Doi Shorshe Ilish

(Hilsa Fish in mustard and yogurt gravy)

Hola!

Ilish (Hilsa fish) is an absolute favourite of Bengalis. Being a bengali, it is quite impossible to resist the temptation of the hilsa. Although this year the prices of Hilsa are at an all time high in Kolkata but my family and I are ardent Ilish fans and this was our first Ilish this year. Doi shorshe Ilish is a very traditional recipe which my mother and I learnt from my grandma. It is a very simple one too, just takes around 20-25 mins but delicious one. 

Ingredients

• 6 pieces of hilsa fish
• 1 1/2 Tsp yellow mustard seeds
• 1 1/2 Tsp poppy seeds
• 4-5 green chillis
• 1 heaped Tsp red chilli powder (I used Kasmiri Mirch)
• 1/2 Tsp tumeric powder
• 2 heaped Tsp Curd
• 4 Tsp + 2 Tsp mustard oil
• Salt to taste

Procedure 

• Grind and make a paste out of the mustard seeds and the poppy seeds.
• In a bowl mix together the above paste with the curd, tumeric powder, red chilli powder, 4 tsp mustard oil and salt. (You can use any other type of red chilli powder if you want or use less or more as per your liking)
• Wash the fish and marinate the fish with the above mixture. (I used a steel utensil to marinate the fish and cooked the fish in the same utensil.) Make sure all the pieces are covered well with the mixture.

Fish marinated with the mixture (pic with flash)

• Let the fish remain marinated fo 10 mins. (If you want you can skip this step it won't cause a major diffeence in taste :) )
• In order to make gravy add about 1/2 cup water (or less if you want) and mix well.
• Drizzle the remaining 2 tsp mustard oil on top of the fish and add the green chillis. The mustard oil enhances the flavour of the fish.
• Now put that utensil with the marinated fish on a low flame, cover it and cook till the fish is done. It should not take more than 15 mins. Do not stir the fish or else it will break but make sure your flame is low or else the the paste can burn.
• Garnish with green chillis or with chopped coriander. (my grandpa isn't fond of coriander so I did not add it.)

The final product 

 

• Serve with rice.

Served with rice (pic with flash)

(pic without flash)

Note:- If you want to make this more spicy you can grind a few chillies together with the mustard seeds and the poppy seeds.

My family really enjoyed this dish, its the first time I cooked Hilsa.  

Well i hope you will try this recipe and will let me know how it worked for you :)

Until next time adiós :)