Meating Point

It takes a trained eye to pick the right fish or meat,says chefs in the city

Remember that Internet meme about Bengali marriages about how every suitor hoping to marry a Bengali belle has to go through the fish market test? Its said that only a man who can walk into a fish market,spend an hour there,touch and smell the fish and select a reasonably good specimen can qualify to marry into a Bengali household. Restaurateur Diptajyoti Maitra wasnt put to the test before his wedding,but he would have passed it with flying colours any way. As the proprietor and chef at multiple restaurants in the city serving Bengali cuisine (read fish),Maitra has some fail-proof tips that serve him well.

The first test is looking at the fish. The eyes of a freshly caught fish are bright and clear,as if it is actually looking back at you. If the eyes are dull,glazed or hazy,the fish is already stale, he says. His next two tricks are more of a hands-on job. You cannot really buy good fish without getting your hands dirty. If the fish is too soft and the flesh is yielding too easily,the fish has started to go stale. Also,fresh fish will have a slippery protective layer over its scales, he says.

The fourth and the last test is checking the gills on the side of the head,for the colour. They should be bright red. But many fishermen try to outsmart customers by smearing fresh blood on a stale fish,which is why its important to touch and then run through the other three tests as well.

The rules dont change much whether its fresh water fish or sea fish,says Fish N Bait chef Buddhiram Raul,who makes it a point to smell the fish. Of course,the fish has a smell of its own but those who are used to it can always tell when a fish smells just fishy and when it smells bad. he says.

When it comes to red meat,it is all about the right cut,says Mayuri Kapasi,owner and chef at Mad House Grill,which is popular for its beef steaks and lamb rann. The quality of meat is very closely linked to what cut you are buying and how you intend to cook it. In India,the animals are generally smaller so their meat content is less than their fat and muscle content,which makes for a chewy meal, she says.

Kapasi prefers buying the sirloin instead of a T-bone,because it is a long strip of meat without bone. It has fewer veins and muscles,identified as white streaks in the meat,which means easier cleaning, she adds.

She also points out sight and touch tests with red meat. If your finger bounces back when you touch the meat,it is firm. Also it should be a fleshy red. If its brown,the blood has already begun to solidify and putrify, she says,adding that with any animal,the meat closest to the bone is the best.

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While chicken is more commonly bought and cooked,many still dont know the tricks of picking the right bird. The most important thing is how the chicken looks and feels. It should be firm,not be bruised or bloody in patches,or have broken bones, says Siddharth Mahadik,owner and chef at Le Plaisir.

The colour of the fat and skin also signal the chickens health and freshness. A bluish tinge on the skin tells you that the bird is fresh,while the colour of fat tells you what the birds have been fed. A pale yellow fat is good and suggests that the birds are corn-fed,which gives a better flavour and also suggests greater hygiene in their feeding, he says.

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cuisine
Food
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