Goan insiders love Petisco for a good reason. Founder Pranav Dhuri, who was born and raised in Goa, where his family still runs the popular century old Cafe Tato, has created a welcoming space for locals and travellers alike with a menu that pivots on local ingredients.
The herb and nut crusted polenta at Petisco | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“The idea was to bring my journey as a chef and all my travels together on a menu,” says Pranav, adding that although the food is cosmopolitan, it deliberately hinges on home grown, seasonal produce and spices. “We use bimbli (a local variety of starfruit), zadkandga (local wild potatoes) and madi (root tuber), for example, in addition to jaggery, kokum and tamarind,” he says, adding that they tend to use them in non-traditional ways.
The menu, hence, offers a marinated tomato and buffalo mozarella salad, puddled with kokum jaggery reduction; the catch of the day is served with sauteed Goan greens; and there is a prawn a la plancha, inspired by his travels across Europe, with seafood bisque and local pickled bimbli. “We keep it simple,” says Pranav, saying his brief to the chefs is to “do what you like, what you want to eat yourself...”
The dodol cocktail at Petisco | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The cocktail menu is also tweaked depending on what is in season, and it heroes local spirits like urrak and feni. Urrak, which is a locally-loved drink made from the first distillate of cashew apples, can take some getting used to given its punchy, fruity aromas. “We serve it with jalapeno brine, local chilli and a salt rim,” says Pranav. “Or with orange and a bit of bimbli to give it balance.” As summer approaches they also plan to experiment with mangoes and gin.
In an attempt to reduce food waste, Petisco finds creative ways to use parts of fruits and vegetables that are usually discarded. For example, their dramatically named cocktail, Love and Thunder, featuring pineapple and coconut in a spicy cocktail made with jalapeno syrup. It is garnished with a chewy, intense Jalapeno-pineapple leather, made with the leftover pulp from the pineapple and jalapenos.
Make sure you end with their spin on dodol, the traditional Goan dessert. “We make it with the left over water from boiled local ukde tandul rice, coconut jaggery and coconut feni,” says Pranav, explaining how this cocktail was also inspired by their move towards a zero waste kitchen. “We rim the glass with coconut flakes that have been toasted in a wok for a smoky flavour,” says Pranav, adding “When locals drink it, it takes them down memory lane.”
