The everyday soul food of Goa, eaten by most locals most days. A tangy, coconut-based curry, usually with kingfish, mackerel, or pomfret, soured with kokum or tamarind and spiced with red chillies, served over plain rice. Every home and restaurant has its own version. Order it at a no-frills local place rather than a fancy restaurant to taste the real thing.

A fiery, tangy prawn dish somewhere between a curry and a pickle, cooked with a dark red masala of Kashmiri chillies, vinegar, and spices. The vinegar is the Portuguese fingerprint, and it gives the dish its sharp, preserved edge. Intense and best eaten with plenty of rice or pao to balance the heat.

A rich, complex curry (pronounced sha-koo-tee) made with a roasted masala of dozens of spices, grated coconut, and poppy seeds. Dark, nutty, and deeply flavoured rather than just hot. Made with chicken most often, though mutton and vegetarian (mushroom) versions exist. One of the most distinctive dishes in the Goan repertoire.

The original, nothing like the British curry-house version. Goan vindaloo comes from the Portuguese 'vinha d'alhos' (wine and garlic), and it's a hot, sour pork curry built on vinegar, garlic, and red chillies. Tangy and punchy, traditionally a Catholic Goan celebration dish. Give it a day and it tastes even better.

A robust, vinegary pork dish using pork meat, liver, and sometimes blood, slow-cooked with a dark spicy-sour masala. Another Portuguese-rooted Catholic classic, traditionally made for Christmas and big occasions, and best eaten the day after cooking. Served with sannas or rice. An acquired taste for some, a treasured one for Goan Catholics.

A whole fish, usually mackerel or pomfret, slit and stuffed with a vivid red recheado masala (chillies, vinegar, garlic, spices) then shallow-fried. Crisp outside, spicy-tangy inside. One of the most popular ways to eat fresh fish in Goa, and a fixture on every coastal menu. Order it with the catch of the day.

Chicken marinated in a bright green paste of coriander, green chillies, garlic, ginger, and spices, then pan-fried or grilled. The recipe traces back to Portuguese African colonies, hence the name. Fresh, herby, and a little spicy, it's lighter than the heavy curries and a great starter or main with pao.

Goan chorizo (choris), spicy pork sausage cured with vinegar, chilli, and spices, cooked down with onions and stuffed into a Goan bread roll (pao). A beloved snack and street food, sold from small joints and bakeries. Punchy, oily, and addictive. The Goan sausage is quite different from European chorizo, sharper and more vinegary.

Goa's signature dessert, a dense layered cake (often 7 to 16 layers) made from coconut milk, egg yolks, sugar, and ghee, baked one slow layer at a time. Rich, fudgy, and faintly caramelised. A traditional Christmas sweet that's now available year-round. Served warm with a scoop of ice cream in many places.

Soft, fluffy steamed rice cakes, a little like idli but traditionally leavened with toddy (palm sap) and slightly sweet. The classic accompaniment to sorpotel, vindaloo, and other Goan meat dishes, used to soak up the gravy. A staple of the Catholic Goan table.

A street-food favourite: a fluffy omelette drowned in 'ros', a spiced chicken or mutton curry gravy, served with pao. Hearty, messy, and cheap, it's classic late-evening and after-party food sold from carts and small stalls, especially around Mapusa and the markets. A genuine local snack rather than a tourist dish.

Goa's own spirit, and a protected local product. Cashew feni is distilled from the fruit of the cashew apple (a seasonal spring drink), while coconut (toddy) feni is made year-round from palm sap. It's strong, pungent, and an acquired taste, usually drunk with lime soda or in cocktails. Trying it at least once is part of a Goa trip; sip, don't gulp.