Bombay duck fish fingers: Crispy, spiced, and totally addictive fish fingers made with Bombay duck fish and a melange of spices and herbs.
Yes, you heard it right. These fish fingers are made with the soft, delicate Bombay duck fish and are truly delicious Before I am going to start the recipe here is a little about Bombay duck fish.
Bombay duck is one of the iconic fish of Mumbai often misleads too many as a duck. The fish gets its curious name during the British rule in India. It happened to be a train, the Bombay Dak that often transported the fish from Mumbai to other areas. The name twisted from Bombay dak to Bombay duck. Whereas ‘dak’ literally means mail in Hindi.
Lizardfish, bumalo, loytta, bombil are some other names of the fish. The fish is extremely delicate that falls apart easily and is very nutritious. It has an exceptionally high content of protein.
How to make Bombay Duck Fish Fingers
The method of this recipe is slightly different than other fish fingers. The fish has to debone first followed by sauteing with some spices until the moisture evaporates. Then shape them up and give them an egg wash and breadcrumbs coating and dip fry until brown. If your vendor debones the fish for you it’s well and good. If not no worry… It is easy. However, sauteing it with spices takes a little time or else you have to end up adding a lot of breadcrumbs to the mixture. Which won’t give you the best taste.
If Bombay duck is not available to you, you can make this recipe with any fish of your choice. In that case, you don’t need to saute for long.
You can even save time by making these ahead of time and fry just before serving. They store well.
These can be your perfect weekend snacks or appetizer for parties. Serve these accompanying with sliced onion rings, red chili sauce, ketchup, mustard sauce or green chutney and relish with your loved ones.
Few more fish recipes you may like
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Bombay Duck Fish Fingers
INGREDIENTS ( 1 CUP = 250 ML )
- 750 grams Bombay duck fish approx. 500 grams after cleaning and deboning
- 2-3 tbsp oil for cooking
- 1 large onion grated
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 1-2 green chili finely chopped
- ½ tsp turmeric powder Haldi
- 1 tsp red chili powder
- 1 tsp roasted cumin powder Jeera
- 1 tsp garam masala powder
- 4 tbsp coriander Dhania leaves, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp mint leaves finely chopped
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- Salt to taste
- 1 tbsp breadcrumbs for binding or little more
- Oil for frying
For coating
- 2 eggs
- Salt to taste
- 200 grams Bread crumbs
INSTRUCTIONS
Deboning the Bombay duck fish
- Clean the fish. Take them in a wide pan. Cover and cook for 3 minutes over medium flame or microwave them. The fish cooks very fast. So keep an eye on them. Do not overcook. The fish will release water once heat up. As the water content of Bombay duck is very high. So don’t use water to cook them.
- Once done transfer them to a colander to strain the water and let them sit there until cools down.
- Discard the bone and separate the flesh part aside.
Preparing the fish mixture
- In a pan heat oil. Add grated onion and cook till the onions become translucent.
- Add ginger-garlic paste. Stir for 3-4 minutes or until oil separates. Sprinkle some water if needed.
- Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder and stir for a few seconds.
- Add fish followed by salt. Stir and cook until all moisture evaporates or everything comes up together.
- Now add the finely chopped coriander leaves, mint leaves, and green chilies. Stir for a minute more. Then remove from flame and let it completely cools down.
- Once done add 1 tbsp breadcrumbs to the mixture and mash them well.
Making the fish fingers
- Shape up the mixture. Make them finger shapes or any shape of your choice.
- In a shallow bowl beat the eggs lightly by adding salt. Place the breadcrumbs on a separate plate.
- Then dip one at a time into the beaten egg and roll in breadcrumbs to coat well. Once again dip the same one into the beaten egg, roll in breadcrumbs and keep aside.
- Repeat the same process for all others. Keep them in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
- Heat sufficient oil in a deep pan or kadai. Once hot, slowly slide the fish one by one. Fry in batches 3-4 at a time over medium flame until brown from all sides.
- Then transfer them to paper towels to drain excess oil and serve hot with sliced onion rings and any sauce or chutney of choice.
Let me know your thoughts about this recipe in the comment section. Tried this? Tag me on Instagram or Facebook, I would love to see your creation.
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