Char Broiled Chutney Fish Sliders Recipe

 

Last week again we celebrated a birthday and this time, it was my daughter Gungun’s birthday. However, in this post I neither have the pics of all that I cooked for her nor do I have pics of the party to share. That’s because we are having the party at a later date and I will do an entire post for that too.

Today as of now I am sitting in a completely empty house. Sipping a cup of subtly flavored gold-hued Darjeeling tea brewed and bloomed just right. It’s rare that I find such solitude except on random days like today. And there I go flipping through dog-eared pages, digging through past memories and excavating old treasures.

This is an experience I always wanted to write about but never had it flowing out of me as effortlessly as today. This was probably 15 years back. I would take a train (tube rail) back from work every evening and then from the station I had to share a ride on a three-wheeler auto-rickshaw which is very common in my part of the country in India.

Sam and I had started seeing each other around then, but Sam would be out of town most of the times. He would visit for a few days in between and during those times, he would go out of his way to do little things for me that would just light up my day. He would see me after work and most days accompany me home and drop me off at the door and leave. And when he left I felt really lonely.

So during one such day when I was lonely and missing Sam, I witnessed this incident. I had just got off the train and was waiting to board one of the auto-rickshaws. The place where I would wait for an auto rickshaw was this immensely crowded bus-stop where during the peak hours of the morning and evening there was a mad rush everywhere.  In the midst of all this I see this blind guy holding a stick in one hand and the hand of his also blind girlfriend in the other, making his way through the crowd.  He comes and waits in the same line as me.  He and his girlfriend were right behind me. I could overhear the friendly banter between the two.

When an empty auto rickshaw arrived, it was my turn to board it. There were two empty seats and I presumed the other two passengers sharing my ride would be them. The guy helps the girl in. And then he turns to the auto driver and asks him very politely to take his girlfriend home safely and drop her off in front of her house.

As I rode with the lady home that day, I introduced myself to her and started a conversation. She then told me that her boyfriend of 5 years would do this every day. He would make sure she was safely on her way home before he took another train home. I saw this couple many times after that and think about them sometimes even today.  They are etched in my mind and heart forever. It’s amazing how one can defy physical disability with such élan and grace.  I wish I could see them again. I would love to imagine that they are married and living happily somewhere.

Now that my story is told, today’s recipe is a Chutney marinated Char-Broiled Fish Sliders. These nice and tangy sliders are extremely easy to whip up and look gorgeous when served with the accouterments like lettuce, tomatoes, onions and wedges of lemon. What a riot of colors!

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