Goa – our experience with fish
While staying at Goa, we have tried many kinds of fishes, and the best of them that has been our favorite is bangra (pangra) – mackerel.
It doesn’t need scraping, only large ones have some scales on the head and tail. It has tolerable bones – it is easy to get rid of them. It does only require cleansing of the viscera and gills, and then you can fry it whole, with a head, where the meat tastes best for fish gourmets.
Mackerel must be well fried over a high heat in a deep well-heated oil, otherwise, it will become like a boiled fish. It’s a good idea to cover it with breadcrumbs because it often falls apart while frying.
On the picture above, you can see the result of our first purchase for 200Rs at the Canacona fish market. 100Rs we gave for 7 small mackerels and 100Rs for 5 pieces of this bigger one. The thick one was good, but it did not much the taste of bangra.
After, it turned out that the standard is 100Rs for 10 middle mackerels. The same amount is paid for 1 piece of a medium shark, about 25-30 cm long.
Here is the video of women separating fish and down, on a photo, there is a fried version of it- called Silverbar. Also very delicious.
Here is how my mom makes fish and dad helps her in a moral way while degustating their favorite alcohol, in Goa.
Here is the making of shark. I did not like the taste. It has a smell of ammonia and the skin of it is unpleasant. But after complaining, the hostess showed us how to cut a shark to avoid unwanted smell and taste.
Another experiment we had on Goa was, with a snake. We found it just dying, not far from our house, so we quickly took it home. However, while thinking of how to make it, we used too many spices and we couldn’t feel the taste. Next, to taste of spices, it was very delicate. Eventually, the ducks of our housekeeper got to eat the delicate. All the happening made a confusion and surprise in our neighbors.
