Why do all we Bengalis go crazy over Hilsha? It is considered the most delicious fish on earth. We call it ilish in our language.
There are lot things we Bengalis do with Hilsha. But West Bengalis forever do it with a paste of mustard, mustard oil and green peppers. It takes very little oil to cook Hilsha — because it has its own that is rich in Omega 3 faty acids. My mom continues to cook Hilsha this way following the legacy of granny. Granny and mom always get fresh Hilsha from The Ganges. I get frozen ones from The Padma in our local Bangladeshi store. There is a subtle difference in taste between Ganges’ and Padma’s Hilsha. I prefer the latter for its denser taste.
My mom never baked in an oven. She always did the steaming in a pressure cooker. I used to wait eagerly to smell the first whiff when mom opened her container. Having that with hot Basmati rice is pure bliss (not to mention the joy of licking the plate clean). Hilsha generally contains lots of bones. We would carefully separate the bones and keep it to the side of the plate. The storeowner had a serious concern about my husband eating this fish because of his lack of experience with it. After I separated the bones his reaction was: “This fish requires a lot of work to eat, but it is so good.”
Sometimes mom used to cook the fish with vegetables as do many of my friends. Nonetheless, I never liked that way of cooking. So she did it only when I was sick or she got a bad piece of Hilsha. Often, she just fried some pieces and we all devoured them with khichdi. This fish can be crowned as king of all fishes, and it’s very hard for non-Bengalis to understand our feelings for it.
Sadly, we do not get it entire year (well I am not talking about the frozen kind). We only get it for 2-3 months during the rainy season. Dad used to get fresh fish at least 10-12 times in 3 months. Unlike me, mom is excellent at cutting and cleaning fish. When she visited me in Buffalo she also got the entire fish and cut it herself. But I told the Bangladeshi storeowner to cut the fish in steak pieces for me.
Recipe for Spicy hilsha in mustard gravy
I use my oven to cook. You can cook in steel tiffin box steamed in pressure cooker(Check mom’s note about it). I got some fish eggs with my hilsha, which I fried with oil. For better taste use fresh coconut. If you are using frozen ones, do not forget to thaw.
- 7 pieces of hilsha steaks
- black mustard – 2 tsp
- yellow mustard – 2 tsp
- green chillies(adjust according to your heat) – 3-4
- Frozen shredded coconut – 2 tbsp
- yoghurt – 1 tbsp
- mustard oil – 2 tbsp
- turmeric powder – 1 tsp
- salt – as you need(and be careful about that)
- Rub fish pieces with salt and turmeric very well.
- Shallow fry with 1 tbsp mustard oil. You won’t require more than that because the fish will release oil.
- Do not deep fry.
- Make a dry grind of mustard paste.
- Thaw if you are using frozen coconut.
- Mix with yoghurt, green chillies, salt, shredded coconut, 1 tbsp oil and turmeric.
- Pour the paste over fish.
- Now transfer this to oven-safe container. Bake at 375F for 15 minutes.
Enjoy with hot steamed rice.
With pressure cooker ~
- Transfer fish and mustard mixture to a still tiffin box.
- Put the tiffin box in a pressure cooker with a half cup of water.
- When first whistle comes, turn flame to low.
- Continue cooking for an additional five minutes.
What if yellow mustard seeds are not available ? Thank you in advance
No worries Mahesh.You can use black mustard in that place.