Let me be honest with you here. I love to cook fish & sometimes I am afraid when I am told to cook fish. Fish—the easiest thing to cook & “overcook” at the same time,and that’s why I am afraid to cook. Sometimes, I am afraid…if I undercook.
Since I hail from Kolkata, Eastern part of India with river Ganges flowing through, fish plays an important part of any Bengali family[and our family too]. From marriage to death…it’s all about fish. As a matter of fact, Bengalis are famous for having fish in their diet & the unapologetic & the tastiest “Bengali Fish curry” or in a bengali’s lingo, “Maacher Jhol”. I am sure there are at least of dozens of variations of this famous curry from its thin version, which is being cooked for daily meal to the thick version, meant for a festive occasion & mostly thickened with mustard paste—making it a little pungent & spicy.
But this is what I like now, never before..when I was a child. I used to loathe fish curry—if it contains any bony fish. That’s why Hilsa, a bengali’s favorite never made it to my favorites. I always preferred fish like bekti/baramundi [a freshwater version of seabass], pomfret & later Rohu, a fresh water carp. So I used to indulge mostly into crumb fried fish, made at home by my mother. My father used to buy the prized fillets of Bekti in the morning & mostly on every evening of monsoons, I used to savour those freshly made fish fries with a little tomato ketchup. A mouthful of heaven….
There is yet another Bengali fish preparation, perhaps rendered from the Parsee Cooking, “Patrani Macchi”, & renamed in Bengali as “Maacher Paturi”. In its simplest form, it is a fish marinated with mustard & other spices & then wrapped in banana leaf [like the pate en croute, banana leaf in this case??]& then steamed till done.
Going out of Kolkata was a blessing in disguise in some way as I had the opportunity to try more & more seafood & fishes. Ok, I cleaned a lot of octopus when I was in Kolkata, but I never tried any[ when I was a simple trainee..back then!!] or may be cut the squids or calamari. I did marinate a lot of lobsters but failed to taste, how they taste like!
My first point was Mumbai, when I was working in a five star deluxe hotel. Which means, access to the world of seafood, especially if they have a restaurant serving high end clientele. If anyone asks me my favorite fish, I may say “Salmon” without a single thought, despite it being fatty & for lean fish, it can be as simple & as prized as “Sea bass”.
Well…then I tried squid, especially its deep fried version coated with semolina & served with saffron mayonnaise and one early morning savored Lobster curry & in spite of sitting in a room with low temperature started feeling the heat & believed that why seafood are often referred to as “aphrodisiacs”.
Dubai…perhaps here, I tried the oysters first in my life. Though, I am being picky about my food..I had to try oysters. With my eyes closed and when I put it in my mouth, it just reminds me of sea. Even, the very smell of the sea…it reminds me of oysters …and then octopus & then a hell lot of seafood—snails, scallops [my favorite], mussels [the least favorite], clams, langoustine aka Dublin bay prawns & more and more lobsters. Didn’t I tell you why I love seafood risotto so much?
You call it King of all fish stews or soups, but I was being moved by bouillabaisse for over a while, until I made it at home & had for my dinner..just few days before. The recipe recommends using rascasse or scorpionfish, but what if I don’t have any?Wont I be able to make without that one? …Well, I used seabream, sea bass, red mullet—expensive fishes & also prawns for the sweetness & when I was having it some baguette & rouille, I was wondering then..which is the best fish stew or soup???Is it the Bengali fish curry or Bouillabaise? Perhaps both are best in their own right..
