How the Indian diaspora made tinned fish delicious
Mehta may have perfected this recipe in his global travels, in countries where coconut milk was rare but canned shrimps were common. Today, packaged coconut milk is easily available but shrimps are more likely to be fresh or frozen.
Faster and refrigerated supply chains mean less use for canned foods. In India, we rarely use them, with a few exceptions like condensed milk.
Yet, tinned seafood is seeing a revival internationally. The Economist noted that “tinned fish is back: On social media, on restaurant menus and in Gen Z’s cupboards”. One reason is the pandemic. Tinned fish is cheap and durable, so it is often part of disaster preparation stockpiles. This made it available for all the home cooking — and posting of results on social media — that people did during the lockdown. It helps that tinned fish has retro appeal and lends itself to mock-dramatic opening videos.
In the process, many people discovered that tinned fish can actually taste good. It shouldn’t be compared to fresh fish but rather as an ingredient in itself, helpfully precooked as part of the canning process. Tinned fish can vary from bland (all that tasteless tuna) to strong-tasting (sardines), with anchovies being in an umami-explosion category of their own. There’s a reason why anchovies are a popular pizza topping, though Indians have never taken to this. But dips with anchovies blended in, like Italian bagna cauda or French anchoïade, are really delicious.
Office Productivity
Zero to Hero in Microsoft Excel: Complete Excel guide 2024
By —
