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Can Babies Eat Bombay Duck? Fresh Only

Bombay duck (bombil) is a soft white lizardfish. Fresh and cooked through, it is a gentle first fish, but the dried version is far too salty for babies.

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When to introduce
Around 9 months
Common allergen?
Yes (fish, a top-9 allergen)
Texture
Fresh, cooked through, flaked soft, fully deboned
Key nutrients
Protein, low fat, minerals

Can babies eat Bombay duck? Yes, from around 9 months, as long as you use fresh fish, not the dried kind. Bombay duck, known as bombil in Marathi, is actually a soft, pale lizardfish, not a duck at all. Fresh, it is delicate and almost jelly-soft, which makes it easy to flake and mash for a baby. The catch is that it is very often sold dried and heavily salted, and that salted version is not right for little ones. Choose fresh, cook it right through, and mash it gently, bones removed.

⚠️ Bombay duck is usually sold dried and heavily salted, which is far too much salt for a baby's kidneys, so use only fresh fish, cook it through, and remove every bone.1

Why it matters: Bombay duck is usually preserved by drying and salting, so the real risk it carries is salt rather than the fish, which is why choosing fresh fish, cooking it through, and deboning fully matters more than anything else.

Prep School: how to prepare bombay duck for baby-led weaning (BLW) and purées

🍴 Baby-led weaning

9 monthsBombay duck is very soft, so it does not hold together well as a strip. Offer it flaked onto a loaded spoon or pressed into a soft carrier like mashed potato your baby can scoop. Use only fresh fish, cook it through until it flakes, and pick out every bone first.
12 months+Fold cooked, deboned fish into a soft fish cake or a small rice ball your toddler can hold. Keep salt low by using fresh fish, never the dried salted kind, and keep checking for bones.

🥄 Purées

9 monthsPoach or steam fresh Bombay duck until it flakes, remove all bones, then mash or blend smooth with a little of baby's usual food, such as mashed potato or vegetables, to loosen it. Use fresh fish only, not the salty dried version.
12 months+Mash cooked, deboned fish through a soft veg or rice mash, leaving a little more texture. Cook through fully and keep the salt low by avoiding the dried, salted kind.

Is bombay duck safe? Choking & prep

Fish is one of the top-9 allergens, so offer Bombay duck on its own the first time and watch for a reaction over the next few days before mixing it with other new foods. The single most important thing to manage is salt: Bombay duck is very often sold dried and heavily salted, and the NHS advises keeping salt very low in the first year because babies' developing kidneys cannot process much of it, so use only fresh fish rather than the dried, salted kind.1 Cook fresh fish right through until it flakes easily, never serve it raw or partly cooked. Bombay duck has fine bones, so debone it fully and check again as you mash, because the flesh is soft and it is easy to miss a small bone. Serve it flaked and mashed soft, with no firm pieces.

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Nutrition

Bombay duck is a lean, mild white fish, so it offers protein with very little fat, along with the minerals typically found in fish, such as calcium and iron. Because it is a white fish rather than an oily one, it is lower in omega-3 than oily fish, so it works best as one fish among several in a varied rotation rather than a stand-in for oily fish like salmon or sardines. The most important nutrition point is what you avoid: the dried, salted form carries a heavy salt load, so sticking with fresh fish keeps the good parts without the sodium.

Goes well with

Mashed potato · Rice · Soft vegetables · Lentils · Coconut milk

Storage & freezing

Fresh Bombay duck is delicate, so cook it the day you buy it or the next day and keep it well chilled until then. Once cooked, keep leftovers covered in the fridge and use within a day. It freezes best raw and fresh; thaw in the fridge and cook through the same day. Skip the dried, salted product for baby entirely.

More proteins to explore

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Borlotti beansAround 6 months, cooked very soft
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BranzinoAround 6 months
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Brazil nut (ground)Around 6 months, ground or thinned only
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Breakfast sausageFrom about 12 months, as an occasional food
🫛
Broad beanFrom about 9 months
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Brown crabFrom about 9 months

Introducing this allergen

Related reading

Common questions

Can babies eat Bombay duck?

Yes, from around 9 months, as long as you use fresh fish. Cook it right through, remove every bone, and mash it soft. Avoid the dried, salted version, which is too high in salt for babies, and introduce it as a top-9 fish allergen.

Is Bombay duck actually a duck?

No. Despite the name, Bombay duck is a soft, pale lizardfish, known as bombil in Marathi. It is a fish, so it counts as a fish allergen for allergy introduction.

Why should I avoid dried Bombay duck for my baby?

Bombay duck is very often sold dried and heavily salted to preserve it. That salt is too much for a baby's kidneys in the first year, so use only fresh fish cooked at home instead.

How do I cook Bombay duck for a baby?

Poach or steam a piece of fresh fish until it flakes easily, then remove every bone and mash it soft. Mix it into a familiar food like mashed potato, rice, or soft vegetables to loosen the texture.

Does Bombay duck have bones I need to remove?

Yes. It has fine bones and very soft flesh, so debone it fully and keep checking as you mash, because it is easy to miss a small bone in the soft fish.

Is fish an allergen I should worry about?

Fish is one of the top-9 allergens, so offer Bombay duck on its own the first time and watch for a reaction over a few days before mixing it into other foods.

Is Bombay duck high in mercury?

Bombay duck is a small, lean white fish rather than a large predator, so it is not among the high-mercury fish. As with any fish, offer it as part of a varied rotation rather than the same fish every day.

Is Bombay duck a choking risk for babies?

The flesh itself is very soft and flakes easily, so texture is not the main concern. The real risk is fine bones, so debone fully and mash soft so there are no firm pieces.

Can I use dried Bombay duck if I rinse it first?

It is best to skip the dried, salted version for babies altogether. Fresh fish is far easier to keep low in salt and gives you full control over cooking and deboning.

What can I mix Bombay duck with?

Its mild flavor pairs well with mashed potato, rice, soft vegetables, lentils, or a little coconut milk, which help loosen the soft flakes into an easy spoonful.

Sources

  1. NHS: Foods to avoid giving babies and young children

Further reading

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Last updated July 2026. Next review January 2027. How we write these: grounded in widely published pediatric guidance (the AAP, WHO, the NIAID 2017 allergen guidelines, and the LEAP study), and pending independent review by a pediatric professional. See our editorial and medical policy for how we research, source, and update these.

This is general information, not medical advice, and has not been individually reviewed for your baby. Always talk to your pediatrician about your baby's diet, introducing allergens, and any reaction. In an emergency, contact emergency services.

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