The ‘Choto Maach Potluck’ by Sienna Cafe and The Locavore, held on September 8 at the cafe's Hindustan Park location, showcased the wealth of cooking traditions and cultures in Bengal over multiple courses, all featuring choto maachh — the small freshwater fishes that are a staple of the Bengali diet
Arijit Sen
Don’t go by the grumpy look of the ‘bele’ (scribbled goby fish). It is a delicious freshwater catch. The ‘Bele maachher tel jhol,’ from the kitchen of Swati Ghosh Bhaduri, who runs the cloud kitchen Mama Bear in Kolkata, was perfectly spiced, adequately mustardy from the mustard seed tempering, and had a flavour of ginger that elevated the simple ‘tel jhol’ — a family recipe passed down by the matriarchs
Arijit Sen
Celebrating her Bengali-Burmese heritage, lawyer and food enthusiast Sanhita D Sensarma brought a mildly spiced preparation of ‘bacha’ (a type of schilbid catfish). Unlike the mix of masalas that go into many Bengali fish preparations, this ‘tel-jhol’ was cooked with onions and some garlic and flavoured with sawtooth coriander leaves
Arijit Sen
The other dish on the menu from Sensarma’s kitchen featured a classic Bengali combination — greens or ‘shaak’ with fish or seafood. This unique Bengali-Burmese sweet-sour dish with roselle leaves (‘meshtha’ in Bengali, and ‘gongura’ in other languages) and prawns had a unique tartness courtesy the ‘meshtha’
Arijit Sen
If there is ‘maachh’, there has to be a ‘paturi.’ This luncheon had two. Budding chef Lalrinzuala Khiangte — LK as he prefers to be called — brought together the flavours of his Northeast Indian heritage and Kolkata childhood in a ‘paturi’ made with ‘desi parshe’(freshwater mullet) with a mustard-poppy base that had a new layer of flavour from smoked bamboo shoot-infused coconut milk. The other ‘paturi,’ from food stylist and photographer couple Madhushree and Anindya, featured a Bengali fried snack favourite — ‘topshe’ (mango fish). Just lightly fried and then steamed with a spice-infused, mildly tangy mustard base, it was equally delicious with a completely contrasting flavour profile
Arijit Sen
From the kitchen of Shreya Kanoi, the woman behind Kolkata gourmet food brand Living Free, came a vibrant ‘jhol’ of everyone’s favourite ‘pabda’ (Indian catfish or butter catfish). The sunshiny ‘bata shorshe’ broth of the ‘doodh pabda’ had the most invigorating hit of ginger to finish off every mouthful, perfectly complementing the soft mild-flavoured fish. Bonus, crunchy ‘boris’
Arijit Sen
The ‘tyangra’ (Gangetic mystus) is another ubiquitous Bengali ‘choto maachh.’ From the kitchen of Shanta Ghosh, the woman behind Sienna Cafe and Store, came a tangy, almost ‘achari’-style preparation of the fish. Just the right amount of pucker from the ‘amra’ (Indian hog plum) and raw mango and the heat from the spices and chilli made for a lip-smacking recipe that Ghosh often uses with some modifications for meat or salmon
Arijit Sen
What’s a ‘choto maachh’ potluck without some ‘mourola’ (Indian anchovies) and a ‘mourola maachher tok’ just had to feature in the fish potluck. Banker and blogger Dolon Dutta Chowdhury comes from a very ‘Bangal’ family and this tamarind-based ‘tok’ — a deviation from the usual ‘tok’ made with raw mangoes — flavoured with fragrant ‘gondhoraj’ leaves and mustard seed tempering brought a fitting end to a fabulous fish feast
