Gunpowder announces Goan food festival

Gunpowder – the three-strong, London-based Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant group from Harneet Baweja – will bring the culinary traditions and flavours of India's west coast to its Soho and Tower Bridge venues this September (Sunday 4–Sunday 11). 

The menu will spotlight the brand's provenance-led and seasonal approach to cooking, with dishes inspired by the diverse Goan, Konkani, Malvani and Karavali food cultures that form much of India's coastal cuisine, which is in turn informed by historic Portuguese rule. 

Seafood is championed at Gunpowder, with line-caught fish sourced daily by the team. Smaller dishes include Maldon Rock oysters topped with frozen hibiscus and cashew nut Arrack granita; raw scallop chaat served with Solkadi; and tuna croquettes served with chive moilee and pickled tomato sambal. 

The restaurant will take a refined approach to the traditional Goan Xec Xec velvet crab, which will be served whole with cockles; along with Cornish mackerel recheado, grilled mackerel dressed in fiery Goan masala and finished with hot radish. 

Carnivores can enjoy the charred Vindaloo pork chop, or a plate of baby lamb ribs smothered in Xacuti – a rich Goan curry paste. 

A concise cocktail selection will also be offered, complementing the coastal flavours. Serves include the Kokam Martini with homemade mangosteen berry concentrate, Greater Than Gin from Goa, fresh lime and mint; the Ambotic Margarita with Feni, an indigenous Goan liqueur made from cashew apple and finished with Gunpowder's secret spice blend; and Mr Fernandes' Rum Punch with white rum, homemade curry leaf syrup, fresh pineapple juice, curry keaves, cumin and Coca-Cola. 

On the launch of the festival, Baweja comments: "Goa and its surrounding regions are a hotbed of diverse cooking techniques and flavours, with fish and seafood central to their identity. 

"We want to celebrate those areas with a week of special dishes to pay homage to their culinary cultures – using the very best seasonal produce from our trusted suppliers."

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