Fish loving Bangladeshis love the Hilsa fish (ilish) so much that we have it is their national fish. Bangladeshis the claim that Hilsa can be cooked in a 100 different ways. This recipe is one of my all time favorites. The best Hilsa comes from the Padma river (as the Ganges is called in Bangladesh).
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
I love cooking. Much appreciation for this article.
[...] Polau = Hilsa Pilaf After Shorshe Ilish (Hilsa in a Mustard Sauce), the Ilish Pulau is my favorite Ilish preparation. There are many variants and each person will [...]
A few suggested variations:
a) Fry the fish lightly to get a crispy feel and set aside.
b) Put Kalo Jeere /Kalonji, one green chilly a, one red chilly and a few methis into the oil.
c) Pour the mustard-poppy seeds (posto)-chilly paste and turmeric and a dash of red chilly powder.A little amount of ginger enhances the flavour.
d)Fry the spices for a while.
e)Pour water and fish pieces.
f)Pour a few drops of mustard oil before you take it out of the oven.
This recipe is without onion and garlic and is very popular among the Hindus in West Bengal.
I usually prefer not to use onion on Hilsha which will overpower and destroy the taste of the fish. I might add few cilantro leaves but not necessary. Hilsha has a strong fishy flavor just with mustard paste and little oil steamed can be a great mouth watering dish.
I red your recipes a before and i tried it