Trek Himachal

Rainbow Trout

'Tourist food' in Kullu, Tirthan and Uhl valleys

This is a little different from the traditional food of Himachal. While fishing has always been a source of local food, given the small and shallow streams, fish has never formed a significant part of the local diet. In the recent past, as part of the relatively weak and rare governmental efforts towards promoting tourism in Himachal and the undying enthusiasm of fishing enthusiasts, Trout fishing was introduced in some parts. The better known places for Trout fishing include the Kullu valley, the Tirthan valley and parts of Uhl valley. Rainbow trout is the most commonly fished for using the fly fishing angling method. In another lame and limp effort, the government organizes a trout fishing competition in October, normally near Kullu, occasionally in Barot. It is not too heavily attended but ensures that trout fishing lives on to provide tourists with the unique taste. There are a large number of trout fishing farms and trout houses in Kullu and Tirthan valleys, one of which I found really interesting, www.mountainhighs.com.

If you are the angling type, you need to have your own equipment and off you go in the angling season for a nice holiday and even nicer fish meals. If you are only the eating type, you go to a Trout farm, have some fresh fish caught and get it prepared by one of the local food shops. I did this twice at Barot. Trout is sold by the Fisheries department at a Trout Farm in Barot. The rates have recently been hiked to INR 250 per kg from INR 220 per kg. Fish are caught fresh from the 'fish farms', killed and handed over to you. A small nugget of information though. Effective 2^nd October 2009, the HP government in what would be the only good thing a government has ever done, has banned the use of polythene and any individual found in possession of one is liable to be fined. So, if you are buying fish from a farm, don't expect them to give you a bag to carry them. Find a non polythene carrier yourself and make do with it.

Now to the trout cooking. The most common and I must say delicious way of eating trout is to make fish pakodas. Fresh trout is cut down into pieces and smeared in a batter. The batter is a mixture of gram flour, salt, coriander, fresh green chilli and spices. The batter smeared trout pieces are then fried in very hot oil for a few minutes till the batter looks crisp. These trout pakodas with a cup of steaming chai is bliss. If it is raining slightly and the air is cold, they taste even better. Structurally, the best thing about trout is the lack of bones in it except the prominent spine. So, even people who usually make bones of eating a fish because of fish bones cannot make bones of eating a trout. Taste-wise, the fresh water fed trout is not to be talked about, it has to be eaten. I am no authority on fish but I had a fish eating part Oriya, part Bengali friend liking it a lot. So, I presume even people with a palate sensitive to the nuances of fish eating owe themselves this experience once.

Trout is of course had in other ways as well like a fish curry or fish fry. If you do find another way of cooking trout which is tastier than the pakoda, please do write about it in the comments.

P.S.: If you are very particular about hygiene and ambience of the place you get the trout cooked in, you will need to look farther than you expect.

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