Machh bhaja Machh bhaja In West Bengal, Tripura, Orissa, Assam and Bangladesh, fried fish or Māchh bhājā is a common delicacy eaten as a snack or fritter to go with a meal. Riverine fish like "bhetki", "topshey", "aarh" and "pābdā" (Ompok pābdā), and anadromous fish such as hilsa are commonly fried in Bengali cuisine, Oriya cuisine and Assamese cuisine. The oil used to fry the fish may often be used as a dip. Fried fish roe (e.g. of hilsa) are also often eaten this way. The fish is often deep fried such that fish bones become crispy and edible, as is the
Forage fish Forage fish Forage fish, also called prey fish or bait fish, are small pelagic fish which are preyed on by larger predators for food. Predators include other larger fish, seabirds and marine mammals. Typical ocean forage fish feed near the base of the food chain on plankton, often by filter feeding. They include particularly fishes of the family Clupeidae (herrings, sardines, shad, hilsa, menhaden, anchovies and sprats), but also other small fish, including halfbeaks, silversides, smelt such as capelin, and the goldband fusiliers pictured on the right. Forage fish compensate for their small size by forming schools. Some swim in