Ilisher (Hilsa) Patla Jhol

Ilish or Hilsa is the favorite Bengali fish and makes it into the favorite top 3 food list of a lot of Bongs. My husband keeps telling me the story of his classmate who always ate a whole Ilish on his birthday. Apparently it used to take him 3 hours to battle all the fish bones, but at the end he’d always emerge victorious.

Ilish is the national fish for Bangladesh and provides for the livelihood for thousand in the lower Ganges delta. These fishes are anadromous and lives mostly in sea water but swims up the great rivers in the Bangladesh delta to spawn. Those from the Bangladesh river of Padma are considered to be the tastiest and the hardest to come by in India. In our childhood we’d mostly contend with the “lesser” Rupnarayan river’s Hilsa (also called Kolaghater ilish). The weird part is that being in US we get easier access to Bangaldesher-r ilish at our local desi store (International Food Bazaar in Bellevue, WA). 

Ilish is cooked in many different styles. However, for the best Ilish the simplest cooking method provides the best taste. The trick is ensuring that no strong flavor or masala is put in, so that the natural flavor of Ilish comes out.

Ensure that when you buy Ilish try to hit the sweet spot of around 2lbs (1 kg). Also wash the fish as less as possible.

Please checkout the video of this recipe on my youtube channel either by visiting the link or using the play button below.

Ingredient

1. 5-6 slices of Ilish
2. 1/2 teaspoon Kalonji/Nigella seeds
3. Turmeric
4. Mustard oil
5. 5-6 Hot Indian Green Chilies
6. 1 medium eggplant cut into chunks
7. 1 tsp sugar
8. Salt to taste

Procedure

1. Lightly wash and pat dry the fish slices and smear them with turmeric and salt.
2. Heat mustard oil in Kadai/deep-pan . Once it starts smoking gently slide in the fish pieces. Be careful of the oil splatter!!
3. Fry them till light golden yellow. You need to be very careful not to brown them. Remove the fish slices from the oil and keep them aside.
4. We need to reuse the oil used for frying the fish since it already picked up the precious flavor of hilsa.
5. Dissolve 1/2 tbsp of turmeric in a cup of water and keep it aside.
6. Temper the oil in the pan with Kalonji and green chilies. When the spices starts popping up add chunks of eggplant to it. Sauté on medium high heat till the eggplants take a golden brown hue. Now pour the turmeric water to it. Season with salt and sugar.
7. Once the water starts boiling, gently slide the fish pieces into it.
8. Cook for 2-3 minutes.

This light ,soupy, golden yellow gravy tastes best with hot steaming rice.

Ilish or Hilsa Bhape

Ilish is one of the most loved Bong food. As I mentioned in my previous post (http://www.bongcook.com/2011/11/ilisher-hilsa-patla-jhol.html) there is a lot of stories and nostalgia behind it.

The hardest part of eating ilish is their bones. You have to fight with them to get the delicious flavor of the queen of all fishes. My lil one calls it “english fish” for whatever reason. The bong gene is evident in the way she eats it even though she had no “formal” training in taming the bones.

One of the most famous Ilish cooking style is the bhape. Ilish bhape can only be enjoyed with steaming hot white rice and doesn't really need any other accompaniments.

Today I am sharing with you my mom's recipe of ilish bhape which has been perfected over generations in Kitchens around the Ganges delta region in Bangladesh.

Please also checkout the video recipe on my youtube channel by clicking this link or on the play button below.

Ingredients

1. Ilish Slices -  5/6 pieces
2. Mustard seeds - 3tb spoon
3. Freshly grated coconut - 4 tbsp
4. green chilies - 8/10
5. Mustard oil - 4 tbsp
6. Turmeric powder - 2 tea spoon
7. Salt

Procedure (using pressure cooker)

1. Make a fine paste of mustard seeds, grated coconut 3-4 green chilies and salt. Add very little water.
2. Take a pressure cooker safe bowl (like a steel tiffin box) and smear it’s inside with little mustard oil
3. Arrange the fish pieces in a single layer and pour mustard paste over it so that it covers all the fish pieces
4. Add the rest of the green chilies and mustard oil over it. Close the box.
5. Place the box inside a pressure cooker. Pour water around the box.
6. Close the pressure cooker and then cook it for 2-3 whistles.

Procedure of making in a Microwave Oven Or Traditional Oven

1. Take a microwave/oven safe bowl and arrange the fish pieces in a single layer. Pour the mustard paste over it, so that it covers the fish pieces. Add the green chilies and mustard oil over it.
2. Cover the bowl with a microwave safe cover or cling film and cook it for 6-8 mins.
3. In case you are using a traditional electric oven, cover the bowl with aluminum foil and bake it for 25-30 mins at 375F

Hilsha / Ilish Festival at Home

When we went to the “International Food Bazar” in Bellevue I made a sudden discovery. It was a pack of Kochur-lati just on the shelve beside the Hilsa.

My bong soul didn’t even let me think twice. Before we realized we were back in the car with our bags filled with the goodies. The next day we had a Hilsa festival at home. The spread was breath-taking, at least it took my breath away :)

I have posted the recipes already, here goes the links

1. Hilsha roe fried (come on you don’t need a recipe for that!!)
2. Kochur lati
3. Patla Jhol
4. Bhape

Kochur Loti Ilish maacher Matha Diye

Kochur Loti or Colocasia stems  is a delicacy of Bangladesh. It has gained so much popularity all over that you will even find them in the frozen section of Bangladeshi grocery stores in the US. This dry dish commonly cooked with shrimps or Hilsha head is served with rice.

Sometimes the throat really itches after having Kochu. My grandmom used to say that it only happens to quarrelsome people. However, there is a different science behind the itching. The stem contains crystals of calcium oxalates that cause itching when they stick to the mucous membrane of our throat. That  is why it needs a special technique for cooking. Either cook on high heat or use acidic medium (like tamarind) that dissolves the crystals.

Ingredients

1. 500gms Kochur Loti (Colocasia stem ) cut into 2” pieces
2. 1 Hilsa Head
3. 1tsp. kalojeera or nigella seeds 
4. 2–3 green chilies slit lengthwise
5. 2tsp. turmeric powder
6. 1tsp. chili powder
7. 1tsp. sugar
8. Salt to taste
9. Mustard Oil

Procedure

Take enough water in a pan and add salt to it. Bring it to a boil. Now add kochur loti to it and boil for another 2- 3 minutes. Don’t overcook it. Keep it covered for another 5 minutes and then drain the water and retain the stems.

Smear the head of Hilsa with turmeric powder and salt. Heat mustard oil in a pan and fry the head on medium heat till all sides are done. Now remove the head and temper the same oil with kalonji and green chilies.

Wait for them to sizzle. Now add kochur loti to it followed by turmeric and chili powder. Add sugar and salt to your taste and mix everything well. Lower the heat and keep it covered. Let it cook till the stems turn soft. You should stir frequently. Now add the fried Hilsa head to it and give it a nice mix. Cook it covered for another two to three minutes. Turn off the heat and serve with plain white rice.

Ilish Macher Matha Diye Pui-Saag Charchari (Hilsa Head with Pohi Greens)

The day we get hilsa, we end up making our entire course of lunch out of it. Starting with Hilsa fry with it’s oil, followed by charchari, then jhol, jhal and finally tak.

I have already covered most of the other receipes, today it’s the turn for the charchari.

Ingredients

1. 1 hilsha head washed and cut into halves
2. 1 bunch pohi saag washed thoroughly in running water and cut into 2-3" pieces
3. 1 medium Chinese eggplant (long brinjal) cut into big cubes
4. 200 gm. of pumpkin cut into medium cubes
5. 2 potatoes cut into thick wedges
6. 1 tsp. paanch phoron
7. 3,4 green chilies slit length wise
8. Turmeric powder
9. Chili powder
10. Salt
11. Sugar
12. Mustard oil

Procedure

Smear the hilsha head with turmeric powder and salt and keep aside.

Heat mustard oil in a pan till it smokes and fry the head on medium heat till all sides turn brown. As hilsha's head is bony don't break the head much. Once fried remove from oil and keep aside.

Since we want to retain all the flavors of hilsha we won't discard the oil. Temper the same oil with paanch phoron and chilies. Once you get the pungent smell reduce heat and add eggplants. Fry on medium heat. Remove when it is cooked. We want all our vegetables to be cooked evenly; without making them mushy. That's why I removed the fried eggplants, which will be added later to the rest of the vegetables.

Add potatoes and pumpkins followed by turmeric and chili powder. Sauté on medium heat and cook it covered for 5 mins. Remove the lid and add pohi leaves and stems to it. Season with salt and sugar. Mix them well.

Cover and cook for about 2-3 mins. The greens will start wilting and releasing water by this time. Remove the cover and cook on medium high flame stirring occasionally.

When you see that the vegetables are almost cooked add fried eggplants and hilsha head to it. Mix everything together and wait till all the moisture gets dried.

Charchari is generally eaten with white rice.

Ilish (Hilsa) macher matha diye chalkumro

The folks in East Bengal is noted for creating interesting food out of stuff which others will easily throw away. Fish is no exception and Bongs will eat almost every part of the fish. So once you are done with having Hilsa Bhape and Hilsa Jhol it’s time to put the fish’s head to good use.

Ingredients

1. White gourd (also known as Ash Gourd) finely chopped
2. One head of Hilsa halved and cleaned.
3. One small onion chopped
4. Two fat cloves of garlic finely chopped
5. One teaspoon whole cumin seed
6. 2/3 Dry red chilies
7. 1 teaspoon coriander powder
8. Turmeric powder
9. Mustard oil
10. Salt
11. Sugar

Procedure

When you buy the fish ensure that they cut it in half (symmetrically). Smear the fish head with salt and turmeric and keep aside.

Heat mustard oil in a kadai or wok till it smokes and fry the fish head till golden brown. Remove it from the oil and keep it aside.In the same oil add whole cumin seeds and broken red chilies.Sauté for a while.

Once you start getting the fragrance of the added spices, add chopped onions and garlic. Fry it for about 3-4 minutes. Now add the fried fish head, turmeric powder, coriander powder. Cook it for a while.

Now add chopped white gourd, salt, sugar. Give it a nice mix. You don't have to add any water as it will be released by the gourd itself. Cover and cook till the gourd is soft.  At this point you can remove the lid and cook it uncovered till all the water released from the gourd is dried.

This dish is served with plain white rice.