Do you miss eating fish during the monsoons? Here’s our curated list of dishes from across India that use preserved fish, through drying and curing techniques, to tide you through the season
Kolmi Shaak’er with cured dried fish
Tripura
Kolmi Shaak’er with cured dried fish
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Sourced from her paternal recipe archives, the dish has become a favourite with her maternal Bengali side, too. It marries Kolmi Shaak’er, a water spinach vegetable, and an Agartala-style recipe from the royal tribes of Agartala in Tripura which includes spicy prawns and hidal, a product of fermented fish.
Semanti Sinha Ray, The Slow Fire Chef, Goregaon
Cost: Rs 1,000 (serves four)
Log on to: theslowfirechef
Karnataka
Galmbyachi chutney
This dried fish chutney has a coarse texture and is typically made in Mangalorean households in June and July. The ingredients — grated coconut, shredded dried fish, tamarind juice, oil, red chillies (byadgi), jeera, haldi, onion and green chillies — are lightly roasted and coarsely ground. It’s paired with pez, which is plain boiled red rice with the water retained, and eaten with dal.
Gracy Pinto, home chef, Mulund
Log on to: @pintsinterests
Goa
Samarachi kodi
The dish of dried prawns and dried mango seeds is said to draw its name from the circular wooden box containing eight small bowls to store spices called samardem. A melange of spices is dry roasted and ground to a paste along with tamarind, coconut and dried red chillies.
Finally, dried prawns along with fresh prawns and dried mango seeds are added to round up the flavours which lend a subdued tartness to the curry. You can also use amsol, dried mango or raw mango slices.
Aaron D’Souza, The Goan Poie, Mahim
Cost: Rs 500 for 1000 ml (serves three to four)
Log on to: @thegoanpoie on Instagram
Maharashtra
Fried masala bombil and green masala bombil
Masala bombil and Green masala bombil
These sundried bombils are marinated in hand-ground spicy chilli paste including bottle masala, and mildly spicy green masala. All you have to do is fry them in one tablespoon of oil and serve it with dal or a simple bhaji. Veera Almeida, The House of Jevayla Ye Store, Vasai.
Cost: Rs 299 combo deal only for July 22 (100 grams each)
Call: 9175191561
Kerala
Unakka meen ularthu
Dried sole fish
In this preparation of dried sole fish, the most dominant flavour is chilli, with pungent undertones of garlic and ginger and notes of caramelised shallots. It’s quite salty, so it is eaten as a side dish, in a small quantity.
Chef Sara Jacob Nair, Nair on Fire, Bandra
Log on to: @naironfireindia (for other homestyle Kerala fare)
Call: 9324059522
Nagaland
Ngari chilli chutney
Typically made from fresh or dried king chilli, this fiery hot chutney can also be made using fresh or dried green chilli. Complete it with roasted tomatoes, garlic, salt, and the key ingredient, which is fermented dried pool barb called ngari. It makes for a great side for your meals.
Chuba Jamir, founder of cloud kitchen Naga Chukka, Santacruz East
Cost: Rs 150
Log on to: @naga_chukka
Call: 9769818032
Assam
Shidol chutney
Shidol is dry fermented fish made into a tomato chutney. This is a staple of the Sylheti Bengali cuisine from Silchar, Cachar district of Assam. You can prepare this at home using ingredients from The North East Store including a variety of fermented dried fish.
The North East Store, Shillong
Meghalaya
Ktung Shira or small dry fish chutney
Made with small river fish, an inch long at best, a variety which is specifically kept for drying. You can fry ktung shira in mustard oil to make a chutney or with more oil for a pickle.
The North East Store, Shillong
Cost: Rs 179 for 150 grams; Rs 399 for 250 grams (fermented dried fish)
Call: 9959733305
Log on to: thenortheaststore.com
Chuba Jamir’s Rosep Aon
Rosep (dry in Ao dialect) Aon (dish) is a traditional recipe and the signature dish of the Ao tribe in Nagaland. It is best served after it cools down so that the flavours of the vegetables, fermented bamboo shoot and dry fish are pronounced.
Ingredients
>> 250 gms eggplant >> 250 gms karela >> 100 gms flat beans >> 100 gms French beans >> 100 gms bitter eggplant >> 150 gms Sichuan leaves or 1 tbs Sichuan pepper >> 100 gms colocasia stem or leaves >> 2-3 tbs bamboo shoot juice or 50 gms of fermented bamboo shoot >> 25 gms green chilli (or to your preference) >> 2-3 fermented dry fish pieces (fermented eling fish or ngari) >> Salt
Method
Roast the Sichuan seeds and let it cool. Roast the dry fish to enhance the aroma. Pound the roasted Sichuan seeds, add the dry fish and green chilli and pound roughly. Cut and wash all the vegetables and transfer to a cooking pot. To this mix, add the pounded Sichuan pepper, green chilli and dry fish. Then add bamboo shoot juice or fermented bamboo shoot. Add 1 tablespoon of salt or according to your taste. Mix all the ingredients properly and add 2 cups of water. Bring it to a boil and reduce the flame to medium heat. While cooking this dish ensure you don’t cover the lid or stir. Let all the water evaporate; before the water dries up, make sure to check if the salt content matches your preference. Once completely dried up, remove from the heat and let it cool down. This dish tastes even better the next day after being kept in the fridge (do not reheat). It goes well with dal and rice.
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