Trust this skinny chef to whip up Goan delights

CHENNAI: There’s a new chef in the city and he’s wasting no time in turning up the heat and stirring things up in the kitchen. The popular saying might be “Never trust a skinny chef”, but you have to make an exception with Paul Noronha, who has come all the way from Goa, and can’t wait to give us a whiff of what’s hot in Goan food.He is measured in what he says about his food; a chef who will clearly let the food do the talking. Even as he interacted with this reporter, Paul was busy with in both seafood and barbecue, cooking Goan delicacies for the diners.Offering a fresh take on Goan dishes with seasonal ingredients, Noronha conjures up images of chicken, fish laced with grounded coconut masala, garnished with roasted cashew nuts, taking us on a tour to his home town Goa. “Goan dishes are not unusual and complicated needing you to fetch exotic ingredients from supermarkets. Coconut and spices – cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and cumin seeds – form the base of any Goan dish,” says the chef.An enthusiastic cook, Noronha discovered his love  for the art when he was all of 12 years old. Growing up in a Goan household, he spent his childhood as a waiter in a local restaurant until he realised he had it in him to become a renowned chef in his home town. He began taking cooking classes from his mom and soon began showing off his culinary skills in the kitchen. Now, after 20 years of cooking authentic Goan dishes, he is touring the country to promote household recipes.As the executive chef of Ocean Palm, Calangunte, he creates simple Goan classics that he claims will satisfy a variety of palates. The menu features an array of delicacies that include vegetarian and non- vegetarian – fish xacuti, prawn balchao, red pumpkin baaji and chicken vindaloo. “We Goans are addicted to our food.  Despite Goa being a tourist spot where a combination of both west and east cuisines are available, Goans stick to their specialties when it comes to food.”Most of the dishes that he speaks about are not for a vegetarian palate. He says, “Fish is the main dish in every Goan home. We might not have rice for dinner but there is no dish without fish.” Noronha says his culinary journey is dotted with signature dishes that usually include home recipes. So what can we find in the menu? “Oh, a wide variety of dishes that you have never tasted. Like fish reacheado, prawn balchao and chicken xacuti. I have brought in typical Goan desserts like  Dodol and Bebinca too,” he says.The chef, who is at the Residency Towers, T Nagar, for the Goan Food Festival, has not only designed but perfected a recipe that he claims will have food lovers lining up for more. The festival starts today and will be on till June 3.