Exploring how Mumbai’s diverse communities celebrate with dried fish

Thane-based Karen Fernandes has some of the fondest memories of consuming dried fish while growing up in Mumbai during the monsoon. Since it is difficult to get fresh fish during the monsoon, her family would spend all summer drying fish for the rainy season. She shares, "When I was staying with my grandmother and would feel picky about eating simple foods like dal and rice, she would roast dried fish such as mackerel, bombil, prawns, dinas." Experimenting with dried fish, she would roast the fish on one day and make a salad out of it on another day a salad, or make ‘paara', a popular delicacy eaten in most Goan homes during the monsoon. "It would instantly be the most exciting meal of our lives. I remember all of us kids going from uninterested in eating to being excited about lunch, the moment the scent of dried fish being roasted fills the air," Karen adds.

Mumbaikars are lucky as the city boasts of a very long coastline that gives us a variety of different fish in abundance, one of the most popular being the famed Bombay duck. It also happens to be one of the many fish that are dried during the summer to be consumed during the monsoon season in many different ways. While the Kolis, Mumbai's fishing community make use of dried fish in abundance, there are other different communities including the Goans, Mangaloreans, East Indians and even Keralites living in Mumbai, who make a variety of dishes with dried fish during this time of the year.

Karen, a proud member of the Goan community, is one of many such Mumbaikars who love consuming dried fish during the monsoon. This writer has many fond memories of relishing dried fish, particularly bombils, dried prawns and even ‘paara', that was often sent by his grandaunt during this time of the year. "Growing up, my aunty used to make big bottles of ‘paara' that was made out of dried mackerels, that are stored in the masala and taken out to fry when needed with dal and rice," shares Lucy Pinto, his mother. "I have discovered the recipe for ‘paara' recently and will be trying it out this monsoon," she adds.

While Fernandes's grandmother used to roast different kinds of fish, Rebecca Fernandes who grew up in Andheri says the dried fish specialties used to come out when there was a heavy downpour in the city. "My mum would not get fresh fish delivered to the doorstep, so she would make roasted bombils with East Indian vindaloo masala, which is similar to the Goan reachado masala," shares the Mumbaikar. Over the years, it was mostly eaten as a side Fernandes states but turned out to be the star of the meal and more often than not a motivating factor for many to relish simpler meals fully. "Growing up, we used to make a lot of bombil chilli fry, roasted bombil and use small dry prawns to make a sukha (dry) curry," she adds while declaring her love for them saying "Oh, dried bombils are drool-worthy."

Interestingly, Rebecca loves fish and even dried fish, but faces a challenge. "We don't consume it as much as we would like to in our home because my daughter has a very strong sense of smell and feels very sick when she smells dried bombils (even choris) cooking in our kitchen," she laughs, adding, "I did not cook it at all last year, but I am looking forward to cooking some dried fish this year."

Even as Mumbaikars like Rebecca and Karen love their dried fish, the latter is quick to point out one aspect of fish that may often go unnoticed. She explains, "It Is a highly acquired taste. While it is extremely popular and beloved among the select communities that consume it, I don't think dried fish is popular among the masses. Given the sharp smell and the taste, I think it is a bit of a challenge to help most people overcome that bit of a slope." This writer can attest to this important observation, having witnessed it personally while making bombil chilli fry for non-Mumbaikars. It is not only the flavour of dried fish but also smell that takes over the entire home while making it, and that may often be overwhelming for people who haven't eaten it before.

For the 32-year-old, who runs a digital agency in Mumbai, dried fish also adds to curries, it is an emotion. "Although most would find dried fish to be an acquired taste, those who have been raised on it know how addictive it is! It has such a distinct flavour that it instantly packs a punch into some of the simplest fares. I also love that it makes one feel so connected to their roots, no matter how ‘urban' and ‘gentrified' our lives get. It is perhaps a powerful example of ‘Ugly Delicious'."

From Mangaluru to Mumbai
It is exactly what Bandra-based Jeanette Fernandes has been able to do all her life. While she was born and raised in Mumbai, her parents were from Mangaluru and being strongly rooted in her culture, she has been continuing their legacy in different ways including that of food. She shares, "Just like most people in coastal areas, we Mangaloreans are very fond of eating fish or any seafood in our meals. So, I use a lot of dried fish in my food during the monsoon because they can also be preserved for a longer time than fresh fish."

Unlike Karen and Rebecca who make dry dishes, Jeanette takes the liberty of using the dried fish to make different kinds of curries. She shares, "I mostly incorporate it in my curries, instead of using fresh fish as Mangis (Mangaloreans) enjoy eating their coconut fish curries with rice. We also make cutlets with dried shrimp. However, my family's favourite is the dry bombil chutney. They love having the chutney with absolutely anything and everything -- be it plain steamed rice or dal-rice, dosa or even chapati. They have tried all combinations (including having it as ‘chakna' with their drinks), So I always have to have dry bombil stocked up." One of her favourite dishes with dried fish is the Kori Gassi curry, to which the 65-year-old, even adds mango, when they are in season; apart from a dry fish chutney, she also makes tiny, dried shrimp cutlets during this time of the year.

Just like Karen, even the Bandra resident believes that for people who have grown up eating dried fish, it is a complete delight but for others it may often take time to get accustomed to it. As a Mangalorean proud of her culinary heritage, Jeanette shares, "Dried fish is unique because except for the dried fish chutney, we don't really make dried fish curry throughout the year except the monsoon months, where we make it often. So, it is like a change in taste from what we eat otherwise, and our family enjoys it."

Even though the season boasts of its specialties like bombil, the Mumbaikar uses the technique for other fish too. "If there is a certain fish which we like, and is difficult to get in the market frequently, I prefer to buy it in bulk whenever it's available and then dry it and preserve it, so we can use it whenever we feel like eating it," she adds.

An Indian sojourn
Elsewhere in the city, Lower Parel-based Soumitra Vijay Kumar, who grew up in Thalassery in Kerala and moved to Mumbai a little over 12 years ago has been using dried fish in her food for as long as she can remember. She shares, "I grew up eating prawn chammanthi (chutney). Now, I also powder the dried fish and add it to my fish curries like Fish Puli Mulagu (Fish with Tamarind and Chilli) as well to enhance the flavour."

Interestingly, the 51-year-old's family didn't always use dried fish in their food. It was a revelation they made while staying in a multicultural neighbourhood. "The house where I grew up was surrounded by Muslims and we were very close to one of the Muslim families. So, one of their sons went to Lakshadweep once and got dried tuna for my mother and told her that people in Lakshadweep grind it and add it to their curries, and he was blown away by their flavours."

It was the start of Soumitra's mother's journey of exploring dried fish as she kept adding it to their meals. "Now, almost everyone in the family loves it," she adds. The Mumbaikar's mother went on to make a curry called Mass Aanam, inspired by Lakshadweep, and now it is made and enjoyed by most family members. "It was shared by the Muslim family's Ummama (grandmother) and we serve and eat it with ari pathiri and fried chicken," she concludes, making our mouths water as the monsoon season gets underway in Mumbai.