Kolkatans now spoilt for fish delicacies in specialty chains

Vietnamese sea fish Basa  is now served  as Crispy Rice-coated Fish Patties with Spicy Hanoi Chilli Dip while the Hot and Sour Vietnamese Squid Salad with Prawn Cracker is also served on a platter for the typical gourmet at Benjarong, the popular Thai restaurant and part of the national chain, in metro.

"We have timed this festival with the onset of monsoon since fishes are aplenty in market during the season. A Bengali, on both sides of the border, can't do without tel koi or ilish. But here they would be on the look out for alternatives be it any authentic Thai cuisine or a soft bone-less Basa," a spokesman of Benjarong, nestled in a city mall, says.

Expatriate chefs Nguyen Thi Nho & Ly Kim Ngan, flying all the way from Hanoi, rustle up the delicacies in the festival being held till the first week of August and confirms they liked the tanginess of 'Sorshe Ilish' at a Bangladeshi cuisine restaurant on Free School Street.

In Oh Calcutta, celebrity entrepreneur-chef Anjan Chatterjee's landmark Bengali specialty restaurant, rare steamed, fried and unconventionally roasted Ilish (hilsa) delicacies are on the platter till the first week of the month.

"From 'Mochar Ilish' (steamed hilsa marinaded in mustard paste) to green chillis wrapped in Banana leaves called “Ilish Paturi”, we have had a delectable spread like Kumro Pata Aam Acharer Ilish  (steamed boneless hilsa flavoured with mango pickle and wrapped in gourd leaves) and  Radhuni diye Ilish-er Roast (lightly roasted Hilsa flavoued with Radhuni masala)," Anjan, who currently has more than 75 restaurants across the country, says.

"We have hunted some of the recipes from gandmom's kitchen in 'purbobango' (East Bengal) which they had cherished and treasured for years," he says.