Malwani Fish Fry by Mamta Desai: Bombil & Pomphret & Rawas...

Mamta Desai

Frying fish is an art. The Bombay Duck or Bombil as it is called, is a peculiar case. Loaded with a lot of water, it splutters and often makes a mess of your stove. Then what kind of pan or tawa should you use? 

The coastal region of Maharashtra has its unique recipes for fried fish, with the use of tamarind for its marinade and rice flour for coating. It has variations like the CKP style which insists on a liberal use of garlic, ginger and chilly paste and the Malwani one which avoids this paste.

Mamta Desai is a master of the art and gives you recipes for the Malwani version, along with some valuable tips. 

Crispy Bombil Fry

Bombay duck or Bombils should be of medium size .
Bombay duck big in size, if fried, don't become as crisp as desired.

Ingredients:1 dozen medium size Bombils

Marinade: Mix 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp Turmaric, 2-3tsp red chilly powder, 1tsp tamarind pulp,1 tsp ginger-garlic paste,1 tsp malvani masala.

Method: Clean and wash the Bombils.
Slit open each Bombil and spread it flat. Wrap all the Bombils in a kitchen paper towel and place them under a
heavy weight for half an hour to remove the water from the Bombils. ( You can use a big dabba filled with grain or flour).

Remove the weight and apply all the ingredients to the Bombil and let them marinate for 1 hour.

Mix together about 6 tbsp rice flour and 4 tbsp thin rawa in a thali or plate.
Coat each Bombils with this mixture one by one and fry in a non-stick pan or tawa on high flame. Fry till crispy on both the sides.

Serve hot with salad as a starter.

Pomphret Fry:

Ingredients:

Any fish of your choice like Pomfret ,Rawas, Surmai,Prawns (big in size).

Marinade: 

For 7-8 pieces of Pomfret make a paste of  1 ½ tsp Turmaric powder, 2-3 tsp red chilly powder, 1tsp salt, 1tsp tamarind pulp, adding little water.

Method: 

Before applying the paste to the washed fish pieces keep them wrapped in a kitchen paper towel to remove the excess water. After 10-15 minutes apply the paste to the pieces and let them marinate at least for half an hour or more.
For frying the fish I prefer a seasoned iron tawa.
In a thali or plate mix together 5 tbsp rawa (thin) and 5 tbsp rice flour. 
Heat 3 tbsp oil in the tawa. 
Coat the fish with this flour mixture one by one and fry them on a moderate flame till crisp.

Enjoy the fried fish with hot rice and daal.

Tips: Do not apply a lot of tamarind and do not overheat the oil.