SIMPLE FRIED BOMBAY DUCK / BOMBILA

BOMBAY DUCK / BOMBILA

Bombay Duck refers to a small lizard like fish found in the sea off the Eastern and Western Coasts of India.The fish is often dried and salted before it is consumed, as its meat does not have a distinctive taste of its own. After drying, the odour of the fish is extremely powerful, and it is usually transported in air-tight containers. It is also known as ‘Bummalo’. Bombay Duck got its name as a corruption of the Marathi name for this fish ‘ Bombila’ and has actually nothing to do with the city of Bombay.

The origin of the term "Bombay duck" is uncertain. One popular etymology relates to railroads. When the rail links started on the Indian sub-continent, people from the Eastern Bengal were made aware of the large availability of the locally prized fish on India's western coasts and began importing them via the railways. Since the smell of the dried fish was overpowering, its transportation was later consigned to the 'Mail' Train. The mail train i.e. the ‘Bombay Mail’ or the ‘Bombay Daak’ reeked of the fish smell and "You smell like the Bombay Duck" was a common term in use in the days of the British Raj. In Bombay, the local English speakers then called it so, but it was eventually corrupted into "Bombay Duck". Nonetheless, "Bombay Duck" has also found a place in the Oxford English Dictionary

Dried Bombay Duck is usually stored in many homes and cooked or fried whenever required. However, the fresh Bombay Duck could also be made into delicious curries and fry. Bombay Duck doesn’t require any heavy masalas and tastes good with just the addition of chillie powder and turmeric. It can also be combined with vegetables such as potatoes, Brinjals / aubergines, drumsticks etc.  

SIMPLE FRIED BOMBAY DUCK

Serves 6

Preparation Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

8 dried Bombay Ducks

2 teaspoons chillie powder

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 tablespoon vinegar

6 tablespoons oil for frying

Soak the Bombay Ducks in a bowl of water for about 15 minutes, then wash well so as to remove all the sandy residues. Cut into suitable pieces. Coat them with the chillie powder, vinegar and turmeric powder.  Heat the oil in a flat pan and shallow fry the pieces about 3 at a time, till nice and brown on both sides. Serve with Pepper water and rice.