A visit to a market in a foreign land offers a glimpse into the local culture. What do they shop for? What ingredients are they cooking with? What utensils and vessels do they use? These are the questions I'm keen to answer.
While in Goa, India I paid a visit to the Mapusa Friday Bazaar. As the busiest shopping day at this market, it was filled with a wondrous variety of items.
The vast produce offered insight into the final prepared dishes consisting of fresh and dried chilies, long beans, gourds and so much more.
The spice merchants displayed their wares in large open parcels. Deeply colored gems of saffron, turmeric, ground chili, pepper, and so many more wafted in the air all around me. One spice merchant I chatted with would put some samples in the palm of my hand to breathe and taste the rich flavor. I tasted a lemon peppercorn that made my mouth tingle like that one time I was stung by a scorpion in Nicaragua. She offered me samples of her specially mixed spices to smell and be awed. I brought home her tandoori chicken and Goan curry mixes. Preparing them at home brought me back to India with a head rush of happy emotion.
No market visit is complete without a visit to the fishmongers. They offered fresh fish, gutted or whole, cut into fillets, parts of the creatures they once were. Hardworking Indian women shucked small clams and laid them out on a plate for purchase. While enticing, my western stomach would not have fared well so I passed them by.
Another odd fish called Bombay Duck was in abundance. Not poultry at all, this fish is popular when dried, pickled, or battered and fried. I was able to sample it at a simple restaurant where it was fried in cornmeal. Bombay Duck has a bit of a gelatinous quality to it, but the taste was mild and not offensive.
I’ve often marveled at my good fortune to be able to travel and see the sights of the world. But when it came down to choices, I had to make a decision. I used to love retail therapy. It gave me a buzz I couldn’t ignore. Shopping for the highest heels at my favorite store was always exciting. But I soon realized, I can’t wear stilettos to the fish market. I’d rather have the memories of those smells and colors, the unexpected occasions of generosity, to sustain me than the latest trend.
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