History

Hammour is the Gulf's grouper, the fish that fed the coast before the towers, and the way Dubai eats it comes from the fish shacks beside the Jumeirah fishing harbour. The fish is scored, rubbed with a wet paste of chilli, turmeric, ginger and garlic, and dropped into hot oil so the crust seals in minutes. It is sold by weight rather than by portion, eaten with the fingers off a paper plate with rice and a thin sour curry,. Stocks have fallen far enough that the UAE now limits hammour fishing, so many kitchens substitute sherry or pomfret.

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Common allergens: Fish

Make it at home

Yield Serves 2Hands-on 25 minTotal 1 hrDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 1 whole grouper, sea bream or pomfret about 700g, gutted and scaled
  • 2 tablespoons Kashmiri chilli powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon rice flour
  • Juice of half a lime
  • Oil for shallow frying
  • For the sauce: 1 onion sliced, 2 tomatoes chopped, 1 teaspoon tamarind paste, 10 curry leaves, 1 teaspoon mustard seeds, 200ml water

Method

  1. Score the fish three times on each side, right down to the bone.
  2. Mix the chilli, turmeric, ginger garlic paste, pepper, salt, rice flour and lime juice with a splash of water to a thick paste. Rub it into the cuts and over both sides. Rest 30 minutes.
  3. For the sauce, pop the mustard seeds and curry leaves in oil, add the onion and cook 6 minutes, then the tomatoes, tamarind and water. Simmer 10 minutes and season.
  4. Heat 1cm of oil in a wide pan until it shimmers. Fry the fish 6 to 7 minutes on the first side without moving it, then 5 minutes on the second.
  5. Drain on a rack and serve whole with plain rice and the sauce poured around, not over, the fish.

Tip from the editors. Rice flour in the paste is what gives the crust its snap. Without it the masala slides off into the oil.

Where to eat fried hammour

Fried hammour in Dubai

Bu Qtair ★ 4.3

$ SeafoodUmm Suqeim

Bu Qtair sells marinated fish and prawns by weight from a shack by the Umm Suqeim fishing harbour, then fries them to order while diners wait.

OrderFried pomfret or sheri by weight, with rice, parathas and the tomato curry sauce.

TipPick your fish at the counter, give your first name and wait for it to be called; there is no booking.

Directions

Waterfront Market ★ 4.3

$ SeafoodDeira

Waterfront Market replaced the old Deira Fish Market in 2017, putting fish, meat, produce and a dry goods and spice hall under one roof by the sea in Deira.

TipCome early: boats still unload their catch at dawn, and the market's restaurants will cook what you buy.

Directions

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