SRINAGAR: Braving the biting cold, a middle-aged fisherman, Mohammad Sultan starts his day in the wee hours only to ensure that he returns home by noon to prepare one of the cherished winter delicacy from his days catch –Phaire or smoked fish of Kashmir.
Back home, his wife Saleema carefully cleans the larger sized fish in a tub. After cleaning the stock, she slightly tilts the tub to let the water drain out. At a few meters, her husband, Sultan arranges the heap of special dry grass in layers to make a grassy platform in their backyard at Central Kashmir’s Anchaar area in Srinagar.
The husband wife duo places the cleaned fish on a platform of grass and torch it to produce flame, smoke and heat. In a split of time, a prized catch gets engulfed in fire and smoke. After hours of slow flame and dark smoke treatment, Kashmir’s prized winter delicacy, Phaire is ready for sale.
Phaire
A fish partially roasted in smoke and flame is widely consumed by Kashmiris, mainly during winters. Cooked with Haakh or collard greens, tomato, raddish, lotus stem or dried brinjal, the Phaire does not only fill the Kashmiri kitchens with aroma but also satiates the “gastronomical sense of every food lover.”
During winters, a traditional dish ‘Phaire Haakh’ made from smoked fish and collard greens is vogue in traditional Kashmiri kitchens.
“This is my favorite form of fish. My children are also fond of it. We usually wait for winters to come to eat this fish”, says Mymoona Akhtar, a middle aged woman from Dalgate area while buying the smoked fish at Nowhatta in Srinagar.
Mymoona is a not the only customer. Another woman in her fifties, Haleema standing besides Mymoona also waits for her turn to get hold of her pack.
The making
The process of making smoked fish requires efforts of many people and is quite interesting in itself. The fish are first caught usually from the Dal or Anchar lake, then the women who are expert in cleaning it, wash and remove the waste part. After washing, the fish are laid down on the wild dry grass interwoven loosely shaped in the form of platforms and then dried for a while after which the grass is torched to smoke the fish on it.
When the fish becomes dark brown in colour and are properly smoked these fish are collected in a willow trays or baskets and then sold in the market.
Mostly the women sell the Phaire in the market in traditional willow baskets. Interestingly they also play a significant role in the making of smoked treat.
“My wife and daughter help me in smoking the fish for weeks together. While I usually catch some stuff myself for days together and buy the bulk of it from the fishermen from Dal lake side, my wife and a daughter engage in the collection of a special dry grass,‘naar gaase’ from nearby wetlands used in smoking the fish,” said Sultan.
Sells like hotcakes in cold
The demand for the smoked fish increases during winters. There is a common belief that the winter delicacy is a source of warmth in the colder months of winter. The same is reflected in the increased sale of the specially made fish.
Mohammad sultan has been in the smoked fish trade for decades. “I have been smoking the fish since my youth. I have learned the art from my ancestors. Though its demand diminishes during summer, my sales increase exponentially throughout the winters.”
Despite availability of fresh foods throughout the year, the taste and cultural legacy keeps its popularity afloat.
Cultural Icon
Despite round the year availability of fresh food in the valley now, unlike the past when the people had to bank mainly on dried vegetables during winters, the culture of relishing smoked fish still prevails in the valley.
Many believe that it “is the taste and cultural significance of this winter delicacy which lures the people for this traditional feast.” Often, many people still invite nears and dears for its feast.
“A friend of ours is visiting us tomorrow. So we decided to prepare Phaire Haakh, a traditional winter treat for him, as he has returned after a gap of two years from a gulf country,” said Tasleema while buying smoked fish from Saraibala market in Srinagar.
“Firstly I will remove the burned skin from the fish, clean them thoroughly and then mix the stuff with a blend of spices and Haakh,” Tasleema added while explaining the preparation of Phaire Haakh in Kashmir kitchens to the Valley Observer.
Amidst a variety of food including exotic pasta, pizza and mommo being sold in Kashmir, the traditional Phaire stands distinct as it continues to be a cherished winter delicacy in the valley.