Fifty days & ways with ‘Hamsi’

AYLİN ÖNEY TAN - aylinoneytan@yahoo.com

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“Hamsi” is a way of life for Black Sea people. Known as the European anchovy, Engraulis encrasicolus to be precise, it is the staple protein during winter months for all of the people living near the shores of the Black Sea coast in Turkey. Never raised in fish farms, it is foraged fish; a daily routine for fishermen, going out to the open sea, as long as the weather permits, and bringing back boat-loads of it every early morning, with cats and some early bird people waiting on the jetty to receive their share. The bounty of the sea is shared by the few waiting to hail the fishermen at the crack of the day, free of charge. This free give-away bucketful to the needy is called “göz hakkı,” translated as eye-share, a wonderful tradition of generosity, still maintained in this world of greediness. 

They say the best hamsi appear only after the snowfall. The often-repeated saying is that there must be some snow-water that has got into the ear of the hamsi. A strange way to express it, but it is true that the water has to be icy cold for the hamsi to get fat and flavorful, as more fat translates as more flavor. There must be 50 ways to cook hamsi, some have even tried to make baklava with it. That avant-garde attempt fortunately remained an odd try, but signature dishes of Black Sea cookery include many other innovative dishes; fried, grilled, steamed, broiled, pickled, salted, cured; each worth exploring. “Hamsili pilav” is a delicately spiced pilaf, baked or rather pan fried, with a lining of finger-sized fillets of hamsi arranged in a fan-shaped pattern at the bottom of the pan, providing a crisp fishy crust to the aromatic oniony rice pilaf, a delightful feast on its own. Many would die for “hamsi kuşu,” strangely named “hamsi birds” in English, may be because the butterflied-split open fish pieces, sandwiched together, dipped in egg-batter and deep-fried, looks like little birds.

Hamsi is a very seasonal fish, as the old people would say, best eaten during the last 50 days of winter. Actually, the word comes from the Arabic word “hamsin,” meaning 50, referring to the final segment of winter months. The reason that the fish is tasty during this period is because the previous 40 days, called the days of Erbain, which are the coldest days of winter, enabling the hamsi to develop its true flavor. The 40 days of Erbain, starting with the winter equinox (we are just in the midst of that period now), are also called “Zemheri”, another word that was synonymous with deadly freezing cold. The hamsin days are between the end of January and the spring equinox. That is supposedly the last day a decent Black Sea folk would make a hamsi feast (if there is any left at the sea) and wave farewell to the beloved winter taste, till the next snowfall. While the cold days last, enjoy your share of hamsi, getting its name from the number 50, best for 50 days, cooked in 50 ways!