Ilish Polau

Ingredients

• 6-8 ilish (hilsa) pieces
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp ginger paste
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 tsp sea salt
• 2 cups Basmati rice
• 1 large bay leaf
• 4 cloves
• 4 cardamoms
• 1 tsp kalojieera (nigella)
• 3 tbsp ghee
• ¼ cup cooking oil
• 3 dried red chillies
• 3 green chillies

Steps

1. Marinade the fish with 1 tsp ginger, 1 tsp salt, and all the turmeric and lemon juice for 30 minutes
2. Meanwhile cook the rice and let cool for 30 minutes
3. In a large pan, heat the cooking oil and lightly sauté the fish steaks and set aside
4. In the same oil add the chillies, cardamom, clove, bay leaf and stir fry over medium heat for 5 minutes
5. Add the previously cooked rice to the pan and stir fry until the rice coated with the spices.
6. Turn off the heat and remove the rice from the pan.
7. Coat the bottom of the pan with 1/3 of the remaining ghee and add ½ the fish in a flat layer.
8. Layer ½ the cooked rice over the fish, and drizzle ½ of the remaining ghee and ½ of the remaining salt on top of the rice.
9. Repeat with the process with the remaining fish, rice and spices.
10. Pour ½ cup of water over the rice.
11. Cover tightly and simmer over low heat for 15 – 20 minutes.

Ingredients

• 1 lb medium/large shrimp, cleaned and deveined
• 2 tsp brown mustard seeds
• 1 tbsp Water
• 1/4 cup tbsp finely chopped onion
• 2 green chili (thai), finely chopped (do not discard seeds)
• 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• 3 tbsp mustard coil (can substitute Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
• 1/2 cup and an additional 1/4 tsp salt

Steps

1. Rub the shrimp with the 1/4 cup of salt and set aside for 5-10 minutes.
2. Gently wash away the salt over cold water and pat dry
3. Coarsely ground the mustard seeds and transfer to a stainless steel bowl
4. Add a tablespoon of water and mix thoroughly with the onion, green chili, turmeric, salt, chili powder and oil.
5. Cover the bowl and set the seasoned shrimp aside for 10 minutes.
6. In a large pan (which can hold the stainless bowl) put enough water so that it will come 1/3 up the way of the bowl and bring to boil
7. Put the bowl in the pan and steam covered for about 10 minutes or until the shrimp is translucent.
8. Stir the shrimp once half way through

Rui Maccher Jhaal Kalia - Spicy Fish Kalia

Ingredients

• 2 lb fish, cut into 3/4 inch steaks
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 large bay leaf
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1/2 inch ginger, finely chopped
• 4 green chili, slit down the middle
• 3 tbsp red chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup cooking oil, preferable mustard oil
• 1/4 cup yogurt
• 1 tsp sugar (optional)

Steps

1. Marinate the fish with 1 tsp turmeric and 1 tsp of salt and set aside
2. Heat the oil in a heavy pan over high heat
3. Fry the fish until golden brown (do note that the oil must be very hot or else the fish will stick to the pan). Set aside the fish
4. Trun down the heat to medium, and in the same pan, add the cumin seeds and bay leaf until it seeds start to splutter
5. Add the onion, garlic, and green chili and stir fry until the onions start to caramelize
6. Add the remainder of the spices along with 1/4 cup of water and fry the spices until most of the water evaporates
7. Add in the yogurt and stir fry until it starts to stick to the pan
8. Add the fish steaks turning them over so that both sides have a liberal coating of the spices
9. Add 2 cups of water and bring to boil
10. Sprinkle in the rest of the salt and the optional sugar (check for seasoning and add additional salt if ncessary)
11. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes until the gravy thickens

You can substitute any large fish for rui and add vegetables like eggplant, cauliflower and peas instead of the potato wedges I used in this recipe.

Rui Maccher Jhol

Ingredients

• 2 lbs of Rui steaks
• 4-5 medium potatoes
• 2 tsp turmeric
• 4-6 cloves
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp ginger paste
• 2 tsp garlic paste (or 2 cloves, finely chopped garlic)
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 2-3 green chillies
• 3 tbsp oil for the fish
• 1 tsp garam masalla
• Enough oil to deep fry the potatoes

Steps

1. Marinate the fish steaks with 1 tsp each of turmeric and salt and set aside
2. Cut the potatoes into thin, about 1/2 to 1 inch, wedges
3. Deep fry the potatoes until golden brown and set aside
4. In a frying pan, heat the the 3 tbsp of oil over medium to medium high heat
5. Fry the fish steaks until golden and then set aside
6. In the same pan, add the onion, garlic, ginger and cloves
7. Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring often making sure you scrape off any bits of fish stuck to the bottom of the pan
8. Add in 1-2 cups of water and bring to  boil covered (the amount of water will depend on how much jhol you want)
9. Carefully add the fried fish steaks, potato wedges and rest of the salt and cook covered until the gravy has thickened
10. Sprinkle the garam masalla and turn off the heat

Shorshe Ilish - Hilsa in mustard sauce

Ingredients

• 1 Ilish (Hilsha) fish, cut into steaks
• 1 tablespoon mustard (or ground mustard paste)
• 6 green chilis
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons oil, mustard oil preferred
• Salt to taste

Steps

• Rub some salt and turmeric on the fish steaks and set aside
• If you use whole mustard seeds, ground them into a paste along with the green chili and a tablespoon of water
• Heat the oil in a flat bottomed pan
• Saute the onions until light brown
• Add the mustard/chili paste and rest of the spices and striy fry 2-3 minutes
• Add 1/2 cup of water, making sure you scrape any spices that are stuck to the bottom of the pan
• Add the fish steak and cook covered over medium heat for about 10-minutes
• Flip over the fish and cook covered another 5 minutes until excess water has evaporated
• Check for salt and sprinkle additional salt if necessary

Rui fish in a spicy tomato and onion sauce

Ingredients

• 2 lbs of rui steaks
• 2 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• 1 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp paanch phoron
• One large onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 2-3 green chilis, slit lengthwise
• 3 tablespoons of cooking oil
• One 8 oz can of chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 cup water

Steps

1. Pat the steaks dry and rub them down with the 1/2 tsp of turmeric, red chilli powder and salt.
2. In a cooking pot, heat the oil over medium high heat
3. When hot, fry the fish steaks until lightly brown
4. Remove the fish from the pot and set aside
5. Add the paanch phoron to the oil and stir
6. As soonn as the paanch phoron starts to splutter, add in the onions, garlic and green chilis
7. Stir and fry until the onions turn slightly brown
8. Add in the remaining turmeric and red chili powder and fry for an additional 3-4 minutes
9. Add the tomatoes and fry for 5-7 minutes until soft
10. Add the cumin powder and fry for another 2-3 minutes
11. Turn heat down to medium
12. Using a spoon make room in the middle of the dish for the fish steaks by moving the tomato and onion mixture to the edge of the pot
13. Gently put the fried fish steaks back into the pot
14. Spoon over the fish some of the tomato and onion mixture from the side
15. Add in the water and cook covered for an additional 20 minutes
16. Serve over white rice

Ingredients

• 1 lb shrimp, deveined
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
• 2 green chilis, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 1/2 cup water

Steps

• In a sautee pan, heat oil over medium-high heat
• Once hot, add the onions and fry until they turn light golden brown
• Add the garlic and fry an additional 2-3 minutes
• Add the tomato, cilantro and green chilis and fry for 4-5 minutes until soft
• Add the turmeric and red chili powder and fry for 2-3 minutes, stirring continuously
• Add the pepper, cumin and salt and fry an additional 2 minutes
• Add in the water and stir until it starts to boil
• Turn the heat down to medium and stir in the shrimp
• Cook an additional 3 minutes until done

Korma has its roots in the Mughal cuisine of the Indian subcontinent. It is a characteristic Persian-Indian dish which can be traced back to the 16th century

Classically, a korma is defined as a dish where meat or vegetables are braised with water, stock, yogurt or cream.

Korma

Ingredients

• Fish 1 kg
• Yogurt 1/2 cup
• Onion paste 1/2 cup
• Ginger paste 2 tsp
• Garlic paste 1 tsp
• Coriander paste 1 tbsp
• Cardamom 6
• Cinnamon, 1″    2 pieces
• Salt 2 tsp
• Ghee (oil) 3/4 cup
• Green chill 6
• Kewra  2 tbsp
• Sugar 1 tbsp
• Lemon juice 1 tbsp

Steps

1. Use large fish for korma. Do not cut the fish into too small pieces.
2. Except for the green chillis and kewra, add all the rest of stuff into the cooking dish. Mix well. Heat covered in low heat. Turn over the fish once (be careful). When the water has almost dried up, add the green chilli and the kewra heat for another half hour in very low heat.
3. When the oil begins to float on top, you are done.

Comments

Carp is great for Korma. For health reasons (carp being a scavenger fish), most chain grocery stores do not sell carps. But it is quite available in most oriental grocery stores. The carp is the US counterpart of Bangladesh’s Ruhi/Rui. You can also try buffalo which resembles Katla.

This is a very traditional Bangladeshi fish recipe.

Ingredients

• Fish (preferably small, cut into small pieces) 1 cup
• Sliced onions: 1/2 cups
• Red chili powder/paste (red) 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder/paste 1 tsp
• Onion paste 2 tbsp
• Ginger paste 1/8 tsp
• Black Pepper paste 1/4 tsp
• Shredded dhania leaves (cilantro) personal taste
• Scallions/Onion leaves 2 tbsp
• Oil 1/3 cup
• Salt 1 tsp
• Tomato 2 medium

Procedure

1. Works best with small fish. Out here in the land of non- Bangladeshi fish, try shrimp or any fresh-water fish cut into very small pieces.
2. After heating the oil add all the powder/paste spices and fry for a couple of minutes. You might add a little bit of water if you are using powders only. Make sure you don’t burn the spices. (Include the onion pastes)
3. Add the shredded onions and the fish. Add 1/2 cup of water and the salt. Cover the dish and medium-hi heat.
4. When the water has almost evaporated, add tomatoes, cilantero, and the onion leaves. Heat under low-medium heat till the oil starts to float.
5. You are done, now eat.

Comments

Among the fishes available in a typical grocery store, catfish is best suited for Do-peAjA. Shrimp is great too.