Shorshe Ilish

Shorshe Ilish Recipe | Hilsa Mustard Gravy

The recipe I am sharing today is known as the gem of Bengali cuisine and it is very popular all over the country. The name of the dish itself gives an essence of mouthwatering feels to the taste-buds. Yes, it has the power to pull the fish lovers from a very long distance and create a magical moment in every meal we have it. This recipe is pride of Bengal, our very own traditional recipe with a royal name ‘Shorshe Ilish’. Hilsa fish is considered as one of the tastiest fish due to its distinctly soft oily texture, mouthwatering flavor and superb mouthfeel taste. It is popularly known as ‘Maacher Raja’ in Bengal which means ‘King of Fish’.

Shorshe Ilish or maybe better also called as Hilsa Mustard Gravy is a traditional Bengali dish, is absolutely a worth try recipe for every chef or home cook who loves fish. Or even if they don’t love fish, they will probably fall in love with ilish maach (=Hilsa Fish) once they have it. Nothing is more blissful than a plate of hot steamed rice with pieces of Hilsa with mustard gravy to accompany with the scrumptious meal. The flavor of mustard and the taste of Hilsa is just made for each other. What else have you done in your life being a Bengali, if you hadn’t savoured Ilish Maach in the rainy season. If you ever ask a Bengali what holds their heart over sweets, they would unanimously choose Ilish without missing a bit. Whether you’re the spicy loving bangal or sweet loving ghoti, a Bengali will always celebrate the idea of having hilsa.

Fish is considered to be very auspicious in Bengali occasions as they bring positivity, good luck and charm into the house, every ceremonies and festivals held- fish is compulsorily prepared for the main course. Ilish Maach is absolutely a quintessential food for a Bengali, it is often bought on an auspicious occasion in my family to celebrate the meal very grandly because the addition of Ilish Maach in the menu itself makes it purely inevitable and romanticizing. Shorshe Ilish has the melting texture of Hilsa and the delicious aroma of mustard paste in the gravy gives the recipe absolutely a royal touch. Every Bengali’s love is Ilish Maach and no family in Bengal ever misses out to prepare Hilsa atleast once in a year, especially in the rainy season because Hilsa Fish are widely available in the markets during monsoon. The price are a bit higher as compared to other fishes throught out the year, however there’s a dip in the price by the end of monsoon, i.e, towards August-September end.

Hilsa Fish is rich with many health benefits, like every other fish, it has omega 3 fatty acids and other essential fatty acids which are good for health. It also helps lower the cholesterol level and develops immunity. It is also believed since the good old times from our ancestors that feeding steamed hilsa fish to a person who is suffering from fever, cold and cough or other normal sickness could help regain a good health. This has happened to me once when I were a nine year old kid, I had a severe asthma attack, I was recommended to avoid oily and spicy food, I would survive on medicine and injections four times a day for a week. Every food that I had felt tasteless and plain food wasn’t helping my sick taste-bud. Hence, Bhapa Ilish Maach ie, Steamed Hilsa Fish with mustard paste came to my rescue, prepared without spices and oil. The strong pungent smell of mustard seeds with the tasty hilsa fish and piping hot steamed rice was pleasantly blissful.

Shorshe Ilish starts off with tempering of some mustard oil with fiery green or red chillies, fenugreek seeds and then goes in the paste of black and golden mustard and then the star lightly fried Hilsa. In this recipe, I haven't fried the fish, instead I've made it a one-pot recipe to retain the delicious flavor of the dish. Head on to the full recipe with step-wise pictures and instructions given below:

Shorshe Ilish Recipe | Hilsa Mustard Gravy Recipe

[Non-Veg]         

Author: Paromita.P

Prep Time: 5-10 minutes                                                           

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes (approx)

Course: Main

Cuisine: Bengali/Indian

Ingredients:

1. Hilsa Fish- 500 grams
2. Turmeric powder- 2 tsp
3. Red Mirchi powder- 2 tsp
4. Salt to taste
5. Tomato- 4
6. Green chili- 6
7. Onion- 2 large sized
8. Mustard seeds (both black and white)- 1 cup (approx. 100 gm)
9. Cumin powder- 1 tsp
10. Mustard oil- 1 cup

Tips: I’ve used a pressure cooker for this recipe, because cooking Hilsa fish in a pressure cooker restores the flavor of fish and binds together with the strong aroma of mustard paste. However it can also be prepared in a coking wok or non-stick kadhai, cooking time may accordingly vary.

 

Method:

How to prepare ‘Shorshe Ilish’ with step by step pictures and instructions-

1. Wash the fish pieces thoroughly with normal water.
2. Marinade with turmeric powder and salt for 15-30 minutes.
3. Heat a pressure cooker, add mustard oil, sliced onion, slit green chili and chopped tomatoes.
4. Add salt and saute for 5 minutes until onion turn golden brown.
5. Meanwhile, blend pre-soaked mustard seeds to a fine paste. (mustard seeds soaked in room temperature water for at least 30 minutes)
6. Once oil start leaving, add turmeric and mirchi powder. Saute two minutes.
7. Now add cumin powder just before adding mustard paste.
8. Add on the fine mustard paste and stir for two minutes.
9. Now add the marinated fish pieces and stir very gently. Coat the masalas and mustard paste properly.
10. Now pour in a cup of water (water level just about covering above the fish and masalas)
11. Pressure cook with 3-4 whistles and its done as shown in the picture.

Shorshe Ilish is one such quintessential humble dish which is very close to every Bengali’s heart and soul, it is perhaps the ultimate goal of a Bong’s life in the monsoon. Ilish Maach is the love of my life and I can’t wait to have the next batch of Hilsa before this monsoon is over, the only thing that distracts me is ‘Ilish Maacher Kaanta’ (fish bone or fish thorn) there are too many thin bone in Hilsa, but overall I simply love the dish. The variations of having fish are many, you can simply fry it in mustard oil and have it with plain rice ladened with a large spoonful of oil in which the fish was fried. That’s all I needed for a thoroughly enjoyable weekend meal. Like it’s always said, “Ilish is not just a fish to a Bong, it’s an emotion to us” Prepare this authentic dish in a most simple method and tell me how you liked it. Till then enjoy cooking, serving and eating!!

Paromita Pramanick ©2020. All Rights Reserved.