BOMBAY-ADDA

HOW TO COOK A PERFECT BOMBIL FRY.

                                                             - Tasneem Bankoda

 

If you are a seafood lover who has grown up in Mumbai, you will definitely have relished the Bombay Duck, locally called the Bombil. Bombay Duck is a species of fish found in the estuaries of Northern India, predominantly in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. This fish is very delicate in nature, and is unlike most fishes in appearance. This fish has a thin nearly transparent body and is almost slimy to touch. It is a soft fish with soft bones and high moisture content, so needs to be handled gently when cooking.

 

Preparation Time - 15 minutes

Cooking Time - 15 minutes

Serves - 4

 

What you will Need?

16 nos                Bombay Duck (medium sized approx. 6"-8")

½ tsp + ¼ tsp     Salt

½ tsp + ¼ tsp     Turmeric Powder

1 ¼ tbsp              Chilli Powder

1 tbsp                  Lemon Juice

3 tbsp                  Rice Flour

3 tbsp                  Oil

 

How to Proceed?

 

With a pair of Kitchen Scissors, snip off the head, tail and the gills of the fish . Gut, clean and wash the Bombay Duck. Leave the fish whole if it’s small but cut into two if it’s over 8".

 

Mix together ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp turmeric, rub this mixture to the fish. Leave the marinated fish in the colander for about 30 minutes. This step is essential, as the salt will not only season the fish, but will also bring out the excess moisture from it.

 

Gently squeeze any additional moisture from the fish and then transfer onto a plate. Sprinkle the remaining salt, turmeric powder, chili powder and lemon juice and mix. Set aside for 15 minutes.

 

Heat 1tbsp of oil in a pan till hot.

 

Dust each fish lightly with rice flour. Shake off any excess flour before lowering the fish in the pan.

 

Fry on a medium high flame for approximately 4 minutes or till one side is golden. Using a flat spoon, carefully flip the fish and cook on the other side till done. Drizzle some more oil if required.

 

Remove and serve hot.

 

 

Note -

 

1). It is essential to remove the excess moisture from the fish; another method to do this is called Blotting. Rub the fish with salt and turmeric, then arrange on several layers of kitchen paper, roll to make a package. Keep this package under some heavy weight for twenty minutes) The Kitchen Paper will absorb all the excess moisture. Continue with the recipe.

 

2). Be careful with the use of salt for this recipe. As this fish is already salty in nature, excess salt can get the fish tasting really bad.

 

3). Don’t use too much rice flour; it should just lightly dust the fish. This again is to combat the excess moisture in the fish, and to prevent it from sticking to the pan when frying.

 

4). This is a very delicate fish and can break easily if over handled. Do not attempt to flip the fish till one side is completely cooked.

 

5). For a crispier texture / coating, mix 1tbsp of Semolina with the rice flour.

 

6). You can deep fry this fish in fairly hot oil, till golden brown.

 

7). Please do not attempt to batter fry this fish as the high moisture content in the fish will make it very soggy and unappetizing.