“Whenever sardines were on the menu, my little sister and I would hover near the stove, waiting impatiently as my mother fried batch after batch, says Kishwar Chowdhury. “We would eat them straight from the plate, still hot and crisp, from head to tail, crunchy bones and all. Every so often, my mother would call out, ‘Leave some for dinner,’ but there was no doing.
“Sardines are closely related to herring and anchovies. While they are an excellent source of protein, calcium and omega-3 fatty acids, this wasn’t why we polished off bowlfuls. Our love for sardines was shaped by two factors: growing up in a Mediterranean neighbourhood, where Greek and Italian fishmongers stocked the freshest catch, and the incredible quality of the local sardines, which were sourced from Port Phillip Bay here in Victoria.
“In Bengal, small river fish like puti, mola and bele, or bay fish like loitta (Bombay duck) are used for this dish. But my parents had an instinct for choosing the best local, seasonal ingredients, and adapting our family recipes to suit what was fresh rather than just familiar. It wasn’t until I was in my twenties that frozen Bangladeshi fish became more readily available at specialty grocers in Australia, but by then, sardines had already secured their place in our home cooking.
“My mother would unwrap a large white paper parcel of gleaming sardines at the sink and have my sister and me descale each one, pull out the innards and trim down the fins and tails. Between fishing trips with my father and gutting sardines with my mum, my squeamishness for handling raw fish didn’t last long. And the reward for my efforts? Deep-fried whole sardines, marinated simply in turmeric and chilli and finished with a hit of lemon juice and flaky sea salt.
“This dish is utterly simple, yet so deeply satisfying that it remains one of my strongest food memories. It is the kind of no-fuss cooking that defines Bengali cuisine: fresh fish, cooked simply and eaten with unfiltered joy.”
Ingredients
Serves four
- 16 whole sardines
- 3–4 tablespoons coarse salt
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon chilli powder
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- pinch of sea salt flakes
- oil, for pan-frying
- 1 handful of dried red chillies, to garnish
- 1 lime or lemon, cut into wedges
Method
- Start by descaling, gutting and cleaning the sardines gently under cold running water (you can ask your fishmonger to do this for you). For extra flavour, I keep the heads on, trimming the fins and tail with kitchen scissors. Once cleaned, shake off any excess water and place the sardines in a large bowl, sprinkling with the coarse salt. Rub the salt into the fish thoroughly to remove any excess ‘fishiness’, then rinse them under cold running water until completely clean.
- Next, sprinkle the sardines with the turmeric, chilli powder and a little extra salt. Gently rub the spices into the skin of each fish, making sure they’re well coated. Leave to marinate for about 10 minutes.
- While the sardines are marinating, heat a dry pan and toast the cumin and coriander seeds until fragrant. Once toasted, grind them gently in a mortar and pestle along with a pinch of sea salt flakes to create a spice seasoning for the cooked fish.
- Heat the oil in a heavy-based frying pan over medium heat. Pan-fry the sardines until the skin is crispy and slightly charred on both sides (3–4 minutes per side), then transfer to a serving platter. You may need to do this in batches. After the fish is cooked, shallow-fry a handful of dried chillies in the leftover oil until they are dark and crispy.
- Sprinkle the spice seasoning over the sardines, then garnish with the fried red chillies and a squeeze of lime or lemon juice. Serve immediately with extra lime or lemon wedges.
This is an edited extract from Smoke, Rice, Water by Kishwar Chowdhury, published by Hardie Grant Books. Photography by Armelle Habib, Ata M Adnan, Rana Pandey (Koi Worldwide) and the Chowdhury family archive. Illustrations by DhakaYeah. Available at excellent independent Victorian bookstores such as Readings and Hill of Content.