Maria Goretti Menezes e Pereira (extreme right) along with her husband Mauricio Pereira and other family members Fatima Velho and Vicente Da Costa at this year’s São João celebrations.
DOHA
It took Maria Goretti Menezes e Pereria four hours and some herculean effort to prepare the Atol, Goan sweet dish delicacy, for guests at the Goa Community São João celebration on July 3.
The festival held under Goan Welfare Association Revival team led by its President Philomeno Alves was due to be held on June 27 but was postponed in solidarity with Qatar and taking into account the Iran-Israel war.
The four-long celebrations attended by a lively crowd of around 200 saw revellers enjoying live music whose members were school-going students, besides DJ music by Nelson Fernandes, besides home cooked food and different contests for children and adults.
For Maria Goretti, it was the second year she was worked tirelessly in the kitchen along with her husband and sons to prepare Atol and add the Goan traditional home cooked element to the celebrations.
Growing up as a child, Maria Goretti relished and looked forward to making Patoleo for São João along with other family members in Goa.
Patoleo made with jackfruit is a familiar sight in Goa during São João festival but making them in Qatar has its logistic challenges.
For those not familiar with Patoleo, they are made with rice, grated coconut and jaggery and are steamed rice dumplings wrapped in fragrant turmeric leaf and its ingredients are rice, grated coconut and jaggery.
Patoleo with jackfruit is one such variation which is made by many Goan families and served to guests on the occasion of the São João festival.
SOURCING INGREDIENTS
Back in Qatar, Goans celebrating the June 24 festival find it difficult to make Patoleo, a fact collaborated by many Goans based in the Middle East country. For Maria Goretti, it was no different.
“Goans celebrate São João festival by making jackfruit (Ponos) Patoleo, however all these ingredients are not available here in Qatar,” said Maria Goretti, who has been based in Qatar for the last four decades.
So, Maria Goretti had to come up with an alternative for the Pataleo and she had a quick answer and an alternative in mind.
“When it was announced for the first time the Goan Community was organising São João, the immediate thought came to my mind was to contribute to preparation of another alternate sweet delicacy of Goa, that is Atol,” she recalled the first year she made Atol for the São João celebrations.
To a query, she explained the difficulties she had to surmount to bring the dish to the table, which was one of the many items appreciated at the São João celebration.
“We love to eat Goan sweet delicacies laced with jaggery, so we buy Goan palm jaggery from Goa and bring it to Qatar. We buy local jaggery and other resources from local markets in Qatar and I am assisted by my sons.”
Maria Goretti associates some superlatives with Atol.
“Atol is a delicacy that is considered highly desirable, sophisticated, or peculiarly distinctive, within our Goans. Atol is a delicacy of unusual flavour or considered highly desirable, among our Goans in olden days for its unique flavour specifically around festive occasions at ongoing monsoon season back home,” she adds.
PASSING ON TRADITIONS
Maria Goretti, who hails from Curtorim, believes in passing the time-tested Goan recipes to the new generation.
“As a Goan I want these traditions and recipes which have been passed out to me by my elders should pass to the next generation. It’s my delight to prepare and serve any Goan dishes or delicacies, also, to show our young generation our traditional values and traditions.
She is happy when that her efforts were appreciated.
“People's appreciation is welcomed with love,” she said.
Last year’s Atol was not the first time Maria Goretti has prepared the Atol in Qatar but for the sheer magnitude and the numbers it was the first time she was handling an order of such a huge order
“Atol was prepared several times among family functions in Qatar, but it was my “first time” experience for a larger gathering of our Goan Community. Since it was a larger quantity, it took me like 4 hours, and it was entirely me supported by sons and husband. Seeing the smiles and glow on the faces of the Goan community members as they relished this homemade Goan delicacy was something which we cannot describe in words, it was all written over the face of the Goans”
She is happy that she is playing a small part along with her husband and children to keep Goan traditions alive in Qatar.
“It’s our tradition to celebrate São João in Goa however, it's a huge remarkable experience and happiness to celebrate in Qatar among our community like the way we do it in our own Goa and what better way to reach the hearts of the Goans via the food route,” she said on a parting note.
