Parshottam Rupala launches Culinary Coffee Table Book ‘Fish & Seafood - a collection of 75 gourmet recipes’
Union Minister
of Fisheries and Animal Husbandry Parshottam Rupala launched a unique coffee
table book titled ‘Fish & Seafood - a collection of 75 gourmet recipes’
here today. In an effort to boost the domestic consumption of fish and seafood,
along with popularizing the local fish species, the Department of Fisheries
under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying has come up with
this initiative. The book was launched in august presence of both the
Minister of States (MoS) Dr L Murugan and Dr Sanjeev Kumar Balyan, Jatindra
Nath Swain, Secretary; Sagar Mehra, Joint Secretary (Inland Fisheries); J Balaji, Joint Secretary (Marine Fisheries),
other Department officials, PMC to PMMSY and Special Guest Celebrity chef Kunal Kapur. The coffee table book and its
launch event are a part of the ongoing celebration of 75 glorious years of
India's Independence, under the campaign Azadi
Ka Amrit Mahotsav. The recipe book is a highlight of the
diversity of fish available within the domestic water bodies and the fish
culinary heritage of the country that signifies the diverse cooking and eating
styles across the country.
At the launching
ceremony of the Coffee table Book, Rupala congratulated the Department for
ideating the book and representing it in an interesting manner that captures
the essence and amalgamation of Indian ‘Rasoi’, various traditional fish
festivals and culture. Dr L Murugan, MoS in his congratulatory speech shared
how the recipes of Tamil Nadu in the book made him nostalgic through a
time-travel to the mouth-watering coastal fish delicacies. Jatindra Nath Swain also spoke on how his home
state Odisha relishes fish as it is a part of their regular diet. He also
mentioned how the Department is taking various efforts to support the
livelihood of the small and artisanal fish farmers. Celebrity chef Kunal Kapur,
who is popular for his speciality Indian cuisine also appreciated the concept
of the book that features local recipes from different parts along with the
names of the fish. He mentioned that the event made him travel through the
memoir of his childhood days of his father preparing fish fry for his family
and later on his introduction with different fish varieties and its diverse
cooking style in different parts of the country.
Fish and Seafood are
an important part of the Indian diet since ancient times. Many remains found to
indicate the consumption of fish as a significant dietary element in the Indus
Valley Civilization. Fish has become an integral part of the Indian diet regime
considering its nutritional value. According to the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) projections, aquaculture will be responsible for nearly
two-thirds of India’s fish production by 2030. This is indicative that
fisheries and aquaculture is equally important for employment, as well as a
vital source of food and nutrition security, especially for the rural population.
Recognizing the
significance of fisheries sector, to take comprehensive, strategic and focused
interventions, the Government of India launched its flagship scheme Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) in
May 2020 as a part of the AtmaNirbhar
Bharat Package with the highest ever investment of Rs. 20,050 crores. The
schemes being implemented over a period of five years from FY 2020-21 to FY 2024-25 in all States/Union
Territories. The scheme envisages to drive sustainable and
responsible development of the sector, ensuring socio-economic development of
the fishers, fish farmers and all other stakeholders in the value-chain. PMMSY
envisages to address critical gaps in fish production and productivity,
quality, infusion of technology, traceability, post-harvest infrastructure and
management to develop the sector holistically. The Department aims to create a
conducive environment for fostering private sector engagement, innovation &
entrepreneurship, ease of doing business and other necessary support.
Through the coffee
table book, the Department, along with its aim to increase domestic fish
consumption and promote fish protein for food & nutritional security it
also envisages to promote the local recipes and diversity of Indian fish
gastronomy heritage.
Mehra, Joint Secretary (Inland
fisheries) mentioned that the through PMMSY scheme, the Department has been
taking various strategic initiatives to increase the domestic fish consumption
from 5kg per capita to 12kg per capita, doubling the exports to Rs. 1 lakh
Crore and increase productivity from 3 tons per Ha to 5 tons per Ha. He
motivated everyone to add fish in their diet as it is an affordable protein
source and encouraged everyone to experiment the recipes featured in the book.