Gobi manchurian faces heat again in Goa, banned at annual Bodgeshwar fair

He said local shops selling omelette pao and Goan xacuti chicken have been allowed to operate. The authorities have given permission to stalls with valid licences from the Directorate of Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) and food stalls have been set up with proper planning, the committee said. “Only locals who sell chicken xacuti, omelette pao…have been allowed. For stalls that have been allowed, we have put conditions that they have to take licenses from FDA and NOCs from the concerned departments,” he said.

Pandit told The Indian Express that the decision has been taken since gobi manchurian and tandoori chicken are often prepared in unhygienic conditions at the roadside stalls during the fair, which may pose a serious health hazard. He said vendors add synthetic colours, Ajinomoto (monosodium glutamate or MSG), and poor-quality sauces, and several complaints had been received in recent years of stalls preparing the dish in unhygienic conditions.

In 2024, North Goa’s Mapusa Municipal Council had passed a unanimous resolution banning the sale of gobi manchurian at stalls during the Bodgeshwar temple zatra. In 2022, the state Food and Drugs Administration had issued a circular to the Mormugao Municipal Council in South Goa to restrict the number of stalls selling gobi manchurian during the fair of Shree Damodar temple in Vasco.