A while ago, I was writing posts about the different “walas” that come past the house. (These included the jhadoo wala, gadda wala, and dhar wala).
However, one of my favourites has to be the machi (fish) wala. Living in Mumbai means that seafood is plentiful, and it can’t get much better than having it delivered to the door fresh. It’s so fresh that the machi wala chops off the fins and tail, and cleans it up ready for cooking, on the spot.
On his last visit to our place, he offered us a great deal. 12 small pomfrets for 200 rupees. Masala fish fry was on the menu that night!
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When i used to go to the beach in the early mornings, i would buy the fish directly from the fishermen as they brought the catch in, (usually at about 30% to 50% cheaper than the market price). As i was a regular they would sometimes give me a bag full of anchovies free.
Also, once when i went really early, I saw a line of people in the distance squatting on the beach. Thinking it was some group meditation session going on i moved in closer; turned out it was the fishermen…uhm…. ‘doing their business’.
I just don’t understand how people can do a “group crap” like that! They’re not even the slightest bit embarrassed. You know the saying, “mor nach raha hai”. Looks like you got to see a lot of dancing peacocks!
http://www.whiteindianhousewife.com/2009/05/the-peacock-is-dancing/
I have seen a ‘group crap’ under the railway tracks on an over bridge in a tiny little area like a ledge. Now thats what you called covert peacocks
OMG, I’m having the most disturbing visuals!!
Ahhhh! Really? I’m not ever walking under a bridge in India. It’s bad enough to have bird poo, but human poo?
Hilarious!
Why have you guys moved from tasty Pomfret fry to dancing Peacock?
The randomness of this blog is that you just never know what will come up in conversation!
You should have shown the picture of the masala fried fish! At least would have compared it to the one that I make!
Ooops, sorry, hubby made it while I was out. I was so ravenous when I came home, I stuffed myself before even thinking of taking a photo! (So, yours might still be better, he’s still learning and experimenting).
sharell,i hav one doubt .how do u eat fish in aus? with fork or hand ?
Well, the only way to eat fish (when informally having fish and chips) is with hand. It’s my favourite food…. miss it so much! http://www.whiteindianhousewife.com/2011/01/my-favourite-food-in-australia/
Otherwise, like most things, fish is eaten with fork as is the custom. Reason being is that it’s not common to get whole fish. It usually comes chopped up with skin and bones removed, so it’s easily eaten with a fork — it will be served grilled, or something like that. (When I first came to India, I had no idea what to do with a whole fish. I just didn’t know how to cut it up and cook it!) Things like whole prawns, which need peeling when served, are eaten with hands.
See, here’s how fish will typically be served in Australia (in a big piece, with skin and all bits removed) — this piece of fish has been baked.
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/8149/parmesan+crumbed+baked+fish
You Mumbai residents are so lucky, “Fresh Machi delivered to door” is unheard of in my part of the world. Then again so is “Group Crap” LOL
Yeah, you know how life is… gotta take the good with the bad.
There is nothing like fresh fish. I have a fresh fish delivery man at the doorstep of my appt building pronto at 5.30 pm everyday. The prawns and fish have no smell AT ALL, and instead smell like fresh air – even after cooking. Now that I have had it, I dunno if I can go back.
Hi Sharell
I was googling vegemite the other day and I found this blog of yours.haha
I have been reading for a few days and I find it really interesting.Keep up the good work.
Btw I am J.I am originally from Bhubaneswar but working in Mumbai.
Yaay, another person from Orissa! 8) Welcome Koolj. I wonder why you were googling vegemite though. That’s funny.
I was googling bread spreads and came across this popular aussie spread vegemite. So I was doing this research on vegemite and I even thought of buying it.But thanks to your hubby’s expressions I am never buying it.haha
I order pomfret fry from the nearby hotels.They take 100 rs for 1 small fish like the ones in the pic above.You got 12 for 200.So not fair!!!!!!
I was going to say, I have some spare vegemite here and I can send it to you…. but maybe not!
Yeah, the hotels can be expensive. Not good, when I’m sure coming from Orissa you love fish. My mother in law makes the best masala.
To be honest I prefer chicken to fish.But you are right.We do eat a lot of fish back home.But it’s mostly freshwater fish like rohi.Not sure what they call it it hindi or english.
Your favorite food fish and chips is typical english food,isnt it??Guess not much difference between the english and the aussies expect for the accent maybe.lol
Yes, you’re right about fish and chips being English. The British left a legacy behind in Australia too.
I miss fried Pomfret! mmmhhhh!! Nothing beats Promfret.
You don’t have to live in India to miss fish and chips. I moved from Brisbane to Tasmania and I still miss crumbed cod and chips. My favourite is from the foreshore fish and chip shop at Sandgate.
Of course you can get fish and chips in Tassie, but it’s not the same. The fish is often battered (yuk) and I just miss cod. Although I will say the crumbed flathead from Pedro’s fish and chips at Ulverstone (NW Tas) is awesome
Sharell is that guy in the photos of your fish and chip feast your husband? He’s a bit of alright
Haha, yes, that’s him!
I really miss grilled whiting like you miss cod! Ah, and flathead tails. My mum cooks some awesome flathead tails, lightly fried, and chips. Sigh.
miss the fresh fish here in delhi to and loved going thru the comments more than the post !!!!!!
your comment about the machi wala prompted nostalgia of when I was small and lived in mumbai. I used to love fish as a lil girl and every day when the machi wali came I would clap my hands and call her up to our home on the second storey even though no one in the house except for me wanted fish. My mum would then feel guilty that the machi wali had to climb up all the way and buy me yummy fish to eat..
Lucky you! I lived in Armenia for 6 years, a landlocked country, but with excellent fresh water trout and prehistoric looking sturgeon. A group of us expats would put in a combined order to a reputable fish farming business that normally only sold whole sale and mostly for export to Russia.
Since I started this deal, the order would be delivered to my house, 50-60 kilos of trout and sturgeon fillets at a time. And then I hoped all my friends would pick up their orders soon because I had no space in my fridge to store it.
Those evenings were always fun, with a bottle of wine open to share for those who had time for a drink and a chat. That mountain of fish on my kitchen table and counters was quite a sight.
Great memories!
That sure is a lot of fish to have sitting around.
Hm, this is where the hygene freak in me starts moving. When I see fish on a dubious cloth or on the ground, I start imagining bacterias everywhere and gastric infections… From everybody’s reactions I see mine is somewhat stupid
The body is actually stronger than you think!
And probably there are more bacteria around everywhere than what we ever know about anyway. I’ve never been sick in India from eating this kind of stuff.
@Helene.. a bit of Red chilli powder, Turmeric, Ginger and 100C heat takes care of all the Bacterias.
I was told to clean fish (I do not eat fish, though I’ve learnt to prepare and make it frequently for my family) with turmeric, salt and juice of a lemon for removing germs and then rinse it off in water. Then marinate it in red chilli powder, salt, turmeric, a tad bit of garam masala and fry. The heat along with the pre-rinse should take care of the bacteria and smell.
In India pretty much any meat, poultry or sea food is pre-rinsed/ cleaned with varying ingredients, but salt and turmeric featuring in all since they inhibit bacterial growth. Also the method in which the meat/ poultry/ fish is cooked (fried, simmered in masala/ curry, pressure cooked, etc) makes sure there is no raw meat at the end of the cooking process.
Unlike many parts of the world, consumption of under-cooked meat (rare, medium-rare) and raw meat (as in sushi, ceviche, tartar, etc) is not employed in regular Indian cooking. This might explain why there is no e.coli outbreaks even though the slaughter houses and the way they handle meat in India simply makes me cringe. That maybe the reason why Sharell never fell ill eating this stuff, but she would if she ate bhel puri or the like that had uncooked ingredients in them.
Seafood is often sold on a piece of cloth or on the ground (have seen it in India and even the Carribean) and from what I see on TV the fisherman of US & Nordic countries too put their catch directly on the boat. I don’t believe they handle it too much in terms of cleaning etc.
Speaking of germs, I once went to a butcher in US to buy a fresh cut of meat. The butcher not only touched the meat with his gloved hands but with the same gloved hands took my credit card, handled the cash registry and handed me back my card……yuck…that was the last time I ever went to that shop. The same happened at the seafood place. Go figure. With so many variables we have to be more educated consumers be it in US or in India.
@Marcy. Thanks for the advice, I’ll keep that in mind. Yesterday I presented undercooked meat to my husband and he was horrified !
@Sharell and Truth. Ok I accept your word on that
Bully you! One of the things I miss most living in Delhi is the lack of fresh fish.
Yeah, I’ve been lucky — 3 out of the 4 places I’ve lived in India have been coastal.
MACHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! MACHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
That’s what the fish walla yells whilst riding his bicycle down the dirt road in front of my house every morning. He usually has 3-4 different kinds if fish from the lake & river- trout, carp, murrel, eel, catfish, and occasionally the most prized of all the ‘golden Himalayan mahseer’. The catfish & the mahseer get HUGE like 20-30 kgs.
Nepali’s & Kashmiris don’t seem to care for catfish very much due to it’s ‘muddy’ taste.
As to Helene’s question about the ‘hygiene’ aspect of fish in India & Nepal, bacteria aren’t so much the problem as parasites. Fish are heavily parasitized everywhere but especially in tropical countries. So……..NO SUSHI IN INDIA OR NEPAL!!!!
Cook that fish WELL!
As to the person formerly known as Abdullah K but now as ‘S Mamu’- I often see ‘fresh fish’ for sale when I’m in Delhi, especially around the Jama Masjid area. Although the fish wouldn’t be considered ‘fresh’ by my standards laying out unrefrigerated, eyes scabbed over & flies crawling all over them.
My husband’s family in Kashmir eat fish out of the lake in Srinagar about once a week. They’ll buy it in the morning fresh from the fisherman’s wife, leave it sitting in a basket all day (guts in) the clean, cook & eat at night. The stench to me is unbearable. I mean we’d consider fish that sat out all day unfit to eat, like ‘rotten’ & only appropriate for burial.
I guess I’m spoiled living in California where seafood is immediately ‘iced’ if not ‘blast frozen’ right on the boat.
@Tamasha. Thanks for the advice. We also eat fish that has been frozen on boat and is presented on ice in shops. I don’t know why I am more suspicious of fish than meat.
I wonder why there’s no Sushi in India…It’s popular all over the world.I would like to try it one day for sure…Anybody knows where I can get sushi in Mumbai??No 5 star hotels pls.Can’t afford it lol…
Hi Koolj, I think you will only get sushi at international type hotels and other expensive places, because the average Indian wouldn’t be interested in eating it.
Shiro in Worli, Mumbai, is known for its sushi. They often have a sushi buffet.
Thanks Sharell.I will surely give it a try.
How lucky you are! They dont sell fish at your doorstep where I live in Chennai. We had those fish wallas in our old city. It made life so much easier. And our cats loved it too!
Malayalee husband grew up with the fish monger coming directly to the store — he is SO picky about the quality of his fish now. And we live in a land-locked state here. Needless to say, he is often disappointed.
The nice thing about marrying him, is that I have learned how to properly select a good fish now. And when I hear folks talk about how they don’t like fish because it stinks? It makes me sad, because a good, fresh fish smells amazing. Stinky fish is BAD fish.
Hello Sharell,
It is always the “best-practice” to buy fish at the source – beach or river bank – in India. You not only buy seafood for much lesser price, you will also get the best quality because the best ones always get exported to other countries. It’s good if you can befriend one of the fishermen and get the good catch.
Interesting reading Sharell and very timely because I just bought some lime and chilli marinated salmon from Coles to cook for dinner tonight
I have been enjoying your blog for quite some time. I’m an Indian who’s lived in NZ, currently living in Brisbane and love reading about your life in Mumbai.
Hi Anu, ah, I miss walking into Coles and choosing from their huge variety of meat ready to cook. I’m grateful for the freshness of fish here though!
Hi! Sharell
That article on Sharad Pawar was really gud one…
Fish is my favourite too…
But the precautions we need to take sometimes make me avoid it
and prefer it at night only….(like don’t drink milk etc.)
Oh, what kind of precautions do you mean? Don’t drink milk sounds interesting…not that I drink it anyway!
I was watching re-runs of House Hunters Int’l on HGTV last nite and to my surprise it was an episode about you finding your new home in Mumbai! I was excited to see u on there…you looked so cute!
Sharell, I openly envy you! Btw I belong to a place which is pretty close to Varkala (where you were with your husband for a while, taking care of a guest house or something like that)
Now days fish has become one of the costliest items for middle class and lower middle class house holds, especially in Kerala, and during my last visit to India, I found my mother totally confused about finding some good fish to feed us (My little daughter is a keen fish “eater”)
Your post reminded me those days when along with cousins we just used to cross the river, go to Anjengo (the place where British built their first fort in India) and my grand father’s “chamchas” offering us fish for free or just for pennies!
Thanks, for bringing back those “golden fish” memories.
Hi Raj, you’re so welcome! Ah, it’s beautiful there. Even that whole stretch up to Kapil beach, and that island nearby as well (Golden Island I think it was?). Now you’re bringing back memories for me.
I’m just curious, and maybe I’m wrong, but isn’t it ‘machLi’ in Hindi? Otherwise, sounds very cool. Sure beats going to the supermarket, that’s for sure.
Oh, just to add to the confusion it’s both (either/or). They mean the same thing!
Oh, I see! Thanks for the info. You learn something new every day.
And there is ALWAYS something new to learn! It never ends.
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