RAWALPINDI/ISLAMABAD: Shaking off the meat sweats brought on by Eidul Azha, the people of the twin cities seem to have jumped the gun on moving onto the next seasonal treat: fish.

Even though winter is not yet upon us, the demand for seafood is on the rise in the garrison city, as well as the capital.

Many vendors are cashing in on the trend and setting up fried fish stalls outside their outlets to attract customers. But food aficionados will know that in a sea of pretenders, there are only so many places that serve authentic desi-style fish.

This year, seafood mania has come early to the twin cities

Rawalpindi’s food districts, from Committee Chowk to Commercial Market and from College Road to Kartarpura are buzzing with people queuing up to buy fried fish by the kilo.

“Fish season will actually start after Muharram, but this September has seen a marked increase in the demand for seafood,” said Sheikh Qaiser, owner of a fish shop at Committee Chowk.

Most fish vendors buy their produce at the garrison city’s fish market, located on Astabal Road near Novelty Cinema.

“We bring in saltwater fish from Karachi while freshwater fish is acquired from Mangla Dam and ponds and lakes around Mandi Bahauddin. Fish from Karachi is packed on ice and transported in large chiller units,” said Muzafar Hussain, a wholesaler at the fish market.

“Mushka, pomfret, rahu, sighara, mali are available, while other varieties that are imported from aboard are also in the market,” he said, adding that fish season runs usually between September and April.

According to Mr Qaiser, most people prefer deep-fried finger fish. “The recipe is quite simple; we marinated fish pieces with spices, pomegranate seed powder and salt. Those who prefer an additional spicy kick can spread chaat masala on it,” he said.

In the capital, the most famous and long-standing purveyors of deep fried finger fish is the Orient Restaurant in F-10 Markaz. Although the establishment has been around for decades, they added finger fish to their menu around six years ago.

“We were still the first to introduce this kind of fish in Islamabad,” claims Nabeel Arif, who mans the front desk as this busy eatery.

Since the owners of Orient come from Gujrat, their fish has a decidedly Punjabi flavour, high on spice and fried to a crisp. Generous helpings of a home-grown masala are sprinkled on top and it is served with an appetising mint raita.

Tawa macchi, or pan-fried fish, is also quite popular in Rawalpindi. Raw fish is marinated with spices and fried in hot oil on a large tawa. Many people, perhaps mistakenly, consider this healthier than deep-fried fish.

“It is crispier and tastier since it is fried in lesser oil,” said Mohammad Saad, who was waiting for his order at College Road.

Tawa fish is drier than its deep-fried counterpart and is more appetising without any carbohydrate-laden accompaniment. “Condiments like ketchup or mint chutney bring out the flavour even more. One can eat more than a kilogramme of the stuff and still not get indigestion,” he boasted.

Recently, another healthier kind of fish has caught on with residents of the garrison city. Known as khadda macchi in Punjab, this entails foil-wrapped pieces of fish being baked on coal.

The recipe is quite simple; the fish is coated with spices and allowed to rest for half an hour to soak in the flavour. It is then wrapped in foil and baked on glowing coal.

“We receive many orders from people during the day, some want deep-fried fish, some prefer tawa macchi, but grilled and baked fish is the new craze,” said Mohammad Nadeem, the owner of a fish shop in Saddar.

He explained the reason for the popularity of pomfret and mushka fish, saying that people did not like fish ribs, which are sharp and minute and can get stuck in one’s gums or down one’s throat. This is why older people usually extort their children to first chew bony fish with their front teeth or incisors.

This way, it is easy to catch that pesky fish rib before one swallows it.

Fish tikka is a relatively new trend the capital. The best purveyor of these soft and succulent barbequed pieces of fish is the Cheema and Chattha outlet in F-11. Coated with tikka masala and barbequed over hot coal, the fish tikka disintegrates upon touch.

It is best had fresh from the grill, otherwise it loses its flavour along with its freshness. As a rule, one must never keep cooked fish for too long before eating it.

Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2016