Hilsa fish or Ilish mach is one of bengalis favorite. Ilish easily available in West Bengal but also found in other parts of India specially during monsoon. There are various recipes of Ilish found in a Bengali's cook book. But when I started cooking I realised the Ilish has a distinct flavour of its own. Too much cooking or too much spice actually suppress the flavour. My recipe is simple in thin gravy so that you can enjoy the distinct flavour of Ilish even in the curry.
Ingredients
- Thinly sliced Ilish 1pc
- Turmeric powder 1tsp
- Salt
- Panch phoran (mix of fenugreek seeds, nigella seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds and radhuni)
- Red chilli powder 1tsp
- Green chilli sliced 1pc
- Onion 1 medium, sliced
- Potato 1 medium, sliced
- Mustard oil 1tbsp
- Coriander leaves for garnishing
Method
Marinate the Ilish slice in salt and turmeric powder for 30 min. Then shallow fry the Ilish golden brown in mustard oil and keep aside.
In a pan heat ½ tbsp mustard oil, then add pinch of panch phoron, let them crackle. Add onion and potato slices and fry for sometime. After a minutes or two add a cup of water, turmeric powder, salt to taste, red chilli powder. Cover and cook till the vegetables are done, approx 15 min.
Add Ilish piece, sliced green chillies cover again and simmer for 3 - 4 minutes more. The curry is ready. Serve with steamed rice.
