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A taste of the monsoon with freshwater catch
Summary
Chefs are recreating their memories of freshwater fish and shrimp during the monsoon as special tasting menus
Overcast skies, ponds and streams gurgling with water, and verdant paddy fields ready for the first planting of the season—monsoon in India is nothing less than an evocative watercolour landscape. The rains bring with them not just a bounty of herbs and greens but also a variety of freshwater catch. Small shrimp, finger-sized fish and water insects from streams and estuaries spill into fields and ponds.
During the monsoon, most coastal states follow a ban on fishing. According to Know Your Fish, which makes ocean-friendly seafood recommendations for the west coast of India, this ban protects 17 species that breed during that time in addition to providing a most important “fishing rest" for near-shore waters during those 45-60 days. At such a time, the freshwater fish and shrimp add a sweet seasonal touch—and a dose of protein—to the daily meal.
Chefs, who spent their childhood in the countryside—from Coorg and Siliguri to the upper reaches of Assam—have very vivid memories of dishes made around this monsoon catch. “My father, who was a government official, would get posted to different regions of Nagaland. One of the places that I remember clearly is Meluri, a small town in Phek district, which was surrounded by rivers," reminisces Aketoli Zhimomi, who runs Ethnic Table, a cosy 20-seat restaurant and catering service in Dimapur that serves contemporary Naga cuisine. Every Saturday, her father would drive down the large family of six siblings, aunts and cousins, to the river, where he would divert a small stream for them.
“We would catch small finger-sized fish, shrimp, crabs and water beetles, snails and water crickets, which would later go into a simple chutney made with raw mustard oil, chillies, fresh ginger leaves and minimal water," says Zhimomi. These would be cooked together on fire. Not much stirring was required, and the oil would add body to the dish. Now, as she is based in Dimapur, Zhimomi doesn’t have ready access to the freshwater catch during the rains. “But if I am catering in this season and a client demands this dish, I order the shrimp and fish from the village. It is a tricky proposition as we don’t have proper cold storage facilities here," she adds.
Also read: This monsoon, take a hot chocolate walk in the rain
Gitika Saikia, a curator of North East Indian food, grew up with similar experiences in the neighbouring state of Assam. She recalls the first day of planting—orhawri—spent in her father’s village of Nigam in Dibrugarh district, which would be followed by a feast in the paddy fields. The fish from the fields or the adjacent ponds would be wrapped up in large colocasia leaves, and taken home to be fried to golden perfection. “The crisp dorikona, botiya, boroyoli would be eaten in the fields with those planting the saplings. The meal contained a rice parcel and pumpkin sabzi.Sometimes the catch would be turned into a chutney as well. But no one had the patience to wait—we simply had to eat the catch, especially the prawns, as soon as possible," says Saikia.
Rini Chatterjee, bespoke food and beverage experiences curator, grew up in Siliguri and Kolkata—two cities with unique character but united in their love for seasonal fresh produce. During the monsoon, pona or kucho maach was a staple dish made with small fish, shrimp, carp and more, which filled pukurs (ponds) and water-logged fields. Her mother would make a light, aromatic pona macher jhol in the rains, made with tiny fish caught by youngpararboys using makeshift traps from baskets. “We would eagerly wait to enjoy it with steaming hot rice and a bhaja, a deep-fried or shallow fried single vegetable dish," she recalls.
Today, chefs who follow a local and sustainable approach, are reflecting on these childhood memories and interpreting them in special seasonal menus. Take Cavatina, for instance, which serves up contemporary Goan food using local produce. Avinash Martins, who helms the restaurant in Benaulim, loves the monsoon for the surprises that it brings. The first spell of rain brings with it fish, prawn, field crab and big snails, or escargot. “After that the fields get too flooded and it is difficult to find this catch," says Martins. He grew up eating sukke or freshwater catch made in red masala, crab xacuti and simple fish preparations cooked with turmeric, tamarind water, salt, ginger and garlic. During the rains, he whips up a special tasting menu as the quantity of the catch is limited and can only be featured as specials. “In the past, I have featured snails in the menu, done a crispy tempura of small fish, and tacos filled with small prawn balchao or a spicy chilli prawn stir fry," he adds.
For some, the seasonal ban on fishing along the Arabian Sea coast presents the perfect opportunity to showcase theabundant and often underappreciated freshwater fish. Chef Regi Mathew, co-founder and culinary director, Kappa Chakka Kandhari, is showcasing this different aspect of Kerala’s marine bounty through the KCK Toddy Shop Food Festival, which features freshwater catch such as kuruva, pallathi and varal. Available till 28 July at the Chennai and Bengaluru outposts, the culinary showcase not only celebrates the vibrant toddy shop culture, which thrives along Kerala’s backwaters, but also seasonal dishes such as kozhuva fry or tiny fried fish, tottumeen curry, featuring fish which thrive in streams during the rains, cooked with aromatic spices, and konju kurumulakittathu, or prawns made with shallots and fresh peppercorn.
Also read: 5 monsoon menus to make the most of the rains
Chefs are always on a lookout for producers, who could bring them freshwater fish and shrimp from the streams. Mumbai boy, Chef Kayzad Sadri, executive chef at Amadeo by Oberoi, BKC —which shows micro-concepts from Japanese, Chinese, Italian and Indian cuisines—is working on a monsoon menu right now, and is hoping to get some part of the season’s marine bounty. “Our Indian menu is inspired by the Western states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa, and I can imagine some very interesting dishes around this seasonal produce," he says. Sadri spent a large portion of his childhood in Navsari, Gujarat, which is home to a sizable Parsi population. One of the dishes that he was extremely fond of was the patio, a sweet-spicy-tangy dish made with prawn or fish. “During the monsoon, it would be made with eel or shrimp found in the rivers. The latter were beautifully translucent and flavourful. The taste still lingers," he adds.
What is it that sets the seasonal catch apart from the seafood that is available all year around? For one, there is a very short window to consume it, and people usually hark back to traditional wisdom in cooking it. So, there is a sort of continuation of culinary legacy from one generation to another. The second difference lies in the taste. “The freshwater prawn or scampi is tender when compared to a sea prawn. It has a larger head and tentacle, and can be grilled on a tawa with a basic masala of chilli paste, turmeric, salt and lime juice. It cooks quickly," says Naren Thimmaiah Barianda, executive chef, Vivanta Bengaluru, Residency Road, and the man behind the legendary Karavalli restaurant.
While growing up in Coorg, he would eat the koyle meen, small fish around 2 to 3 inches long, which would thrive in paddy fields. They would be made into a curry with kachampuli vinegar and eaten with akki otti.“The same fish would be dried for later and cooked in a thick curry with fresh beans and bitter gourd cut into batons. Tiny field crabs would also be made into coconut-based curry or grilled in embers. Once slightly cooked, they would be made into a chutney with onion, green chilli, lime juice, and salt and serve as a great side dish. I try to keep dishes inspired by these experiences on the special menu as and when I get the fresh catch," he says.
While the rains bring with them rich bounty of ingredients, there is no denying that changing climatic patterns are impacting the yield and availability. Saikia has been observing this for the past few years now. “While we still get a good quantity of small fish back home, the quantity of freshwater shrimp has gone down. The erratic nature of floods has also had an impact, as the prawns and fish get washed out of the ponds and fields. I hope there won’t be a time when river prawns and mud crabs will simply become a distant memory and nothing more," she says.
