A morning at the Kalamukku auction
What happens between 4 am and 7 am, before your fish reaches the shop.
How to tell a fresh fish at a glance
Eyes, gills and the press of a finger tell you more than any label.
Read the postJournal
Notes from Chakara Fresh Catch
Guides, care tips and stories from behind the counter.
Mathi fry the Kochi way
A simple sardine fry with a marinade you can make in five minutes.
What we sell during the monsoon trawling ban
For about seven weeks each monsoon, the big boats stay in. Here is what still reaches our counter, and what does not.
Seer, pomfret or karimeen: choosing fish for the dish
Which fish to buy for a fry, a red curry, a moilee or a pollichathu, and how much a family of four needs.
How to ask us to cut your fish
Steaks, curry pieces, fillets, butterfly or whole: the words to use so your fish arrives the way you cook it.
What a week of fish costs a Kochi family
Sardines on Monday, seer on Sunday: a realistic weekly fish and meat budget for four, at this month’s prices.
A morning at the Chinese nets and the Vypeen ferry
Fort Kochi’s fishing nets, the ferry ride and the fish auction on the shore: a short morning route for visitors.
How we pack fish on flake ice
Why flake ice, how much we use, and how your order stays cold for three hours in a Kochi delivery van.
Formalin and other worries about fish
What chemical preservatives are, how buyers watch for them, and what you can check at home before you cook.
Today’s auction prices at 7 am.
One WhatsApp message a morning with what landed and the rate.