Ilish is the Badshah or King Khan of all fishes. Ask any Bengali!! We swoon when we see a good size fresh Poddar Ilish. For the uninitiated Podda or Padma is the name of the river Bramhaputra after it enters Bangladesh. It is at the junction of where the river meets the sea that you catch the choicest of Ilish. It is worth its weight in gold. A good sized Ilish will start from Rs 1000/kg (at least). During Jamai Shoshti this year a large Ilish was sold for Rs 22,000 (gasp!!!!). But then you can gauge its value and importance when people are willing to buy it at such exorbitant price.
This is a fish that has inspired poetry, that has created a culinary thunderstorm, that has events and themes centered around it. Ahhh for one bite of Ilish!!! I can wax eloquent and still not express what it is to have an Ilish maach on your platter.
Ingredients
5 Ilish pieces
Salt and turmeric powder to toss the ilish in
3 tbsp yellow mustard
2 tbsp black mustard
¼ cup grated coconut
4 green chillies
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp nigella/kalonji
Salt to taste
½ cup mustard oil
Toss the Ililsh pieces in salt and turmeric and keep aside. Soak the mustard seeds in lukewarm water for some time. grind the mustard seeds with the grated coconut, green chillies and some salt. The salt is added while grinding mustard seeds to prevent it from turning bitter.
Heat the mustard oil to smoking point. Gently fry the fish on both sides. Remember you are not supposed to fry the Ilish too much. Just a slight saute and take it out. Add the kalonji to the oil. Add the mustard paste, turmeric powder and salt and fry till the oil leaves the sides. Add ½ cup of water and bring to a boil. Put the fish pieces in the gravy, cover and simmer for 7-8 minutes. Once the fish is done you can switch off the gas. Garnish with some chopped green coriander. You can also drizzle some raw mustard oil on top.
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