Bombil (lizardfish), semolina-coated and pan-fried. The Koli signature dish; the fish is named for the colonial-era post (Bombay Dak) that shipped it salted.
Where to eat it: 3 restaurants across 1 city.
Bombay duck is not a duck but bombil, a lizardfish found off the Mumbai coast. The Koli community has salted and sun-scorched bombil on bamboo racks for centuries. The fresh fish is rava-coated and pan-fried in Koli kitchens and at Mahesh, Trishna and Gajalee. The colonial-era nickname came from salted bombil shipped as cargo (dak = mail).
Common allergens: Fish, Gluten
Tip from the editors. Bombil is delicate; handle with a slotted spoon and turn only once. The fish flakes apart if over-handled.
S C Karkera opened Mumbai's first dedicated Mangalorean room in Fort in 1977. The pomfret hits the tandoor whole; the fish gassi runs with thick coconut.
Signature: Tandoori pomfret, Crab butter pepper garlic, Neer dosa
Order: Tandoori pomfret and neer dosa.
Tip: Order sol kadhi to follow the meal; the kokum drink settles the spice.
Trishna runs the koliwada coastal fish program out of a small Kala Ghoda dining room since 1965. Butter pepper garlic crab, Hyderabadi fish tikka.
Gajalee in Vile Parle East serves Malvani coastal cooking with the koli catch that morning. The thali runs prawns, surmai and crab with sol kadhi.
Signature: Malvani prawn curry, Bombil fry, Surmai tikka
Order: Bombil rava fry and Malvani prawn curry with rice.
Tip: Sol kadhi after the meal cuts the coconut gravies. Cash and card both accepted.
More cities are in research. Want bombay duck (bombil rava fry) covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.