Panjim market and a Goan breakfast
Panjim's market is where the city's cooks have shopped for generations. In the fish section, the morning's kingfish, mackerel, pomfret, prawns and clams are laid out on ice, and the women who run the stalls will tell you what is best for a curry and what is better fried in rava. Outside, sellers bring vegetables, raw cashews and wild greens from the villages.
Your guide explains the ingredients that define Goan cooking: kokum, toddy vinegar, the dried red Kashmiri chillies for recheado masala, palm jaggery and the long strings of pork chouriço, dried and spiced in the Portuguese style. We stop at the bread sellers for poee, the round wholewheat pocket bread, and kankonn, the hard bangle-shaped loaves.
On the outer walls of the market, murals by the cartoonist Mario Miranda show the characters of Goan town life. We finish with breakfast at a simple local café: bhaji pao, a spiced vegetable curry with fresh bread, or chouriço pao, with sweet milky tea.
Questions travellers ask
Good to know
What time does Panjim market open?
The market starts early, from about 7 am, and is liveliest until about 10 am, when the best fish has gone. It is open daily, though fewer stalls trade on Sundays. Timings can vary, so check current status before you travel.
What should I buy at Panjim market?
Goan pork chouriço, cashews from the local factories, kokum, recheado and xacuti masalas, and dried prawns all travel well. Ask your guide to help you choose good cashew grades and to have spice pastes packed for the flight.
Is the fish market suitable for children?
Children usually enjoy it, though the fish hall is wet and busy and the smell is strong. Wear closed shoes. Our guide keeps the walk short and moves on to the bakery and fruit stalls, which are quieter.
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