Bombil on our minds: A two-way modern and traditional guide to relish the Bombay duck

Here’s our two-way modern and traditional guide to preparing the delicate eel after Mumbai’s favourite Bombay duck grabs eyeballs on Instagram with a funky new-age twist

The fillip to one’s calling might be cloaked in an everyday phrase like ‘come, let’s eat!’ Thankfully for us, Vasai-based Natasha Almeida didn’t let that commonness pass her by when she was mulling her career choices. Jevayla ye, in East Indian, is a mealtime call. It spurred her to start a social media page — by the same name — where her mother Veera Almeida could further East Indian food beyond fugias. And so they did! The flaunters of the catchphrase, “My recipes trend like hot fugias”, wish to make home cooking accessible.

Not a fan of fresh bombil, Natasha wanted to find a unique recipe for it. “I only like sukha bombil. It was a challenge to think up a recipe that would help me enjoy the fish in its wet form.” Then, bombil bombs happened. The recipe that uses mashed khengat or small Bombay ducks found aplenty in the monsoons were chosen due to the lack of fine hair — a typicality in bigger bombils: “Once de-veined, you are only left with the flesh,” the 24-year-old adds. The Reel that Natasha put out last Friday has garnered some 12,000 shares on social media. The mother-daughter duo are now happily answering queries about their East Indian sukhala mix, a key ingredient in the recipe.

Log on to @jevayla_ye on Instagram 

Bombil bombs

Ingredients
. 25 to 30 bombils (khengat or small Bombay ducks )
. 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
. 1/2 tsp salt
. 1/2 tsp pepper
. 1 tbsp East Indian 
sukhala mix
. 2 cubes cheese
. 1 tbsp maida
. 1 tbsp corn flour
. 2 cups bread crumbs 
. 3 to 4 green chillies
. Oil for frying

Natasha and Veera Almeida

Method
Once you are done washing and cleaning the bombil fish, lay them flat on a kitchen towel and press them downward using some weight. This will help release excess water. Now, take a mixer-grinder and add the fish, ginger-garlic paste, green chillies, sukhala mix, pepper and salt to it. Grind the ingredients to a fine paste. Use a cling wrap to  shape the mixture into balls; each ball should have at least 1 tbsp of the mix. Add a cheese cube in the centre of these balls. Make a tight potli with the cling wrap and refrigerate for an hour. After an hour, dip your frozen bombil bombs in a slurry made up of maida and corn flour and then, coat the balls with bread crumbs. Refrigerate the coated bombil bombs for another 30 minutes before frying them on 
a high flame. Serve hot and enjoy.

Malvani bombil fry

Ingredients
For 4 to 5 medium-sized fish, make a marinade of — 
. 1 tsp red chilli powder
. 1 tsp coriander powder
. A pinch of turmeric
. 1 tsp kokum juice
. 1 tsp salt
. 1 tbsp maida
. 1 tbsp corn flour
. 2 cups bread crumbs 
. 3 to 4 green chillies
. Oil for frying
For the rawa mix:
. 2 tbsp fine rawa
. 2 tbsp rice flour
. 1 tbsp besan
. 1 tbsp Malvani masala
. 1/2 tsp salt

Method
Marinate the bombils using the dry masalas.  Next, generously coat every fish in the rawa mix. Heat oil in a pan and fry the fish until crispy and golden. Home chef Ruchi Soni who runs @baraamaabyruchi on Instagram advises against reddish bombils. She suggests that the pan shouldn’t be covered while frying bombil as it can lead to a soggy texture. 

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