Mumbai's cuisine is a fascinating mishmash that has piqued the curiosity of foodies since time immemorial. There are so many kinds of sea food delights in Mumbai that you are often left spoilt for choice. Not only in terms of preparation, there is an overwhelming variety even in the kind of sea animals that are used. When talking about Mumbai's coastal fare, one cannot possibly miss the bombil or Bombay duck. The curiously-named creature is not actually a duck, but in fact a very fleshy fish. There are a string of interesting reasons behind the quirky name, and you can read them all here. And if you are slurping already, you can try making the classic bombil fry. We dug out Mumbai's famous Gajalee's recipe specially for you!
Recipe: Bombil Fry By Gajalee, Mumbai:
This Bombil fish fry is ideal for days when you are craving something fried, crispy and decadent. Top it off with a dash of lemon juice for the extra zest. If you happen to be a fish lover, you would definitely enjoy this classic treat - Bombil has very soft bones too. Another reason why we love it so much is that it does not take a lot of time to prepare these - all you need to do is coat the fish in a mix of rice flour, red chilly powder, lemon juice and turmeric powder and fry it until it is crispy and golden brown.
Ingredients:
• 6-7 fresh Bombay ducks (bombil)
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• 1 cup rice flour
• Oil for frying
• Salt to taste
Method:
1. Place the fresh bombil on a plate.
2. Add lemon juice, turmeric powder, red chili powder, salt to taste.
3. Mix it well.
4. One by one, cover each bombil with rice flour on it.
5. Marinate for 15-20 minutes.
6. In a vessel, heat oil.
7. Add the pieces of bombil into the vessel.
8. Shallow fry in hot oil until crisp and golden on both sides.
9. Serve hot.