Chotomaach Potluck, Kolkata

Our first potluck in Kolkata revolved around small freshwater fish, a variety slowly slipping away from the region’s plates.

Bringing people together to share stories of food and recipes is a vital part of our work at The Locavore. It’s also something we delight in doing! So imagine our excitement when we got to help organise our first potluck in Kolkata, that too around small freshwater fish?

 

The potluck was conducted during a ChefontheRoad trip through Kolkata, which ChefTZac undertook to discover and experience different aspects of the city’s vibrant food culture. With visits to Manzilat’s, Hotel Sidheshwari Ashram, Adam’s Kabab Shop, and Gariahat Bazaar in South Kolkata, this food trip packed in markets, street food, people, and so much more!

 

The Choto Maach potluck was centred around small freshwater fish, choto maach, which are depleting and consumed less today owing to overfishing of certain varieties like ilish and rohu. Choto maach—comprising numerous genus and species like catfish, mullets, eels, shellfish, mudskippers, molluscs, and carps—represent the many facets of a region’s terroir spanning rivers, ponds, farms, paddy fields, and mangroves.

EACH FISH HAS ITS OWN DISTINCT QUALITY—SOME ARE BONIER, SOME HAVE MORE FLESH, SOME ARE MORE AMENABLE TO FRYING, WHILE OTHERS PERFORM MOST BEAUTIFULLY WHEN GENTLY COOKED IN A JHOL.

A matter of food identity and pride, every community and family is known to have their own favourite maach and way of preparing it. A few days before the potluck, we were joined by 11 participants with whom we visited the Manicktala Fish Market (in North Kolkata), where each of them was assigned one fish variety to cook with, including kachki maach, mourola, desi parshe, and more.

 

On the day of the event, as people trickled into the cafe with their versions of the fish, we witnessed the table slowly filling up with plates full of varieties of choto maach and seasonal vegetables like meshtha (roselle leaves), lal shaak (red amaranth), and gondhoraj leaves (kaffir lime). It was so thrilling and revelatory to see the numerous ways in which these fish could be cooked!

The mourola maach er tok jhal (left) was prepared by Dolon Dutta Chowdhury (@poutpretty), while the topshe paturi with kasundi and topshe kalia (right) was prepared by Anindya Madhushree Basu (@pikturenama).

SHREYA KANOI (@SHREYAKANOI) BROUGHT THEIR BELOVED DOODH PABDA (LEFT), AND SAYANI SENGUPTA (@_GOOSEBERRI) BROUGHT BATA MAACH WITH LAL SHAAK AND KATHAL’R BICHI (RIGHT).

LALRINZUALA KHIANGTE (@ELKAY._) CONTRIBUTED PARSHE PATURI WITH SMOKED BAMBOO (LEFT) TO THE TABLE, WHILE SWATI GHOSH BHADURI (@BHADURISWATI) BROUGHT BELE MAACH ER TEL JHAAL (RIGHT).

“Bengalis love thinking about and eating unique and different foods, so much so that no two dishes at the potluck were the same,” shared Auroni Mookerjee, Head Chef of Sienna Store and Cafe. Conversations over the meal peeled layers between strangers, almost as if they had known each other for years. Some had cooked for the first time, while others brought dishes they had perfected over time.

 

The table proved to be an estate for foods from different homes in the city, displaying aloo makha with kachki maach, bele maacher tel jhaal, bacha maacher tel jhol, meshta chingri, tangra with kacha aam and amra, and so much more.

Conversation flowed effortlessly, even among near strangers.

Already nostalgic a few days after the event, we at The Locavore reached out to Chef Avinandan Kundu—Chef de Cuisine at Sienna Store and Cafe—for his mother Soma Kundu’s recipe for maacher tel chochchori. Well, it’s now up on The Locavore website, so you can cook it too—find the recipe here. You can also find Dolon’s recipe for mourola maach er tok jhal, featured on The Locavore website, here.

 

Our first potluck was a huge success, to say the least. Through the event, we set out to instil the belief that food has the ability to unite more than divide; in the process, we found ourselves more convinced of this philosophy than we ever had been before.

At The Locavore, we love planning and executing events that highlight India’s diverse local foods, celebrating community, sustainability, and cultural heritage. Our events feature engaging workshops, discussions, immersive experiences and other formats that connect you to India’s rich food culture. Interested in collaborating or having us organise an event? Reach out at connect@thelocavore.in.