Assagao is easily the most up-and-coming place in Goa. With hordes of Delhi-ites and foreign nationals now calling it ‘home,’ more and more boutiques selling designer wear + sustainable fashion alongside trendy cafes opening in age-old Portuguese houses – and all of it encompassed in quaint Goan village setting, it isn’t hard to see why!
Gunpowder, Assagao
While being located in old Goan houses has become the new in-thing, I’ve noticed that the majority only have their exteriors looking like the houses of yore, the insides are almost unrecognizable. Distressed furniture or lavish couches take the place of carefully carved wooden furniture with cane seats and backs, the red hexagonal tiles, iconic of Goan homes, make way for swirly marble slabs, the wooden beams that hold clay tiles baked in the sun are now neatly hidden above sleek false-ceilings, and the gardens, more often than not, have manicured lawns and well-trimmed shrubbery, as opposed to sweet-smelling rose bushes and marigold plants in flower pots.
At Gunpowder, though, I couldn’t help but notice how the old Portuguese villa that the restaurant occupies, looks and feels like the Goan homes I know and love, both inside and out. The charm is intact.
If you’re lucky, you’ll get a seat at the front of the house (literally) in the balcao – where tables and chairs have been set up– with a host of knick-knacks on sale by your side. The main section of the house – the corridors and rooms – are stuffed to the brim with wares from the popular brand ‘People Tree,’ which offers a melange of handmade, unique jewellery, boho clothing, art, sustainable apparel, crafts and whatnot. If you haven’t reserved a table at Gunpowder in Assagao, you would likely need to while away sometime – and you could spend a good half an hour at the People Tree store to discover some cool finds.
I walked past the bar, glittering with bottles of every shape and rainbow hue, until I reached a tiny door leading to the side of the house, where diners were seated, deeply engrossed in conversation and food. Quite cosy and perhaps not the comfiest seats in the house, but one can make do.
While straying away from Goan curries and fried fish may be a sin to many, Gunpowder lures one in with their lip-smacking South Indian fare. I popped in for a quick meal and would have dearly loved to stay and eat myself into a food coma, but I only tried 2-3 dishes among their offerings.
The menu encompasses South Indian classics such as Thoran (assorted veggies steamed and topped with coconut shavings), avial (assorted veggies in a coconut and yogurt), pachadi, poriyal and stir-fries, of course. Quite different from the menu at Mahe in Anjuna, another great restaurant in Goa serving modern coastal cuisine.
I started off with the Andhra Spicy Prawns that came on a plate full of beautifully done caramelised onions (that were better than the prawns themselves, in terms of flavour). While the prawns looked spicy, they weren’t, even in the slightest. Good, but not *wow* as all the flavour was contained in the batter, and the prawns themselves were quite bland and could have done with a touch of salt.
The fact that every single table around mine had an order of Masala Potatoes with a generous handful of curry leaves on top, piqued my interest and I ordered a plateful, to see what the fuss was about. It was nothing extraordinary, really, and I reckon that a plate of French Fries would be a better pick, if they had it on the menu. Unless you have kids on the table, you can safely avoid this in favour of something more interesting.
The Kerala Mutton Curry stole the show! Fall-off-the-bone mutton in a finger-licking-good, mild tomato based curry, it was divine! I love mutton and I can say with confidence, that mutton in Goa isn’t of the best quality. I’ve only had two stellar mutton dishes in Goa thus far, one being at Thaal, and the other, right here at Gunpowder.
I mopped up that oh-so-good mutton gravy with an appam and parotta. Full marks to the appam, but I have had way better parottas elsewhere – Kerala Café, in Mumbai has the flakiest, tastiest Parottas, the stuff dreams are made of!
My decision to bypass trying the egg appam and dessert is one I regret, especially since I had an exceptional egg appam in an incredible restaurant called Mahabelly in Delhi, just a few days later. A good egg appam is a pure delight, isn’t it? And who can resist a comforting bowl of Payassam? Strangely, though, Payassam was the only South Indian dessert on the menu, featuring alongside the upscale Panna Cotta, Walnut Rum and Raisin brownies and Dark Chocolate Ganache, to name a few. I wasn’t sorry for forfeiting dessert – I wanted the taste of the mutton curry to linger as long as it could!
Pro Tip – Season time or not, do make reservations before you go. Gunpowder in Assagao is already one of the best restaurants in Goa and has a loyal customer base, who, let’s say, eat in true Goan style – susegad!
A meal for 2 (without alcohol) could set you back around Rs. 2000/-
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