Goan cuisine consists of regional foods popular in Goa, an Indian state located along India’s west coast on the shore of the Arabian Sea. Rice, seafood, coconut, vegetables, meat, pork and local spices are some of the main ingredients in Goan cuisine. The area is located in a tropical climate, which means that spices and flavours are intense. Use of kokum is another distinct feature. Goan food is considered incomplete without fish.
The cuisine of Goan people is mostly seafood-based; the staple foods are rice and fish. Kingfish (vison or visvan) is the one of most commonly eaten. Other commonly eaten seafood includes pomfret, shark, tuna, sardines, and mackerel amongst other river fishes. Among the shellfish are crabs, prawns, tiger prawns, lobster, squid, and mussels. The food of Goan Christians is heavily influenced by the Portuguese (the use of vinegar, for example, is very prominent).