BANGALORE: Nearly every neighbourhood Punjabi dhaba worth its salt boasts Fish Amritsari on its menu. Apart from fish tikka, it is the only other Punjabi fish dish to find a privileged spot in the generic menus across the country, which are designed as an introduction to North Indian food to first timers as well as a lifeline for migrants hankering after a taste of home.
The very fact that Fish Amritsari is one of the stars of North Indian street/fast food and an ubiquitous presence in dhabas, homes and restaurants alike is strange as the Punjabis share a complicated relationship with fish.
Most Punjabis, I know will struggle with any fish that is served on the bone. Old wives tales abound about the adverse effects of eating fish in the months without "r" in them, while there are those who even believe that combining fish and yogurt can throw your skin tissue into a tizzy and lead to the formation of the ungainly patches also called Leukoderma. This has been the subject of deep debate between the Bengalis and the Punjabis as one of the favourite Bengali dishes - Doi Maach (Fish cooked in a yogurt gravy) upturns the myth and upsets the Punjabi aunties who vociferously stay away from such ill-suited combinations. Needless to say, the Fish Amritsari has slipped through the gaps of this tenuous relationship and emerged as a celebration of the dariya di machhi (freshwater fish) that is the bounty of the land of five rivers. As long as it is served boneless!
While Da Vinci might argue that in simplicity lies the ultimate sophistication, to the common man, simplicity could also be well be earthy, wholesome and just a touch loud. Just like the zippy Fish Amritsari. Bursting with spices, colour and tang, this orange-yellow double fried piece of crisp fish is a party in your mouth. Meant to be redolent of the colours of basant or spring, this a dish as fresh as the season it is inspired by.
If Fish Amritsari was a girl, she would be a simple, traditionally dressed country lass doing a crowd-stopping number at the newest disco! Perhaps the second most popular Punjabi dhaba snack after the tandoori chicken is the Amritsari fish that has riven itself from its provincial beginnings into widespread acceptance across the country and abroad.
Everywhere the Punjabis went, their culinary traditions followed and butter chicken, which has established its dominion over the world of global curry, is a case in point. The Fish Amritsari is not too far behind in the race where it is served up in forms as diverse as a Norwegian salmon-based kebab, an Indian style fish and chips and even a sushi roll in restaurant menus across the world.
Like many other Indian dishes, the Fish Amritsari straddles many Indias where it graces tables at fine dining restaurants of the metros, erstwhile colonial clubs of India with a stiff upper lip heritage and nondescript stalls in dark alleys of tier-3 cities. It is, however, most comfortable in a world populated by weather-beaten faces, blue-and-white Bata Hawai chappals, rugged unshaven faces, large trucks with neon signs, camp cots and dusty highways.
This deep fried fish tikka with overwhelming notes of ajwain (carom seeds), lemon and chaat masala actually finds a respectable place in the annals of Indian culinary history despite its humble character. Often regarded as a poor descendant of its royal Mughal forbearers and an across-the-border version of its Lahori counterpart, it nonetheless holds its own in any gathering of connoisseurs. The marinated fish dishes from the Mughal and Nawabi kitchens with their rich array of exotic spices found an echo in the villages and taluks of undivided Punjab. Thus both Lahore and Amritsar, hoarding their supplies of fresh sole and carp fish from the Ravi and Beas rivers, came up with a home-grown rustic spice rub which they slathered on to the chunky boneless fillets, dipped them in a flour/chick pea flour and deep fried them twice to their preferred levels of crispness. This snack quickly caught on and every street food vendor, dhaba and kebabwallah worth his salt was soon frying his way to the bank.
The best Fish Amritsari is usually bright orange, fresh off the griddle and piled on to a simple thali, with some raw onions, lemon quarters and liberally doused with chaat masala and preferably a fizzy cola on the side.
The secret to a good piece is that it must be eaten fresh and crisp. Let it grow cold and the fish separates from its sagging orange wrapper. Serve it on a cold winter night around a raging bonfire with boisterous company and there will be merriment, songs and perhaps even an occasional brawl.
'Amritsari' and 'Lahori' are mere geographical markers of its origin, the real appeal of this favourite emanates from street stalls full of smoke and aromas that fire the belly and the imagination of the common man.