Bhapa Illish

Steamed Hilsa 

Hilsa is probably THE beloved fish of every Bengali, the pride and joy they feel while eating it brings a smile on anybody whose watching this sight. Unlike most fishes eaten by Bengali folk hilsa or Illish as it is mostly known is not a fresh water fish but a sea fish. It is said that the tastiest Illish comes from River Padma, and it is during the monsoon that you would find the market filled with Hilsa, no matter how much the markets filled with them its still going to pinch your pocket because hilsa isn't cheap. Ideally 1000 rupees a kilo is considered very cheap so you get the drift. The reason why this sea fish is found in rivers especially the Padma is because thats where it comes to lay its eggs and mate and gets caught. It has loads of fine thorns so eating is a little tricky even for the people used to eating fish, but the taste does make the effort and cost feel worth it. 

Now you must be wondering if Hilsa is availabe mostly only during the monsoon why or more likely how did i make it in December? so to answer you question these are old pics from before the city change so I did make it during the monsoon. Generally I stick to eating the vegetarian bengali fare but I am biased towards hilsa an especially in this mustard sauce. I used the yellow/white mustard seeds to get the rich mustard flavour but not the pungency( it just overpowers the taste) but if you like the pungency do use black seeds. 

My MIL makes a conscious effort to make recipes that are a litlle neutral in taste while I am visiting and on one such occassion I got to taste this.  All in all this recipe gets a total thumbs up from me hence I did make it many times after my visit. Its a simple curry its supposed to be a little thick or Makha Makha.

A little trivia about Hilsa its also eaten in Mangalore but Known as poo (flower) meen.

Ingredients

4-5 slices of Hilsa/Illish

3 tablespoon white/yellow mustard seeds

1 tablespoon black mustard seeds

2 teaspoons poppyseeds

1/2 cup grated coconut

salt to taste

2 teapoons turmeric

mustard oil around 4-5 tablespoon

2-3 green chillies

Method

Soak the mustard seeds along with the poppyseed for atleast 1-2 hours in 1/4-1/2 cup hot water.

Once the seeds are soaked spoon them into a mixer grinder and grind into a nice fine paste using the soaking water little by little as required. 

Clean the fish and keep it aside to drain.

In a steel tiffin box big enough to hold the fish and masala pour in the mustard, poppy mixture along with turmeric, salt and coconut mix nicely and then pour in about 2-3 tablespoon of mustard oil, slit the green chilli and place in the box add water and use to make a thick gravy to your liking, taste masala and fix if necessary. Now place the fish slices into the masala and close the lid and place in a pressure cooker and cook for 2-3 whistles or steam for 15 minutes.

Once done let the fish sit for atleast 10 minutes and then pour the left over  mustard oil over the fish and serve with rice.