SHUTKI BHORTA

For a long time, I wondered what made me like shutki (as in dried fish) so much. Everyone, who knows me really well, is well aware of how shutki bhorta is my comfort food, especially my hubby. It is one of the first few recipes he learned, to prepare when I am having a rough day. Just a few days back, I realized all the happy memories associated with this dish. Recently I lost my maternal grandfather to COVID-19. He was my mother's uncle. He was my closest grandfather after my own grandfather passed away. Though the news tore me from within but I couldn't help but smile at all the beautiful memories with him. He was such a good man and such a loving grandfather. Every time I visited Bangladesh, he made sure I stayed over at his place with his daughters to spend some quality time with them. And guess what was in the menu? Simple steamed rice with shutki bhorta, আলু ভর্তা (mashed potato) and ডাল (lentil soup), basically the basics. But the way he enjoyed his meal, goodness! It was impossible to avoid picking the habit up and to this day I enjoy basic Bangladeshi meal, that it almost acts as my comfort food. One of my many fondest memories with him were how he would visit us every Eid morning as his first to-do's after the Eid prayers and never missed the opportunity of waking us up. I still remember his voice echoing through the rooms. I miss him so much! I have been wanting to share this recipe in a separate post for a while now, but somehow I didn't get the opportunity to do so. Hence, to reminiscence my grandfather and all his memories with me, I am sharing it now. This blog is a little more personal than usual, but I lost one of my closest grandfathers and I had to pay a tribute to him.

First off, in a pan smeared with oil, I added some onions (2 cups), garlic (1 tbsp), and dried red chili (2 pcs) and fried them on high heat till the onions turn translucent. Next, I added in the seasonings: salt (0.5 tsp), red chili powder (1 tsp), and turmeric powder (0.5 tsp). After letting them cook for about 2-3 minutes on medium heat, I added in the chopped shutki (1-2 pcs depending on the size). There are various kinds of shutki, made from different fishes. My go-to shutki is চেপা শুটকি (chepa shutki) made from পুঁটি মাছ (puti mach). After leaving the mixture on heat for about 7-8 minutes, I took them off the heat and served it with hot steamed rice. It took me back to the time when I shared my meal with my grandfather. As life goes on, my memories will fade but I am glad I picked up a few of his good habits that will remain within me as a small part of him.

Thank you for reading and I hope you would pray for him so he can be at a better place.