Shidol-‘A Soul-Food’

Who has the heart to deny shidol-chutney when served with a full plate of steaming hot white rice? Shidol is love for most of the people of the Northeast barring a few. So here we have a mouth-watering recipe of shidol-chutney by none other than the very talented chef Sandeep Das!

With added Jhaal by Ananya Das

‘’A pinch of patience

A dash of kindness

A spoonful of laughter

And a heap of love’’

“Aha, shidol!” The very mention of the word ‘shidol’ in a typical sylheti household’s menu brings an immense ‘food-exotic’ pleasure in the minds of the members of the household. For the people of the Northeast, shidol is not only the name of an exotic dish, but also a soul-food! Shidol is a part of the daily delicacies as well as an important part of the menu in any celebrations. Ask any person of the Northeast, who resides in other parts of our country or abroad, that what he/she misses the most and the answer will be always the same –“shidol/shutki”.

Shidol not only appeals to our taste-buds but also our soul! During our childhood days and even today whenever we get sick the one thing that we crave is hot pungent shidol chutney with rice, as if a shidol-chutney is enough to heal our sickness! YES, we are absolutely right in thinking so as shidol has some amazing health benefits. It is a proven fact that this dish can boost our immunity level. It is basically a complete delicacy-tasty and yet healthy.  Simply stating we the people of Northeast are hopelessly, madly in love with this lip-smacking delicacy!

Shidol is made from sun-dried small Puti fish. Fermented Shidol/Shutki is used to make fiery hot chutney and traditionally served with rice.

A famous recipe of sylheti dish is a staple of Bengali Shutki satni/chutney and is also eaten by the indigenous communities of Northeast India, has rich heritage of fermentation techniques in the entire Northeast, with their own versatility.

Food has no boundaries. So respect for food is respect for life -think of someone who has nothing to eat.

Shutki Chutney the taste of sylheti cuisine.

Ingredients:

7 shidol (dry fermented fish)

1 big sized onion, finely chopped

10 garlic cloves, paste

1 inch paste

5 green chilli, paste

1/2 tea-spoon turmeric powder

1/2 tea-spoon red chilli powder

1/2 tea-spoon Kashmiri red chilli powder

3 table-spoon mustard oil

Salt to taste

Method:

See Also

Whispers of a Mother

Heat oil in a pan and add garlic paste. Stir for few seconds.

Add chopped onion and sauté until golden brown.

 Add ginger paste sauté for 1 minute.

Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, Kashmiri red chilli powder and stir fry for 1 minute.

 Add salt to taste.

Now, add Shidol paste on Shil Nora, stir and cover and cook over low flame for 7-8 minutes. Cook until all the moisture evaporates and oil separates.

Turn off the flame.

Your Shidol Chutney is ready to be served.