Seafood, prawns in particular, are pickled. Varied preserves and murabbas of summer crops like mango, jackfruit, and a host of papads of varied bases like jackfruit, potatoes, onion, etc., are made by unorganized, small units and even households and sold at various fairs. Each region has its distinct recipe for given items of preserves salted, sugared, dried or smoked. The Goan cuisine is a blend of Indian and Portuguese. Spiced with pepper, cloves and chillies, the local cuisine is a gourmet experience.
Pork is the favoured meat.
Bebinka is a multi-layered baked sweet. Meats and seafood dominate the Goan table at lunch and dinner and are often washed down with wine or the local brew - Feni. This lovely state capital, on the banks of the river Mandovi, has retained its Portuguese heritage in a lived-in, knockabout kind of way and exudes an aura more reminiscent of the Mediterranean than of India. The old district of Fountainheads is the best area to walk around and includes the Chapel of St Sebastian, which contains a striking crucifix that originally stood in the Palace of Inquisition in old Goa. The Church of the Immaculate Conception, consecrated in 1541, is Panaji's main place of worship.