Quick & Easy Goan Cauliflower Caldine Curry & Tomato Rice Recipe

Goa is a coastal state in the southwest of India known for beach holidays, among other things. It is small and relatively prosperous; it sits on the Arabian sea across from Yemen. Its largest city is called Vasco da Gama, a relic of its history as a Portuguese colony from the 1500s till 1961. An arm of the Inquisition founded in the 16th century operated there near-continuously until 1850, jailing and persecuting Hindus, Muslims, Jews, and natives who used their native language, as well as destroying holy sites and causing the flight of huge numbers of all the aforementioned groups (as well as some Christians insufficiently Jesuit for the controlling Jesuits of the Inquisition) into the surrounding areas of India. So although Goa has been part of India since 1961, its relative prosperity should be seen through the lens of colonialism and the sustained violence that extracted that wealth in past centuries.

(All stuff I didn't know yesterday that is related to this delicious recipe - Wax said thoughtfully, "This food might be TOO good" - but independently interesting. I thought it might be nice to introduce a recipe with text that I, at least, would actually enjoy reading.)

Cauliflower caldine is a vegetarian version of a popular Goan curry: seafood (often shrimp) and cauliflower caldine (example recipe). Goan curries are mild and coconut-based, and this one, with its coconut and lime flavors, definitely has a beachiness to it reminiscent of curries I've had from Thailand and Polynesia. The name is another relic of Portuguese influence, derived from the Portuguese name Caldinha de Peixe.

Another vegetarian caldine recipe, but much more authentic than the quick and easy version we made, can be found here for people who like to make their own coconut milk out of a fresh coconut (that bit is optional) and cook with curry leaves and ginger-garlic paste.

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