A Ilish (aka Hilsa) recipe with bursting flavors, a lost & heirloom recipe
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time15 minutesmins
Total Time30 minutesmins
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: bengali
Keyword: hilsa fish curry, Hilsa fish recipe, Lost Bengali Recipe, lost recipes
Servings: 4people
Author: Samrat Roy Chowdhuri
Cost: ₹1000
Equipment
Grinder or Mortar/Pestle
Strainer (Chhakni/Chhanni) or Muslin cloth
Small wok and spatula
Bowl for preparation and serving
Ingredients
4pcilish or hilsamedium or big size
6tspblack mustard seeds
4pcgarlic clovesabout 1 tsp
2pcgreen chilies
5tspvinegar
6tspmustard oil
1/2tspturmeric powder
salt to taste
Instructions
Preparation
Soak the mustard seeds in water along with green chilies and salt for an hour. Then grind this into a fine paste
Marinade the ilish pieces with salt for 10 minutes
Peel the garlic cloves and make into a paste in a mixer grinder or use a mortar pestle
In a bowl, take the mustard paste and garlic paste. Add turmeric, salt to taste and mix in the vinegar
Pour this mixture through a muslin/cotton cloth/strainer and collect the liquid in a bowl. Discard the solids in the muslin cloth, as we need the juice collected in the bowl only
Cooking the Ilisher Ullash
Take a small wok and add the juice extracted above to it
Place the ilish pieces on it
Pour in the mustard oil over the fishes in such a way that the top portion of the fishes are nice coated with the oil
Put on the flame and ensure that it is low. The entire cooking happens on steam on a low flame
Cover the wok with a lid and allow to cook for 7-8 minutes
Uncover, and change the sides of the fish, and cook for another 5-6 minutes
Switch off the flame
Allow this to rest for a couple of minutes
Serve hot with steaming rice. Ullash!
Notes
Ilish or hilsa fish should never be washed once it has been cut. The blood of hilsa is its oil. The right way to handle a ilish fish is to remove the scales from the fish, wash it thoroughly with water and then cut in into pieces. Once cut, it should not be washed
A small wok gives a better result. If you do not have one, you can proceed with a normal wok. Just ensure that you are near by to change the sides of the fish while it is cooking
To extract the juice from the mix, always use a muslin cloth or any cotton cloth for best results. Strainer should only be used if you cannot lay your hands on a muslin or a cotton cloth