(A food that does not refer to a duck but a fish)
It’s been about 14 years since I have first met Bombay’s (Mumbai’s) unique fish - the Bombay Duck. My Grandmom had prepared a special dish on my first visit to Bombay, which was ‘Bombay Duck Khadi’, also known as, ‘Bombil ki Kadi’ . My 6-year-old tummy was grumbling for a nice dish that was a preparation related to the species of Donald duck. I absolutely love duck preparations and couldn’t wait to taste one made in Indian Style. I was served a heapful of rice and then came the curry. When I took a bite of the duck it turned out to be a slimy fish with bones so tender you could bite them. It gave me quiet a shock. After a few morsels, I began to like this fish.
| The Bombay Duck abounds in the rivers and estuaries around the Bombay docks. This fish is gray-white and could easily pass as one of nature's wonders - its flesh is unique in texture, soft and translucent, and looks almost devoid of any muscles. After cooking it turns superb white and flaky. The fish has a central bone that is very soft and most of its bones are wiry and gelatinous. It has very sharp teeth and may look as dangerous as a shark but its size makes it less fearsome. As for freshness, the Bombay Duck tends to be very smelly if stale; the limpness goes down and the skin texture changes to a pallid buff colour. Another test of freshness would be to lift the gill flap and find see if the gills have their pink-red colour intact. |
This narrow, usually 6 to 8 inches long, fish is caught in November and December; the processing goes on from December until March. Under normal cooking conditions the fresh bombil fish is almost rendered to a pulp (bones and all). It can also be dipped in batter and deep-fried. Fisherfolk follow a principle of preparing for the monsoon. Since there is going to be no fishing during the months of rain, they dry, salt and store seafood to consume and sell to people who cannot do without it when there is no fresh catch of the day. Bombay Duck is prepared in two ways. The whole fish is washed clean, split, boned, and dried in the sun. The drying is done on scaffolds made from bamboo poles fixed in the sand. These poles bear bars tied with thick ropes horizontally in lines one above the other. This is the method adopted for the local market. For exports, the fish is filleted and packed in polythene.
One of the greatest mysteries behind the Bombay Duck is how it got its name. This fish, which is native to the Bombay area, is known locally as ‘Bommaloe Macchi’ or ‘Bombil’. Other variations of its name include bombila, bummelo, bombelli and shutki. It is said that this was too hard for the British, who once ruled India, to pronounce. Thus, it became Bombay Duck. Farrukh Dhondy, in his book titled ‘Bombay Duck’ writes,
“Bombay Duck is not a duck at all. In fact, it should be spelt ‘Bombay Dak’. What it is, is dried fish (known in Bombay as Bombil) and when the British introduced the railway system to western India under their Raj, it started going in wagon loads to the interior from Bombay. The crates stank of dried fish. They were marked `Bombay Dak' literally `Bombay Mail'. At the time the railway was run by Whiteys. The English may call a spade a spade, but they don't call `stinking fish' by its name. They referred to it euphemistically as ‘Bombay Dak', the Bombay Mail.”
How is the Bombay Duck related with the city of Mumbai? As we know Bombay was renamed Mumbai in 1995 officially. So the fish has a lot to do with the name of the city. The Portuguese name ‘Bombaim’ meaning good bay, was said to be from where the name ‘Bombay’ was derived. However, some say that back in 1662, John Vian named it Bombay, after the slimy, little fish, bombelli. This name appeared upon the rupee introduced by the English in 1667. There are others that say it was the fish that took its name from the city and not vice-a-versa. At first, the British exported this fish from the Bombay port. Its existence was made known to the world through these exports. Now, the Bombay Duck is available almost in all countries of the world.
Currently it was found out that many rich vegetarians in Bombay are turning sections of their city into meat-free zones - to the indignation of meat eaters barred from living there. Housing complexes and whole neighborhoods in India's most cosmopolitan city are going vegetarian. They even made many new flat owners, to sign an agreement that they would not eat or cook meat in the vicinity. Failing to do this, the other residents would be able to get them thrown out. The regional Hindu nationalist party, the Shiv Sena who stepped in to fight the cause of meat eaters used The Bombay Duck, known for its pungent odour as a weapon to fight this discrimination against non-vegetarians. Pramod Navalkar a leader of the Shiv Sena said, 'This nonsense will not do! If I come to know of new vegetarian buildings, I'll send the occupants Bombay Duck'
The Bombay Duck came under scrutiny in August 2003, after a study conducted by the Marine Science Department of Calcutta University and the Metallurgical Engineering Department of Jadavpur University. This study showed that, the mercury content in the kidney and liver of the fish ranged between 1.18 to 1.20 mg/kg. This was way above the safe limit of 1 mg/kg set by the WHO. However, if one removes the intestines and liver of the fish then one can eat it with no burden of worry. The nutritional benefits of the Bombay Duck outweigh this avoidable risk as 100gms of the edible portion of dried Bombay duck provides 61.7gms of protein, 4gms of fat, 15.1gms of minerals, 2.5gms of carbohydrates, 293kcal, 1389mgs of calcium, 240mgs of phosphorous, 19.1mgs of iron.
The Bombay Duck has come through the years with a long history connected with Mumbai and it looks like it has a long way to go with its large number of its fans in Mumbai and around the world.
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