A Fish to Water

The senses are taken over by an assortment of colours and aromas en route to the fish market, which is the last stretch of the Khar market. Crossing orange-yellow marigolds, sacks of red chillies, turmeric and pearly pods of garlic and cartons of golden Alphonsos, one finally reaches the bustling fish market, where cats that the bais love to feed and fish-eaters indulge in their favourite passion. Giving the crustaceans, pomfrets and prawns a miss, Chatterjee zeroes in on the Bhetki 8212; his favourite. Examining the fish and smelling it for freshness, he finally settles on a price that makes the bai smile. Blame his restaurateur-advertising background for polishing his people skills. Or blame in on his Bengali blood that has led to many a gastronomical adventure in Chatterjee8217;s 20 years in Mumbai.

8216;8216;I had no money to buy good fish during the early years,8217;8217; recalls Chatterjee. 8216;8216;Moreover, one needed a proper, spacious kitchen to cook river water fish well.8217;8217;

It could well sound like an excuse, considering that the kitchen has always been homeground for Chatterjee, who did a course in catering technology before moving to Mumbai to work with the Taj group. 8216;8216;I would call my friends over every Sunday, and we would feast on fish,8217;8217; he reveals. 8216;8216;My friends and I were always on the lookout for families which would either cook the fish that we bought or give us the space to cook it.8217;8217;

Sometime during these sessions, friend and well-known journalist C Y Gopinath suggested that Chatterjee market his recipes. By this time, Situation Advertising, set up by Chatterjee and his friends, had picked up and a restaurant didn8217;t seem like a pipe dream anymore. 8216;8216;A half-furnished place just fell into our lap, and since it was close to our advertising agency, it seemed perfect,8217;8217; says Chatterjee of Only Fish, his first restauranting venture. It is located in Tardeo, in the heart of the city, and has now re-invented itself as Oh! Calcutta.

8216;8216;But nothing else has changed. My values and principles are the same, just like macher jhol fish curry is macher jhol,8217;8217; says Chatterjee, as he directs the Bhetki to be sent home to the missus, to be cooked and consumed before he catches the next flight to Kolkata. 8216;8216;Bhetki makes for the best fish fillet,8217;8217; he says, eyes gleaming in anticipation of a sumptuous afternoon meal. It8217;s this passion for food that8217;s helped him create a pool of fishitarians in Mumbai and across India, who never fail to drop at the Chatterjee residence to wheedle a lunch out of the ever-willing macher jhol man.