Guess what I had last weekend? Hassar curry, with hassar from Essequibo flown in within 48 hours of being caught!
A Guyanese friend messaged me sometime after 8 on Friday night:
Friend: You home?
Me: Yeah.
Friend: I’m coming by in about 20 minutes to drop off something.
Me: Okay.
Sandee arrived with a broad smile on her face and a plastic bag in her hand. She handed me the bag, beaming, and said, “Look inside”. Inside of the green-coloured plastic bag was a clear plastic bag nestled at the bottom through which I could see hassar. I don’t know if my smile matched hers, but I am convinced that between us we lit up the porch brighter than the overhead light. Her father-in-law had arrived earlier in the evening from Guyana with a bounty of Guyanese goodies, chief among them being hassar and she brought some to share with me. I thanked her enthusiastically, telling her that I would try not to cook a hot hassar curry for breakfast! I placed the bag in the refrigerator. It is crazy the things one can get excited about. Saturday lunch was going to be lit! “Those who eat the Cascadura will, the native legend says, wheresoever they may wander end in Trinidad their days.” Johnson and the Cascadura (Selvon, 1957). So goes the folklore in Trinidad and Tobago about this rare, prized member of the catfish family, known in Guyana and Brazil as hassar and as cascadura or cascadoo in Trinidad and Tobago.
