I've shown you a lot of sea food recipes in the past,
this one touches the cockles of my heart, because this is ultimate comfort food
not only for me, but for a lot of people who enjoy sweet water fish.
This one is the queen, the ruling queen of all time.
This one is Ilish or Hilsa, and I'm showing you 'Bhapa Ilish' or 'Ilish Bhapa.'
Let's begin.
It is very important to get Ilish or Hilsa when it is in its season
in its absolute ultimate glory.
Now, there are a lot of parameters that need to be kept in check -
One is to buy this from a trusted vendor,
Two is to buy this when it is of a certain size, never buy an Ilish or an Hilsa
which is under 500 gms because that way it is not in a way correct,
because this has a lot of cultural significance attached to it.
It's very important to get this recipe right.
I've picked it up from my excursions in Kolkata
and eating this at several friends places in Calcutta or in Bengal.
and of course, the recipe is not...
changed or is not tweaked or is not twisted...
this is exactly the way my friend's mother makes it.
So, this is from her, to you. Let's begin.
I like marinating this with Turmeric powder.
and along with this some Salt.
Now, this recipe in a way, which ideally start at least two hours before time
because it is important and mandatory to soak the mustard seeds.
Now, this way, you kind of ward off the bitter undertones of Mustard.
The moment you spot the freshest Hilsa
Give a call back home and say, "Soak the mustard."
That's how I do it at least.
Let's begin with the paste which I am going to use soaked Mustard.
To this, I'm going to add in Green Chillies and Coconut.
Our paste is done and ready.
Let's transfer all of this in a deeper bowl.
Because, now we have some more ingredients going in.
Let's add in Mustard oil.
A touch of Sugar to just kind of balance the flavours.
Turmeric powder.
Curd.
Salt, as required.
Let's mix all of this well.
Till, of course, the curd becomes lump-free.
This is where all of the flavour lies so please check for Salt at this stage.
With this our marination is done and ready, let's move forward.
The next step is to marinate the slices of Hilsa.
Now, whether they are marinated of pre-marinated,
that choice I let to you completely.
The whole thing is to now, roll it into this whole paste
and place it in the dabba, and on top of it,
you can actually pour some more of this marination,
or more of this paste of Mustard and Green chillies.
and finally we cover this, but before covering
we add in two very critical and important ingredients.
Let's see what they are!
In these steel boxes, I'm going to transfer the pieces of marinated Ilish.
also known as Hilsa.
Let's add in the paste that we have made.
Just divide this equally amongst both the tiffins.
Time to rub...
the fish pieces...
so that the marination sticks in perfectly well.
Mustard Oil, just drizzle.
A little or generously, the choice is completly yours.
Some Slit Chillies.
Allow this to now rest in the marination for a minimun of 15 mins.
Well, one last step, before we move this on to the steamer,
we need to clean the sides of the tiffin in case, you've messed it up too much.
Well, in this case I knew, this is a step, I have done it with caution.
Finally, we need to create like a whole home built steamer
and steam this of course, under cover for at least 20 mins.
Now, once the steaming is done, we pick it up, of course, with the help of a cloth
or with the help of tongs and then we keep it unopened
for another 15 mins; now this is again very important because that way
it just gets some time to settle down in terms of flavour
also opening of the box becomes easier because the steam otherwise will scar you.
Very important!
At this stage, we lower the flame and carefully place this like so.
Cover this with a lid.
and cook this on medium flame for at least 15-17 mins.
Finally, the tiffin box is completely settled,
when I say this the steam has kind off subsided
Let's open the box very carefully,
there could also be a little bit of steam that is left in the box.
So, be very careful.
Once this is opened, you serve this with steam rice.
Now, you can take Gobindobhog as a rice variety,
If you don't get that, of course, by all means, you can use any variety
but if you can lay your hands on Gobindobhog, nothing like it.
With this, one of the most stunning Hilsa recipes or Ilish recipes
is done and ready.
Now, every home in West Bengal makes it differently,
every Bengali home across the world makes it differently.
But the essence lies in the flavour of the Hilsa and of course,
with the punch of mustard and the chilli, when I say chilli,
you actually squeeze the chilli, the water and the oil dripping from the chilli.
Adds a wonderful flavour.
On that note, try this for your family, try this for your friends,
but more importantly, keep some pieces aside for you.
Bye for now.