Māhi Shekam Por

Having decided to introduce this stuffed fish dish to one of my cooking classes, I began testing the recipe in my Seattle kitchen. As I cooked, I realized that it had been a staggering thirty-eight years since my last taste of it. Still, it felt like I was preparing it purely from my memory of the flavors.

As I ate, every mouthful—filled with the lively pop of fish roe, the barberries’ zesty tang, and the fresh herbs’ unmistakable fragrance—evoked more memories. A vivid image came t