This claim about "no recipes" is nonsense. There's a recipe for Orchata in my old first edition of "Goenchem Randop" cookbook by Joyce Fernandes that has a cashewnut option, I've made it annually and even modified it for a sugar-free version in recent years. There's also an easy almond-based recipe in "The Essential Goa Cookbook" by Maria Teresa Menezes. And the recipe exists in Portuguese cookbooks, although the drink is no longer available commercially.
Yes, and we are discussing him in English. Are both the languages mutually exclusive? Ami ek 'multilingual society' mhunnon munnonk zai na? 'Teaching' and 'speaking' are two different things....
A discussion on Orchata started off on the Goa-Research-Net recently, after Dr Leopoldo da Rocha commented: "This reminds me of another soft drink that was served only in solemn occasions, such as weddings etc., normally in landed gentry houses. Its name is orchata. After decolonization, it ceased to exist in Goa, at least during my time. Here in Portugal I asked many people. Nobody knew a drink by the name of orchata. Curiously, many years ago while on holidays in Benidorm (Spain), I saw the drink called 'horchata'. It tasted exactly as the one of my childhood. The monumental Dictionary of the Portuguese Language by the Bazilian author Houaiss, of Lebanese stock, does register the term 'orchata'. It is a soft drink made of ground almonds. Etymologically it is a Spanish word introduced in 1734. I presume only in Goa and Spain." Below is the story of the recent revival of the drink in Goa itself....
Your old friend needs to hang out with a different group of Portuguese people, the drink isn't available commercially but is still prepared at home. Also, Spanish "horchata" is a completely different drink made using rice and cinnamon. From the cookbooks I've used, the standard Portuguese "orchata" recipe uses almonds with orange blossom water. Goan cookbooks use cashewnuts or almonds with rosewater.
I am 70 years old and from Betalbatim South Goa. I had tasted orxett Or Orchata at my neighbour' s wedding who was a doctor. It was very good drink and nutritious. The local randpinn is to prepare it. It is nice to see you are reviving the old drink. Well done and market it.
Orchata was also a popular beverage in Portugal, but it's no longer in fashion. However, it still exists in Portuguese cookbooks. The Spanish "horchata" is a different drink with a similar name, it's made with rice and cinnamon unlike the Portuguese "orchata" made with almonds and orange blossom water and the Goan version made with cashewnuts and rosewater.
