“Some of my happiest childhood memories are of watching my mother cook. We were a big family with five siblings, and she made everything at home. There was no ordering food from outside. The aromas of traditional Goan dishes filled our house every day, and that’s where my love for our cuisine began,” says Maria de Mello.
Every Goan family has a recipe that never made it into a cookbook. It lives in a grandmother’s notebook, in a mother’s memory, or in the careful pinch of spices added without measuring spoons. But as Goa welcomes people from across India and the world, many of these family recipes are disappearing from everyday kitchens.
For Maria, preserving those flavours has become a life’s work.
From a humble home in Moira, Goa, she prepares traditional pickles, masalas, jams, coconut oil, wines and handmade soaps in small batches with her husband Leo and, increasingly, their children by her side. Together, they run ‘The Goan Homestead’, a home-based venture that has built a loyal customer base without factories, preservatives or mass production.
Instead, it relies on patience, authenticity and recipes that have travelled through generations.
From counselling to the kitchen
Years before people began seeking out her Goan curry masala and traditional sweet mango pickle, her career looked very different.
Armed with a master’s degree in clinical psychology, she spent several years working with non-governmental organisations. But after getting married and becoming a mother, she found herself questioning whether she wanted to continue working outside the home.
Every Goan family has a recipe that never made it into a cookbook.
“I did not want to leave my children in daycare. I wanted to be a part of their upbringing,” she tells The Better India. “Cooking had always been something I loved. So I thought, why not try making a few things from home and see if anyone would actually buy them?”
She was not chasing entrepreneurship or planning to build a brand. She decided to prepare a few batches and see where they led.
In late 2010, while still juggling work and family responsibilities, she prepared just ten jars of tendlim pickle, a traditional Goan ivy gourd pickle that many families love but few attempt to make because of its lengthy preparation.
Each piece had to be sliced, sun-dried, and carefully mixed with freshly ground spices before being packed.
“I was not even sure anyone would buy it,” she recalls.
The first batch sold out faster than she had expected. Encouraged by the response, she returned to her kitchen to prepare another, only to see that disappear just as quickly.
One customer, however, would become much more than her first sale.
The customer who never stopped coming back
When retired businessman Merwyn John D’Souza first bought her homemade products in 2010, he was only helping the daughter of a family friend who had started a small venture.
Fifteen years later, he is still buying from her. “If I am not mistaken, I was their very first customer,” he says.
Over the years, he has watched the venture grow from a handful of pickles and jams to include freshly ground masalas, homemade coconut oil and handcrafted soaps.
“I have tried every product she has introduced over the years, and the quality has never disappointed me. That is why I have continued buying from her ever since I became her first customer,” he explains.
For the home chef, stories like his matter more than rapid expansion. “When people return year after year, especially those living abroad, it tells me we are doing something right,” she says.
Keeping Goa on every plate
Goa’s cuisine has always reflected centuries of history, trade and migration. But the entrepreneur believes that the state’s own culinary identity needs conscious effort to survive.
“Goa has a very diverse mix of people from different cultures, and that’s wonderful,” she says. “But because we are such a small state, it is also important to preserve our own cuisine and identity.”
Goa’s cuisine has always reflected centuries of history, trade and migration.
That philosophy influences every decision she makes. Although she knows how to prepare dishes from several cuisines, she chose to focus exclusively on traditional Goan food.
The ingredients are sourced as close to home as possible. Mangoes come from neighbourhood gardens. Chillies and seasonal produce are purchased from local growers whenever available.
Her own kitchen garden, though only about three metres wide around the house, is packed with nearly 25 varieties of edible plants, fruit trees and herbs.
Though the garden is still growing and not yet producing enough to support her food products, it already supplies herbs such as aloe vera and neem for her handmade soaps.
There are mango trees, papayas, lemongrass, tulsi and moringa growing alongside vegetables. “Every little space can be used if you are willing to plan it properly,” she says.
Years earlier, when the family lived in Taleigao, they cultivated paddy, beans, chillies and sweet potatoes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Though they no longer have fields, she continues sourcing organically grown ingredients from nearby farmers wherever possible.
“Quality always comes first. If I find better produce elsewhere, I will buy it. What matters is giving customers the best ingredients,” she admits.
Why small batches matter
Unlike commercial food brands that produce hundreds of kilograms at a time, the home entrepreneur deliberately works in tiny batches. Some days she prepares only one product. Other days, perhaps two.
Rarely does a batch exceed five or six kilograms.
“Making small batches means I can pay attention to every step of the process. We don’t use artificial colours, flavours or chemical preservatives, and once the food is ready, we seal it immediately to lock in its freshness,” she explains
That attention to detail is especially visible in one of her most sought-after products, the Goan curry masala powder.
Prepared fresh every few days, the spice blend has slowly become The Goan Homestead’s bestseller.
There is often a waiting list.
Unlike commercial curry powders that can sit on shelves for months, Maria grinds the spices in small quantities before packing them into uniform 250-gram packets.
“It saves people so much time,” she says. “You simply mix it with water, add your fish or prawns, and the curry is ready. But it still tastes like the curry we grew up eating.”
The standardised pack size is another conscious decision. Instead of confusing customers with varying weights, she packs every product in uniform 250-gram packs, priced at around Rs 350, making it easier for customers to understand exactly what they’re paying for.
No product represents her mission better than her sweet mango pickle.
Unlike fiery pickles commonly found in supermarkets, this traditional recipe combines ripe mangoes with almonds, cashew nuts and raisins, creating a sweet preserve once commonly prepared by Goan grandmothers during the Portuguese era.
“Many families still make it at home, but very few sell it anymore,” she says. “I wanted to make sure it did not disappear.” The pickle remains particularly popular among elderly customers, many of whom say it reminds them of childhood.
As Merwyn puts it, “You can appreciate the personal effort and attention to quality in a small business compared to mass production.”
Unlike commercial food brands that produce hundreds of kilograms at a time, the home entrepreneur deliberately works in tiny batches.
A pantry full of Goa
Over the past 15 years, what began with ten jars of tendlim pickle has slowly grown into a catalogue of 15 to 20 handcrafted products, all inspired by traditional Goan kitchens.
Alongside pickles and freshly ground masalas, she now prepares homemade coconut oil, fruit jams, seasonal squashes, grape wine, chocolate and coffee liqueur, and handmade cold-process soaps. Products such as prawn balchao, kingfish molho, recheado masala, xacuti masala, mixed fruit jam, passion fruit, banana and mango jam, kokum squash and mango squash have all found loyal customers over the years.
The range changes with the seasons rather than the market.
“Our products are guided by the seasons. In summer, we prepare squashes because that is what people enjoy in the heat, and once the rains arrive, we stop making them and turn our attention to other products,” she explains.
The decision to diversify came naturally as customers returned looking for more than pickles.
“Every time something sold out, people would ask, ‘What else do you make?’ Slowly, one product led to another,” she adds.
Crafted with patience
Among her more recent additions are her handmade cold-process soaps, introduced in 2014 after a close friend taught her the craft. Unlike many soaps marketed as handmade, she begins from scratch rather than using ready-made soap bases.
The coconut oil comes from her own kitchen, while aloe vera and neem are harvested from her garden. Even the turmeric is sourced from nearby growers who cultivate it organically. Once prepared, every batch is left to cure naturally for nearly a month before it reaches customers.
“If I tell people something is natural, it has to genuinely be natural,” she says. “Otherwise, there is no point making it.” That commitment extends across every product she sells.
Rather than employing workers or setting up a factory, she continues to prepare everything herself. On most days, she makes only one or two products, depending on the orders she receives.
“I never take on more orders than I can comfortably manage because I would rather ask customers to wait than compromise on quality,” she explains.
A family that grows together
Behind every packet that leaves The Goan Homestead is a family working together behind the scenes.
Maria’s husband, Leo de Souza, works full-time in surveillance, often on rotating shifts. Yet whenever he returns home, he steps straight into the kitchen, helping with everything from sourcing ingredients and sealing packets to looking after the children while she finishes preparing orders.
“I am blessed to have a very supportive husband,” she admits. “Whether it is helping with the children, their studies or the business, he is always there. I would say my business is a success because of the love and support he gives me.”
Their eldest daughter, Grace, has become equally dependable.
Not only does she help care for her younger siblings, but she has also encouraged her mother to pursue new ideas, including a small backyard poultry project that the family hopes to expand in the future. Grace has even started her own venture producing moringa powder using leaves from their garden.
“She refuses to sleep until I finish my work,” her mother says with a laugh. “No matter how much I tell her to go to bed, she waits because she does not want me working alone.”
Rarely does a batch exceed five or six kilograms.
Their day begins at 5 am, when the home entrepreneur wakes up to get the children ready for school. Once the house settles, ingredients are brought in from nearby farmers and local markets before the day’s cooking begins. Evenings are reserved for sealing, labelling and packing orders, while nights often stretch until midnight.
“It does get hectic at times, but because we all pitch in, we have found a way that works for our family,” she adds.
Carried across continents
Despite remaining a home-based venture, the brand has travelled much farther than the entrepreneur ever imagined. Today, she has around 250 regular customers, with another 150 connected through a dedicated WhatsApp group where she shares freshly prepared batches before announcing them publicly.
While many customers are Goans living in the state, a significant number are families returning to the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, Japan, Denmark and the United States after visiting home.
“They usually buy extra packets for friends and relatives abroad,” she says. “The following year, those friends become customers too. That is how we have grown, through people sharing our food.” Orders also reach Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi, where former Goans and food lovers seek authentic regional flavours.
For Merwyn, consistency has kept him coming back. “Having been a small business owner myself, I appreciate the personal effort and attention to quality that goes into every product,” he says. “Ever since I tried them, I have not felt the need to buy similar products elsewhere.”
Similarly, Maria Viana, a nurse who first discovered the brand through Facebook, says authenticity is what sets them apart. “Every product is fresh, flavourful and free from chemicals. You can tell it is made with care, and that is why I trust her products,” she says.
Choosing purpose over scale
As demand grew, opportunities to expand followed. Distributors approached the home entrepreneur with offers to export her products commercially to countries with large Goan communities, particularly the UK and Canada.
She politely declined.
“I want this to remain something I enjoy,” she says. “If it becomes too big, I will spend all my time managing people instead of making food. That is not why I started this.” Instead, she continues to grow at a pace her family can manage, making sure every product still passes through her own hands.
Instead of confusing customers with varying weights, she packs every product in uniform 250-gram packs.
For the entrepreneur, success is not measured by the size of the business, but by the traditions it keeps alive.
“Goa welcomes people from everywhere, and that is something we should celebrate,” she says. “But I also want future generations to know what authentic Goan food tastes like. If, through The Goan Homestead, even a few traditional recipes continue to live on, I will feel I have done my part.”
All pictures courtesy Maria de Mello.
