Bombay Duck by the Sea

Every afternoon when the sun is high, and the changing tide of the restless Arabian Sea brings in a gentle summer breeze, I smell the Bombay Duck drying on bamboo frames along Carter Road close to where I live. It is hung there by the Kolis of Khar Danda fishing village. From end-March to early June. To catch the sharp summer sun.

When the Bombay Duck is dried to a crisp, all the water drained from its fluffy flesh, it is salted, dusted with turmeric and chili powder, and stored in airtight containers for the monsoon months. To be sold when the rains come and the fishing trawlers do not sail out to sea. When I take a walk along Carter Road, I smell the fish long before I spot it.

Actually, it’s an awful stink, but I can tolerate it. I like Bombay Duck. And more than your Chilean Sea Bass, Atlantic Red Snapper, and Norwegian Pink Salmon on inflated menus of fancy seafood restaurants, for the ultimate gastronomic experience, nothing can match a pan-fried Bombay Duck. The Mangalorean seafood eateries serve it for a quarter of the price.

It’s called Bombil (Parsis say Boomla) and Mangalorean restaurateurs serve it fried with the bone in a batter of egg and wheat flour, crispy and crumbly with breadcrumbs on the outside, the flesh soft and white and falling off the bone inside. Bombay Duck is caught in the warm, shallow waters of the south-west coast. There are many stories about where the name came from. As many as there are recipes for the fish.

The East Indians make a yellow Bombay Duck Curry with coconut milk, turmeric, cumin, and coriander. Goans cook it in palm vinegar and kokum as Bombil Ambotik. The Parsis soak the fish in vinegar and jaggery. And fry onions and other spices in ghee to make a Tarapori Boomla Patia. They use dried Bombay Duck. Which I can now smell drying in the sun.

#BombayDuck #Bombil #Bombilfry #Seafood #FoodBlogger #BombayDuckFry #Mumbai #BombilKoliwada #SookhaBoomla

About Mark Manuel

The above thoughts/content has been proudly copied from the wall of Sir Mark Manuel. Being interviewing almost every role model of this country and going stronger each day. Mark Manuel is a respected Mumbai editor, writer, and columnist.

With over three decades of journalism in leading publications. This includes the Free Press Journal, Times, Dainik Bhaskar, Mid-Day, and Afternoon. He is famous for his brilliant pen interviews. He himself is a TEDx speaker.

Further

His interviews have been featured in several leading media houses. They include the Hindustan Times, Huffington Post, BBC, and Network 18. Almost every famous person has been interviewed by him in the country from Mother Teresa to Muhammad Ali. His first book is just out. It’s titled Moryaa Re! It is a crime thriller that is perhaps the country’s first police procedural. He began his career covering crime. And in a tribute to his experience and knowledge of this beat.

Several distinguished officers of the Mumbai Police and its Crime Branch collaborated with him to make this book possible. Amitabh Bachchan wrote the forward in a statement of friendship for Mark Manuel and admiration for his work.

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