. Finally, a few days before the occasion the pig is slaughtered. These pigs are not necessarily reared by traditional pig farmers but by locals in villages.

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Popularity outside Goa

Outside Goa there are two more Catholic communities, the East Indians from Mumbai and the Mangaloreans from Mangalore, where the dish has picked up its popularity. This is again because of the Portuguese influence.

However these communities add their own spices, resulting in their own distinct flavor and sometimes color, which is different from the original dish prepared in Goa. The preparation style by these communities also makes the difference to the dish prepared by each community. The main ingredient used by the East Indians is a traditional spice mix known as bottle masala. This ingredient is a finely ground powder of different spices, and traditionally prepared in villages, which are then sold in cities (6). Another ingredient used by the East Indians is butter. These are the two main ingredients, which differentiate the taste of the dish, as well as the colour changing it from red to green. The East Indians usually serve this dish with little bread balls known as fugias.

In the Mangalorean community the original recipe, as given above, is usually followed. However the use of bay leaves, while frying the meat, and the vinegar used in Mangalore, makes the difference in the flavor, compared to the Goan sorpotel. Even the sannas prepared by the Mangaloreans is different than the ones prepared by the Goans.

The dish is also popular on traditional Catholic wedding reception menus, celebrated in and outside Goa. However, although each Caterer claims to serve the original Goan sorpotel, there are very few Caterers who actually can make the dish retaining its original taste.

It is also a popular dish for Catholic feasts, celebrated outside Goa, especially in the big cities like Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore. Each time when the big feasts are celebrated, usually a fair is organized where many stalls serving food are set up. It is in these stalls where the dish has found its way, and again for expediency purpose, the dish is packed as a carry-out item or the bun sandwich is served.

Considering the popularity of sorpotel, its understandable to note that it has its own poem written in its honor by a Goan poet, Philip Furtado (7).

References

1) http://www.goacom.com/culture/history/history2.html

2) http://en.petitchef.com/recipes/recipe-sarapatel-fid-889531

3) http://www.villatheresagoa.com/heritageculture/goa-church-feasts.html

4) http://www.villatheresagoa.com/heritageculture/cuisine-of-goa.html

5) http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2010-07-16/news/27568103_1_goan-street-food-chillies

6) http://mumbaiboss.com/2011/01/03/a-taste-of-tradition/

7) http://missing-the-minstrels.blogspot.com/2010/04/ode-to-sorpotel.html