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Smell of Feni lashes Goa in summer
by Devraj
Raia
Village (Goa): With the onset of summer season,
in Goa, what better way to enjoy than with a bottle
of traditional Feni. The cashew fruit-based local brew
is doing the rounds of various coastal hamlets in the
State. A visit to tiny hamlet of Raia in North Goa District,
reveals the legacy of traditional Portuguese liquor.
Here, makers of Feni are upbeat about the brew getting
international recognition.
Every
year, when cashew apples ripen between March and May,
brewers have a heyday, extracting traditional liquor.
Cultivators consider the month of April as the ideal
time for harvesting the fruit. Called 'Feni', the brew
is processed after fermenting cashew- apple fruits.
The fermentation process is preceded by a separation
of the nuts. Though the State also boasts of 'Madachi'
Feni (or liquor made of coconut extract), it is the
'Kajuchi' Feni (cashew-apple brew) that is more famous.
Feni, a crystal clear drink, comes at a quite a cheap
price in Goa, and essentially remains a seasonal drink.
Its preparation requires a lot of manual work, in chiding
the crushing of cashew apples in a basin shape juicer
made out of rock. Men wearing rubber boots crush the
ripened and cleaned up fruit. The collected juice is
then put into earthen pot and buried in the ground.
And once the fermentation process is over, this juice
is taken to a makeshift distillation plant. Vapours
of the boiling juice pass through a pipe to a drum and
the condensed liquid is collected in a container. This
is called 'Arrack', which is again distilled to get
the end product 'Feni'. "We sell to anyone who wants
to buy from us, be it locals or traders. People come
and take from us...We sell 20 to 25 pots, not bottles,
a day in the season...Yes, we also sell to the governments
but that is in multiples of 50s as they do not buy smaller
amounts," says Chandrahas Velip, a local, who cultivates,
brews and sells Feni. There are others as well who wish
to cash in on the brew's fame globally. "As far as the
outside of India is concerned, we have not initiated
anything special as of today, but definitely, we are
thinking of taking Goa's 'Feni' worldwide.
Goa
already has the patent rights for 'Feni' manufacturing.
It is a unique product, which is known not just around
India but also across the world. We are also promoting
its medicinal value," aims Swapnesh Faldessai, a cultivator,
distiller and an exporter. Interestingly, the fruit
is collected only after it ripens and falls to the ground.
The brewers believe that plucking unripe fruits from
cashew plants makes the liquor bitter. The cashew picking
season is over by the end of April.
-April
2, 2007
