6. Of Shutki, Ngari and Karuvadu: The Ubiquity and Invisibility of ‘Poor Man’s Fish’ in India

Dried fish — whether it is shutki in Bengal, karati/bordia/lashim in Assam, sukhua in Odisha, endu chepalu in Andhra, karuvadu in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, or sukat macchi in Maharashtra — remains on the margins of the culinary narrative of the country. Through the example of preserved fish, Sohel Sarkar explores the ‘social hierarchy of taste’ and the ways it plays out in communities. Read.