Mumbai food: Six must try dishes with Goan sausage

The Goa sausage, the distant cousin of the Spanish chorizo, is a staple in most Goan larders. The sausage made with pork meat, garlic, spices, and toddy vinegar is known for its intense, spicy flavour and versatility. "It is robust, spicy, tangy and smoky, and lends itself to all sorts of applications," says Manu Chandra, partner, Monkey Bar and The Fatty Bao.

In city restaurants, chorizo has many applications, from the Choriz Pao and Sausage Rice to the innovative Bunny Pao (Bunny Chow with a sausage filling, once available at The Bombay Canteen) and Soft Shell Tacos (with a sausage and scrambled eggs stuffing, on Tuning Fork's rotational menu).

If you, like us, cannot get your hands on the homemade chorizo, we give you options on where to find the best dish made using it.

Check out The Guide's top picks:

Grilled Chicken Rolls with Goan Chorizo
"The Goan sausage as an ingredient has got a unique intense flavour with the spices, toddy vinegar and smokiness," says Rohan D'Souza, culinary director, Silver Beach Hospitality (Mumbai). At Silver Beach Café, their upcoming menu will feature Grilled Chicken Rolls with Spicy Goan Chorizo and Chimichurri. "The dish has a stuffing of sausage, which adds a lot of character to the subtly-flavoured chicken and the herby, intense chimichurri dressing; there's a salsa base," he says, adding that they use rosary sausages (strings of smaller, circular sausages) from a village in South Goa.
At: Silver Beach Cafe, Juhu.
Call: 26208930
Cost: 350

The Goan Salad
It is a pairing that you wouldn't expect for the spicy meat. But for Karishma Dalal, the owner of The Bombay Salad Co, it had to be part of her menu. "I love Goan sausages. When I first moved to Bombay, my landlord was Catholic and his mother would sometimes cook us meals where sausage was a staple ingredient," shares Dalal.

Karishma Dalal with The Goan Salad. Pic/Nimesh Dave

The Goan Salad is a mix of sausages got from a Goan aunty, mixed with beans, black eyed peas, lettuce, spinach, cherry tomatoes, onions, grilled zucchini, peppers, fresh mozzarella cheese and a rosemary balsamic vinegar dressing. "The idea is that since the meat is intense and spicy, we have to balance it with ingredients that are lighter but yet combine to create a meal," she adds. Although the menu has changed at the restaurant, The Goan Salad has stayed and is quite popular.
At: The Bombay Salad Co, Linking Road, Bandra (W)
Call: 26000270
Cost: 270 (small), 410 (large)

Oysters with Chorizo
The Fatty Oysters are fresh Cochin oysters broiled with soy butter, chorizo and ponzu sauce. "It is a flavour bomb from the word go! Oysters and chorizo are not a new combination but we've turned this Spanish pairing into an Asian dish by adding ponzu and panko breadcrumbs. The brininess of the ponzu, the sweetness of the oyster and the spice in the sausage serve up intense flavours," says Chandra.
At: The Fatty Bao, Summerville, Linking Road, Bandra (W)
Call: 26005220
Cost: 445

Chorizo Pot Rice
At Monkey Bar, the sausage is served as a pot rice, with coriander and green chilli pilaf, crumbled sausage and potato. It is a bestseller along with the Goan Chorizo Pao ('200). "Sausages have to be treated well as they tend to overpower everything they're paired with," says Chandra, who is experimenting with turning them into a pâté. The restaurant manufactures its own sausages, in Bengaluru.
At: Monkey Bar, Bandra (W)
Call: 26005215
Cost: 360

Chorizo and Mascarpone Pizza

Chorizo Pizzas
It appears the simplest experiment with sausages is to use them as toppings on a pizza. AKA does a Chorizo and Mascarpone Pizza ('750), whereas Woodside Inn does a simple Goan Pork Chorizo Pizza with onions ('545). "We had always used imported meat in our preparations, and wanted to highlight some great Indian produce. The sausage has a great flavour so it doesn't need any additional ingredients," says Abhishek Pednekar, senior sous chef at Woodside Inn, Andheri. The pizza they serve has onions, a tomato base and cheese. At Bar Stock Exchange in Andheri, their Goan Sausage Pizza ('320) has roasted sausage with onions and spring onions. "We thought of using these sausages because they have great flavour. We just elevate it by adding a couple of vegetables," says head chef Kshama Prabhu.

At: AKA, Worli; Woodside Inn, Colaba; Bar Stock Exchange, Oshiwara
Call: 22875752 (Woodside)

The Anton (Bagel)
"Sausages are so tasty, they were begging to be put in a bagel. And for us, it was important to get the right sausage," says Anil Kably, co-owner of The Bagel Shop. It was when he met sausage-maker Anton, visited his house in Old Goa and saw how the sausages were made, down to the smoking of the meat over a wood fire, that Kably knew he had to add them to his menu. The bagel has been on the menu for over seven years. The process of getting the sausages here is familiar to many Goans who follow the routine - Anton's wife sends the package on the overnight Goa-to-Mumbai bus. The bagel, named after Anton, is served with cream cheese to temper the spiciness of the sausage - this was done after expats complained they couldn't handle the heat. The Bagel Shop also serves a Chorizo Pasta ('429) with olives, basil, gherkins and jalapenos.
At: The Bagel Shop, Pali Hill, Bandra (W)
Call: 26050178
Cost: 390