Every year, before the onset of the monsoon, people in Goa await a unique fair called the Purumenthachem Fest. Held in Panaji and Margao respectively, these two popular fairs still carry the legacy of what was once an essential pre-monsoon activity in households across Goa. “Just before monsoon, while the sun was still strong, my grandmother would get busy stocking up on various kinds of food items,” recalls Goa-based marketing and events professional Nupura Hautamaki. “As kids, we watched in awe as grandma seemed to be everywhere – pickling the mangoes, drying the fish, making sausages, putting away everything in pots and jars.”
“It was the same everywhere across Goa,” adds Hautamaki. “This was ‘purumenth’, the food stock that would sustain every Goan family through the monsoon.
Located on the western coast of India, Goa receives heavy rainfall from the south-west monsoon, usually between June and September. Today, it is one of the most popular, round-the-year tourist destinations of India. But, even a few decades ago, life would almost come to a standstill during the monsoon. Roads would be flooded, transportation would be limited, shops would shut down – and one of Goa’s main food items, fresh fish, would be in short supply as fishermen did not venture out to the sea during the rainy season.
Purumenth (also purument or purmenth) is an old custom practised in Goa, where people procured different kinds of food, processed them and stored them in a suitable manner so that they lasted through the monsoon season. Despite the inclement weather, Goans would continue to enjoy their elaborate meals and snacks at home. It is a Konkani word, derived from the Portuguese word for provisions (provimento / provisao). Recall, Goa was a Portuguese colony between 1510 and 1961.
According to historian Fátima da Silva Gracias, author of Cozinha de Goa: History and Tradition of Goan Food, the preparation actually started from February and continued till mid-May. The food items had to be cleaned, sun-dried, pickled, fermented (or suitably preserved) to ensure a long shelf life. At this time, refrigeration was not known to people. And since they could not go out, a lot of planning was required, she says. Paddy had to be boiled and de-husked in the mill. Even wood had to be stocked. People who lived in large houses would have separate rooms to stock their food. Dried or pickled mangoes, jackfruits (the seeds were dried to be used in curries), coconut and coconut oil, kokum, tamarind, seasonal vegetables, beans, pulses, vinegar, salt, spices, cashew nuts, feni, and many other food items were part of purumenth.