(Express Photo: Debraj Deb)As people seek out natural immunity boosters amid the Covid-19 pandemic, in Tripura, a local preparation has seen its sales shoot up considerably – the shidol, or fermented dry fish. Sellers, like 65-year old Subodh Das, say sale of dry fish, especially the fermented variety, has shot up in the past few months. Tripura mostly has three varieties of shidol – those made from puti fish (Puntius Sophore), baspati fish and kata shidol (assorted local varieties). These sell at Rs 600 per kg, Rs 350 per kg and Rs 300 per kg respectively, depending on the quality and origin. The team studied nutritional components in both raw fish and dry fish, with samples collected from local markets, identified by zoologists and tested at the state food testing laboratory.

Source: Indian Express September 20, 2020 15:43 UTC