Goa

Fish cooked in a smooth, tangy coconut gravy coloured red with chillies and soured with kokum or tamarind, eaten with boiled rice every day across Goa.

Chicken in a rich, dark gravy of roasted coconut and many roasted spices, including poppy seeds, a dish of Goan festivals and Sunday meals.

Pork cooked in a hot, sour masala of red chillies, garlic and vinegar, a Goan Catholic dish that keeps well for days.

A spicy, vinegar-soured dish of finely diced pork and liver, cooked for Goan Catholic feasts and said to taste better each day.

Chicken marinated in a bright green paste of coriander, green chillies, garlic and spices, then pan-fried, a Goan favourite with bread or rice.

A fiery, sweet-sour pickle-like dish of prawns cooked in a red chilli and vinegar masala, which keeps for days.

Whole mackerel slit and stuffed with a hot, tangy red recheado masala, then shallow-fried, a classic of Goan homes and beach shacks.

A sour and spicy Goan curry, usually of shark, catfish or ray, made with red chillies and tamarind or kokum and no coconut.

A mild, yellow coconut-milk curry of fish or prawns, lightly spiced and soured with vinegar or tamarind, a gentle Goan Catholic dish.

Clams tossed with grated coconut, onion and spices until dry, a coastal Konkani dish cooked when clams are plentiful.

Slices of kingfish or whole small fish rubbed with chilli masala, coated in semolina and shallow-fried until crisp.

A dry, tangy relish of roasted dried shrimps or dried fish with coconut, onion and chilli, eaten as a side dish with rice and curry.

A lively women’s folk dance of Goa and the Konkan, danced in circles or rows to songs and rhythmic blowing sounds, often during religious festivals.

A women’s folk dance of Goa performed on moonlit nights in the month of Paush, with two rows of dancers singing Konkani songs to the village deities.

A graceful Goan dance-song that blends Indian rhythm with Western melody, usually telling the story of a dancing girl and a boatman.

A warrior dance of Goa in which men wear wooden horse frames at the waist and recreate the valour of mounted soldiers, mainly during Shigmo.

A simple, graceful dance of the Kunbi community, among the oldest settlers of Goa, performed in groups to old Konkani songs.

Goa's spring festival in the month of Phalgun, with float parades, folk dances and music in towns across the State.

Four days of parades, music and dance before Lent, led by King Momo, in Panaji, Margao, Vasco and Mapusa.

The church holding the remains of St Francis Xavier, part of the Churches and Convents of Goa, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

One of the largest churches in Asia, dedicated to St Catherine; part of the Churches and Convents of Goa.

The churches and convents of Old Goa, once the capital of Portuguese India, including the Basilica of Bom Jesus and the Se Cathedral.

A tall, four-tiered waterfall on the Mandovi river in the Western Ghats, its white spray giving it the name ‘sea of milk’.

A 17th-century Portuguese fort and lighthouse on the headland at the mouth of the Mandovi, guarding the approach to Old Goa.

The long, lively beaches of north Goa, the busiest stretch of the State’s coastline.

A crescent-shaped bay in south Goa with calm water, palm trees and a quieter pace than the north.

One of the most important Hindu temples of Goa, dedicated to Shri Mangesh, a form of Shiva, with a tall deepastambha (lamp tower).

The old Latin Quarter of Panaji, with narrow lanes of colourful Portuguese-style houses, tiled roofs and balconies.

The largest protected forest of Goa, in the Western Ghats, home to gaur, leopards, deer and many birds, and to the Tambdi Surla temple.

Old Goa's churches, including the Basilica of Bom Jesus.