Nawal Nasrallah

Zbeidi (silver/white pomfret), Simply Fried

Appears in
Delights from the Garden of Eden
Delights from the Garden of Eden

By Nawal Nasrallah

Published 2019

  • About

The Gulf in southern Iraq is the source for this delicious fish, prized for its delicate taste and soft and buttery flesh; and unlike river fish, it has much fewer bones. In standard Arabic, it is pronounced zubeidi, which derives from zubda (butter). Interestingly, the English name of the family to which this fish belongs is butterfish (Stromateidae).

Just sprinkle it with salt and curry powder, and fry it in about a quarter of an inch of oil, until it is nicely browned. Serve it with bread and salad, or a side of rice. Simply delicious!