Fish loaf recipe: An Indian style baked fish that goes well with parathas

Rohu fish or sankara: 6 or 7 
Ginger-garlic paste: 2 tsp 
Egg: 1 
Bayleaf: 1 
Potato:1 large, boiled and mashed 
Sour cream: 1 tbsp 
Butter: 1 tbsp 
Ghee: 1 tbsp 
Garam masala:1 tsp 
Fried onion: 1 cup 
Chopped, blanched spinach: 1 cup 
Cilantro: 2 tbsp 
Pepper powder: 1 tsp 
Green chillies:1 tsp 
Cumin: 1 tsp 
Fennel seeds: 1 tsp 
Salt to taste 
Onion seeds: 1 tsp 
Cheese:1 tbsp 
Refined flour/corn flour: 1 tbsp 
Baking powder: a pinch 
Oil: ½ cup

METHOD

• After cleaning the fish, steam cook it with bay leaf crushed on top
• Debone the steamed fish pieces and take out the flesh
• In a saucepan, roast ½ tsp ghee, cumin, fennel seeds, onion seeds, ginger-garlic paste and green chillies
• Grind this and add to the fish
• Add salt, garam masala, grated cheese
• Add the fried onions.
• Add mashed potato, cilantro, pepper, blanched spinach
• Add flour or cornflour
• Add a pinch of baking powder
• Add ½ butter/ghee and cream
• Break the egg into it
• Blend everything together in a food mixer
• Preheat the oven to 350 FH and grease and line a loaf pan with parchment/wax paper
• Place the fish mixture into the pan, rub some butter over it and bake for 50 minutes
• Now broil another 1015 minutes or until you get the golden brown colour on the top. Broil at 400 FH
• Let it cool completely. Slice it. Ready to be served with garlic bread or parathas
• If you want to eat with rice, fry in remaining butter or oil just like you fry fish

As I sat enjoying my freshly cooked meal, my taste buds triggered food experiences that I had enjoyed in the past. I thought of Dr Ashish Chopra, a well-known food historian and my friend Bridget White, the famed author of Anglo Indian cuisine, who had opened my eyes and taste buds to a new world of gastronomical delights.

In 2016, Ashish invited me for a special event revolving around a heritage food festival at Kurseong, Darjeeling. Bridget was going to showcase a typical Anglo Indian gourmet meal for the British vintage railway enthusiasts. Sohini Basu the cordon bleu pastry chef, Kaveri Ponnapa the expert on Coorg cuisine, Sushmit Bose the legendary folk singer and I were asked to cook heritage food. All these added the frills to the fancy Anglo Indian specialty week, which included dishes like Col Sandhurst’s lamb curry, grandma’s country stew, railway cutlets, Sohini Basu’s pineapple upside pudding and a host of delectable Anglo Indian specialties.

After a tedious road journey in a jeep, traversing through beautiful countryside with the Himalayan ranges playing hide and seek at every twist and turn, we reached a restored beautiful colonial home called Cochrane place. It was situated at the foot of the Himalayas.

The place was on top of a hill overlooking the mountain and valleys. Kurseong has been home to famous personalities who changed the history of our country like Rabindranath Tagore and Subhash Chandra Bose. Subash Chandra Bose was under house arrest here for 7 months. The house is a museum now containing valuable memoirs, pictures, paintings and artefacts.

The seven days were spent in rejoicing and celebrating food and life in every possible way. Dr Ashish is an expert in organising such gourmet events and the scenery and the locals added zing to the whole affair. Experiencing all of Bridget’s fancy cooking, I was reminded of an Indian fish loaf which was supposedly cooked at Nethaji’s house and was one of his favourites till he became a vegetarian. I did a lot of research to get the old recipe and ended up combining a few to come up with an original one.

Kitchen tips

• Ensure the fish is fresh and remove all bones
• Do not overbake as the taste gets ruined
• Fish can be baked in a pressure cooker or in steam also

— Chef Ramaa Shanker is the author of ‘Festive Offerings to the Gods: Divine Soul Recipes’