Food Friday | The monsoon lure of crispy bombil!

The monsoons haven’t really begun for any food lover, until you get the aroma of bombil covered with rava, frying in the kitchen. Enjoyed piping hot on its own or with spicy chutney, bombil is the indulgence meant for the rains, as you sit by the window and savour the fish, picking out its countless kaatas (bones). Taste apart, the reason for tucking into this iconic dish is also born out of practicality. For once, the heavy rains begin and deep-sea fishing takes a backseat, it is bombil that takes centre stage on dining plates as it’s found closer to the coastline. Restaurateur Meldan D’Cunha of Soul Fry restaurant, affirms: “Bombils are always a hot-seller, but especially so in the rains as people do not prefer frozen fish at this time. Just two hot, fried bombils served with rice and dal, pickle and papad, and it’s totally satisfying!”

While you might relish Bombay duck fried and hot on your plate, different communities have their own charming cooking styles with it.

In Koli kitchens, bamboovarche bombil is the highlight

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In Mumbai, you may have spotted this fish drying on large bamboo frames near the shoreline in summer. This dried bamboovarche bombil makes for the specialty in the Koli community. Homemaker Magdalene Koli Rodrigues, shares, “Kolis love dried bombils, some even having it thrice a week in the rainy season. There are a few key recipes with it – one is aathvan, a semi-gravy made with dried bombils, red chilies, turmeric powder, kokum and ground garlic, then dried bombil chilli fry, eaten with hot bhakris, a sukka bombil rassa (curry) made with koli masalas and coconut and a dry dish made with smaller bombils called nevle, all of these are absolutely delicious!”

Thecha to halduni: How Bombil tops the list for Kokanis

If you travel along the western coast, and stop for a midday meal, it would definitely comprise bombils, for Kokanis, who are fish lovers, relish it. Says Shabana Salauddin of Ammeez Kitchen, “Bombil batatey baingan is a must-have for lunch in the monsoons as we do not eat dried fish at night. Bombils are made in so many other ways. A popular method is to have hot, fried bombils served with a simple plate of dal-chawal. One of our family recipes comprises bombil thecha, made spicy with fried bombil, roasted and crushed with red chilli powder, coriander and green chilies. We also enjoy a fresh bombil dish called halduni, a red spicy gravy as well as dum cha bombil prepared with just a sprinkle of water and dry masalas and served with bhakri.”

Boomlas are a must-have in Parsi homes

The fish is not sought after just by Kolis and Kokanis. Home chef Mahrukh Mogrelia explains, “Parsis love their Bombay Duck also known as boomla, and there are quite a few recipes they treasure for it. Fried bombils are made by draining out excess water and marinating the fish in dry masala and green chilli paste, coating it with jowari (millet) flour, chana aata or rice flour and frying it. Fresh bombils go into a semi-thick gravy made with garlic and coriander leaves and it’s enjoyed with hot khichdi. Paris also relish their sookha boomla patiyo where dry bombils are marinated then fried with spices, tomatoes red vinegar as well as the sour-sweet Tarapori patiyo, which consists of dry bombils prepared in a vinegar-jaggery-garlic-Kashmiri chilli powder paste with lots of spices. It’s more like a condiment or pickle than a dish.”

Preparing it with East Indian bottle masala

Bombay duck is the talk of the table with the East Indian community. Food expert Rohesia Buthello, elaborates. “East Indians are die-hard fish lovers, and in the monsoons, when other fish is not available, they enjoy having dried bombils made with East Indian Bottle Masala. This spice mix is made in the pre-monsoon months and each family uses a large variety of spices for the prep – my mother’s recipe has 36 of them! The masala is sun-dried, roasted then pounded and we add it to the bombil fry or curry. Another much loved dish is the sukhe bombilachi chutney, paired with traditional East Indian handbread,” she informs.

Pathare Prabhu and SKP’s have interesting takes on bombil

Sunetra Sil Vijaykar, of the pop-up kitchen Dine with Vijaykars calls bombil the ‘monsoon specialty’. She explains, “In the rains since it’s not easy to get fresh fish, foodies switch to dry fish and bombil fits right in and Pathare Prabhus have quite a few ways to make it. There’s a smoked bombil salad made with fresh shredded coconut to the bombil bhajji (pakodas). And aatle, a tangy gravy is made with fresh bombils tamarind, jaggery and green chillis. The dish is delicate; masalas are added to oil along with the fish and it not stirred, to ensure the fish does not break. It’s just covered and cooked and the thin curry is eaten with bhakri or rice. Stuffed bombils stuffed with karandi (tiny fresh prawns) and fried are served when guests come over. And bombil lonche, a pickle is also found in most Pathare Prabhu houses is prepared with garlic, oil and pickle masala and it goes perfectly with poli (roti).”

She adds a few differentiating factors in the way the community relished bombil. She adds, “Pathare Prabhus prefer smaller and juicier bombils. Also, in restaurants typically you will find bombil is flattened before frying to drain out water, but Pathare Prabhus prefer making this fleshy bombil pieces.”

Guess what? The SKP (Somvanshiya Kshatriya Pathare), a distant cousin of the Pathare Prabhus, interestingly add bhindi to it! Reveals Naina Rahul Goregaonkar of The Paisley Experience, “We make a flavourful bombil curry called kalvan with the special SKP masala, and add raw bhindi to it. The vegetable is cooked with bombil and the dish is eaten on the next day, instead of having it immediately, to ensure the bhindi soaks up the flavours. It is best had with ghavne (rice flour crepes).”

It’s getting expensive

With this fish on the decline around Mumbai’s coast and a continuing demand, it’s pushing up costs. Says Meldan D’Cunha, “We have to shell out a lot more for bombils, now. Earlier, the price it was just Rs 250-300 a dozen and now that is double. But people love this fish, it’s versatile and we restaurateurs see a demand for it, especially in these months. The ones we get around Mumbai right now are smaller and costlier, but still good. Of course, from September, when local boats go out for fishing again, you can expect to get better bombils.”

_Ismat Tahseen is a Mumbai-based journalist who writes on food, trends, culture and lifestyle for over a decade now.
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