To make the seasoning, combine bell pepper, onion, garlic, parsley, a pinch of pepper, and a teaspoon of salt and pulse in the food processor until you obtain a coarse paste. Set aside.
2. Make balls
Cut the fish into cubes and pulse in the food processor until it turns into a uniform paste. In a large bowl, combine fish and seasoning paste from step 2. Mix well. Stir in the bread crumbs and combine well.Grease your hands with some oil, scoop 1½ tablespoons of the paste (see notes), and make the fish paste into balls of about 1½" in diameter. Set aside in the fridge.
3. Make sauce
To make the sauce, heat the oil over low heat in a large skillet or pot. Stir in the bija powder. Add the onion and cook and stir until it becomes translucent. Add garlic, tomato, and bell pepper and cook and stir for a minute over medium heat. Cover and simmer for five minutes, until the tomatoes start releasing liquid.
4. Cook balls
Very gently add the fish balls to the tomato sauce, making sure they don't break.Simmer over low heat for five minutes. Gently flip the fish balls and simmer for another five minutes.Sprinkle with black pepper and parsley.
5. Serve
Remove from the heat. Serve with the limes per suggestions above the recipe.
Video
Notes
Fishballs are stickier and mushier than meatballs. If you find it impossible to work with it, add an extra couple of tablespoons of bread crumbs, but don't overdo it because they will have too much of a bouncy texture if you add too much breadcrumb.You can also freeze them (covered) for an hour too to make them easier to work with.