Some of you will remember the time when British curry houses up and down the land would sell a starter called “Bombay duck.” Then in the late 90s, the

Some of you will remember the time when British curry houses up and down the land would sell a starter called “Bombay duck.” Then in the late 90s, the European Union got jittery about cholera and bacterial contamination and banned the import of dried fish from the sub-continent. The ban was reversed but Bombay Duck never really made it back on to the menu. Indeed some “Indian” grocers (read Bangladeshi) will still tell you that the product is banned when, as far i know, it is not. However Shootki or Shutki or bombay duck or dried fish is creeping back in other ways. And the reincarnation in the form of bottled powders is very exciting if a little uneven as yet.