When you think of salt, it is either used just for taste, or as a preservative. Sahil Arora of 266 - The Wine Room and Bar, Bandra, explains, "Salt has been used for preservation since ancient times as it sucks the moisture out, hence stopping bacterial growth." At Arora's wine room though, he has sourced a recipe that dates back to up to 4th century BC where he uses a salt as a key ingredient in baking a Salt Crusted Snapper.

To start off, Arora says it's important to pick a good quality fresh whole snapper. Cleaning the fish will include gutting of the fish (removing the intestine and other organs). One can leave scales on as the skin has to be discarded after baking. He adds, "One can replace whole fish with fillets, but the cooking time will change. You can also use any other kind of fish or root vegetables, chicken, beef and pork, as per your choice."