Kele ki machchli, moong dal ke shami kebab, atte ka keema: The faux ‘meat’ dishes of Kayasth cuisine

“Can you make out the difference?” Papa would relish quizzing anyone sharing our lunch of faux machchli. The raw-banana “fish” was a favourite dish on my grandparents’ table. Mostly a winter afternoon staple, this delicious curried “fillet” was eaten with arhar dal and plain aromatic Basmati rice. It was food that offered great joy to my grandparents, who were vegetarians, Barima a lifelong one and LC in his later years.

Kele ki machchli, or “fish” fashioned from plantain, was a simple dish where the raw banana flavour was cleverly masked and the landlocked north Indian palate tricked into believing that this was indeed a home-style fish curry. The curry was flavoured with kasoori methi, or dried fenugreek leaves. The banana itself was cut lengthwise in the shape of fillets, coated with gram flour and fried till crisp. These fillets were then simmered in a thick onion and tomato gravy for just a couple of minutes so that they retained their texture while soaking up the flavours of the curry.

I have to admit it wasn’t a bad approximation of the way in which most north Indian homes cook fish, masking its flavour and smell with spices and herbs, in this case the...

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