Hilsa Feast : Hilsa fish fry, fish oil fry, Pui saag matha diye(malabar spinach with hilsa fish head) and Sorshe Ilish(Hilsa fish in mustard gravy)

            Posting a fish recipe after a long time here. Hilsa fish has a special place in every Bengali's life. That is not just special, I would say, we are very much emotionally attached to this fish. To get hold of this fish, they can go to every extent, can give any price. Monsoon season is equivalent to Hilsa season in Bengal. We get the best quality Hilsa only in Monsoon. The price of this fish, ranges from 700-2000 per Kg., the most expensive fish of all. It gets cheaper by the end of the season, it will go down to 400-500 rs. for small ones and 700-800 rs, for medium ones and 1000 rs. for a big 1 kg. fish. Every year, the price is getting higher and higher and nowadays buying this fish has become a status symbol for bengalis. People will stare at you if you're taking an one Kg Hilsa fish from market. Truly speaking, I've bought only 2-3 times this monsoon season. Last weekend, when it was down pouring very heavily, I could not resist my craving for this fish and bought a medium one and used all the parts of that fish and satisfied my Hilsa-craved soul :)). Definitely, it's all worth the price, the taste of this fish is priceless, you have to taste it to believe me.
            So, I prepared Hilsa fish fry, Fish oil fry, Malabar Spinach with Hilsa fish head(Pui saager charchari macher matha diye-truly delicious) and Hilsa fish in mustard gravy(Sorshe Ilish). I'll give you all the recipes in this post.

Hilsa Feast : (Clockwise from right) Malabar Spinach with Hilsa fish head, Hilsa Fish fry, Fish oil, Hilsa fish in mustard gravy(in white plate)

Preperation :
Clean all hilsa fish pieces properly. Seperate the fish oil and keep aside. Marinate fish pieces and fish oil both seperately with few pinches of turmeric powder and few pinches of salt. Rub on all the fish pieces and set aside for at least 1/2 an hour.

Hilsa fish Fry(Ilish mach bhaja) :
Heat a big vessel with mustard oil to deep fry the fish pieces. Heat the oil till it smokes, then lower the flame and fry the fish pieces till light brown from both sides. Hilsa fish should not be fried for long, it'll loose its original taste. Fry very lightly in medium flame.

Fish oil Fry(Ilish amcher tel) :
After you fried all the fish pieces, fry the fish oil in very low flame till its rawness disappears.

Malabar Spinach with Hilsa fish head(Pui Saager Charchari macher matha diye)
A vegetable mishmash with malabar spinach or Pui saag, fried Hilsa fish head is added in there and mixed. A truly bengali delicacy, loved by all

You Need :
Pui Saag(Malabar Spinach) : 2 sticks
Potato : 1, cubed
Pumpkin : cut into cubes
Green chillies ; 1, chopped
Turmeric Powder : 1 tsp.
Red Chilli Powder : 1-2 tsp.
Dry Red Chilli : 1, broken into 2
Panch phoron: 1 tsp. (mixture of fennel seed, fenugreek seed, cumin seed, balck cumin seed and     mustard seed in equal quantity)
Fried Hilsa Fish head
Oil : 1 tblsp.
Salt to taste

How To :

• Fry the fish head till brown like you fry the fish pieces. Keep aside. When cool, break it into medium size pieces.
• Heat oil in a pan, temper with broken dry red chilli and panch phoron. Wait till panch phoron turns dark brown, you get the aroma of seeds, immediately add vegetables and saag. Add some salt and stir till water evaporates from saag. Then add turmeric and red chilli powder. Add chopped green chillies now. 
• Mix and stir for 2 minutes. Then add 1 cup of water to cook the vegetables. Cover and let them cook in medium heat. When vegetables are half done, add broken fish head pieces in the curry. Cover again and cook till all water evaporates. Check the seasoning. Add if needed. 
• It's a dry dish, so all water should evaporate and vegetables should be fully cooked. When done, remove from heat. Enjoy with hot white rice.

Sorshe Ilish( Hilsa in Mustard gravy) 

You need :

Hilsa fish : few pieces

Black Mustard seed(for paste) : 3/4 heaped tblsp.

Yellow Mustard seed(for paste)

Poppy seed (for paste) : 1 tsp.

Green chilli : 2(one for paste and one for temper)

Black cumin seed(to temper) : 1/2 tsp.

Turmeric Powder : 1 tsp.

Mustard oil : 1 tblsp.

Salt to taste

Fresh Coriander leaves for garnishing

 

How To :

• Fry the fish pieces in oil till light brown from both sides.As I told before, do not fry for long, it'll loose its original taste.
• Make a paste of both mustard seeds, poppy seeds, 1 green chilli with a little water. Make a very fine paste, set aside.
• Now heat 1 tblsp. oil in a pan, temper with black cumin seeds and 1 green chilli. When seeds start to crackle, add the paste and turmeric powder. Saute in medium heat till oil seperates. Add about 1 cup of water, add the fish pieces and season with salt. Cover and allow to thicken the gravy. 
• Remove from heat when you have your desired amount of gravy. Add some fresh coriander leaves in the gravy and cover. Open before serving. I like this with a thin consistency of gravy to enjoy with hot rice. 
• Enjoy...the taste is pure divine.

So, here ends today's post...hope you've enjoed this fest virtually as much as I loved them real :))
Get hold of a Hilsa fish and enjoy these delicacies.................................................