A taste of the monsoon with freshwater catch

livemint.com:

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.