Diwali 2024: Fantastic 'fov' and where to find it in Goa
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. There’s a ferocious, well-built man who makes an appearance once a year in Goa. Consider him a tourist — here for a short amount of time, but better behaved.
He is armed, actually dangerous. He becomes the focus of attention one night in the year, taking on the role of Narkasura, believed to be a demon king. Legend has it that Narkasura terrorised people, especially women, and were defeated by lord Krishna and his wife Satyabhama.
To celebrate this freedom from terror and the victory of good over evil, Goans burn effigies of Narkasura on the night before Diwali. This is just one of the unusual ways in which Goa celebrates Diwali. Another, sweeter, tradition has to do with that ubiquitous ingredient, fov (flattened rice).
Growing up, us children would eagerly wait for Diwali so we could visit our Hindu neighbours and eat faraal (an assortment of sweet and savoury snacks). It was an overflowing festive tray with diamond shaped shankarpali, crescent moon neuris, concentric chaklis, round sugar-dusted fenori, and laddoos. A favourite was the fov, flattened or beaten rice mixed with different ingredients to make ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ dishes.
The number of dishes vary but some families make seven types as seven is considered an auspicious number. "These include rossantle fov (with coconut milk), takantle fov (with buttermilk), dahyantle fov (with curd), batat fov (with potatoes), kalaile fov (with jaggery, and ginger) and kurkurit fov (deep fried fov with coconut, jaggery and chillies)," says Shubhra Shankwalker, home chef and founder of Aai’s catering service. There’s also tikshe fov—a sticky, caramel-like chiwda made with jaggery, ginger, coconut, nuts, sesame seeds, chana dal, and puffed rice.
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