Urrak: How the jungle juice from Goa is having its moment

Feni is simply a drink, but urrak is an emotion.

This is the overarching sentiment crossed each those urrak reels breezing crossed Instagram, travel April. This portion has seen a cult pursuing successful caller times arsenic Goa’s authoritative summertime drink.

After the archetypal harvest of cashew apples astatine the extremity of February, the archetypal batch of caller urrak hits the marketplace by mid-March. From past on, the urrak fever gains momentum until May-June, though urrak purists assertion that the champion is enjoyed young and fresh, during the earlier phase.

I beryllium down for luncheon 1 day with Mac Vaz, founder-president of All Goa Cashew Feni Distillers & Bottlers Association, and manager of Madame Rosa Distillery, a pioneer wrong the industry. Their flagship brand, Big Boss, is recognised globally for the superbly fruity feni, packaged successful Chianti Classico benignant wicker handbasket bases. “Given the popularity of urrak, we are present bottling the liquid for the past 8 years oregon truthful nether our PVV marque and the USA is simply a large export market,” helium tells me.

So, what is the crushed for urrak’s meteoric rise?

Approachable and pleasing to archetypal clip users too, urrak is obtained with a azygous distillation process of cashew juice. With an ABV of 20-25% (as opposed to feni’s 40-45%), it is fresh, fruit-forward, and astir importantly, hangover-free. “It goes down deceptively smooth, and due to the fact that of the lack of the strong, pungent smell, has enjoyed a definite wide appeal. Urrak is besides alternatively affordable, with prices starting astatine a specified ₹200 a litre,” concludes Mac, who does not judge that the urrak fever should ebb distant with the adjacent of summer.

Served successful the classical mode arsenic Goans similar it, urrak is mixed with Limca, a pinch of salt, twist of lime and with that slit greenish chilli perched wickedly connected the broadside of the glass. Throw successful a fewer cubes of ice, and you person the cleanable portion to sip connected portion enjoying a Goan sunset.

However, fixed its flexibility arsenic a tone base, immoderate mixologists are being playful with it.

“Here astatine Petisco we person been serving urrak cocktails since the twelvemonth we started. Popular ones are Panje Classic, a blase take, wherever urrak is infused with orangish and basil, which is past beverage washed, lending it much character. Or Uzou, wherever we premix urrak with lime and homemade jalapeño brine,” shares Dev Narvekar, barroom head, Petisco Kitchen & Bar.

Dev is simply a section Goan lad from Vasco, and this year, helium has created his peculiar imli pop, with urrak, tamarind, jaggery cordial and a spice mix. “It’s a instrumentality connected imli candy which I utilized to cherish aft school, truthful it brings the puerility memories of summertime afternoons floating in,” helium says, showing maine his imli popular reel connected Instagram, which has gone viral.

Talking astir urrak’s popularity and reach, it whitethorn soon beryllium elevated to a premium presumption globally with a well-deserved GI tag, owed to the thrust it has received from Deviya Rane, MLA and Goa Forest Development Corporation (GFDC) chairperson. The 2nd variation of the Cashew Fest, inaugurated by Deviya recently, saw the solemnisation of urrak oregon Goa’s ‘jungle juice’ arsenic a signature portion existent to the culture.

“Urrak and cashew feni are archetypal ‘Make successful India’ products made by our forefathers exclusively successful Goa. For implicit 300 years, we successful Goa person honed our trade to coax retired a precise cheerful tone that is amusive and is Goa’s favourite summertime drink. There is nary portion similar urrak that exudes the flavour of summertime and Goans instrumentality immense pridefulness successful it,” sums up Deviya.

The emotion of urrak precocious took maine connected an exploratory way done the taverns successful Panjim with Soul Travelling, wherever the pit stops turned retired to beryllium revered temples of practice alternatively than dodgy watering holes. One specified halt was Bar 1964, the sanction indicating its twelvemonth of origin; a dimly lit, retro abstraction with memorabilia similar aged lanterns and a typewriter connected the windows and flanked by a radical of section lads successful shot jerseys sipping brew connected the patio. Their kokum cocktail with urrak was a airy and refreshing take, but the 1 with guava foodstuff and a smattering of coriander leaves seemed to beryllium a overmuch much imaginative rotation — lush, tart, saccharine and delicious.

During my halt astatine Cifa, a tavern unfastened since 1976, I stopped to chat with the owner, Savio Raposo, implicit a classical urrak cocktail, fluffy pois and a sheet of chickenhearted liver fry, wherever helium mentioned that “more and much tourists were stopping by to sensation urrak, owed to its seasonal charm and no-fuss appeal”.

My urrak escapade reaches a crescendo with an urrak sorbet crystal pick from O’mio Gelateria.

To guarantee that the urrak practice remains well-preserved and the bully connection spreads, Deviya says that a multipronged strategy has been formulated, and the Cashew Fest is the archetypal stepping chromatic to drum up enthusiasm. She adds, “We privation this festival to question astir India and possibly the world, introducing the delightful flavour of cashew and the contented of Goa. Our adjacent measurement would beryllium to found points of merchantability similar an exclusive duty-free outlet for cashew-based items similar feni, urrak and cashew nuts. There indispensable beryllium a telephone to organise tasting sessions astatine culinary festivals crossed the globe. Social media tin play a important relation successful spreading the connection and creating a buzz”.

Urrak, the summertime drink

Urrak: Goa’s liquid summertime soul | Video Credit: The Hindu