COPPERIlish bhaja recipe
Hilsa steaks rubbed with nothing but turmeric and salt and fried in smoking mustard oil, which is then poured over rice as ilisher tel.
Ingredients
- 800 g hilsa fish
- 120 ml mustard oil
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 green chillies
- 400 g steamed rice
How to make Ilish bhaja
- Scale and gut 800 g of hilsa and cut it crosswise into steaks about 2 cm thick; keep the roe if there is any.
- Rinse the pieces briefly and pat them dry, washing as little as possible so the fat is not lost.
- Rub in 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder and 1 teaspoon of salt and leave 20 minutes.
- Heat 120 ml of mustard oil in a wide pan until it smokes, which removes its raw pungency, then lower the heat to medium.
- Slide in the steaks and fry 3 to 4 minutes per side, turning once only, until the edges are crisp and golden.
- Fry 4 slit green chillies in the same oil for 30 seconds.
- Lift the fish out and keep the oil: this ilisher tel is the point of the dish.
- Serve the fish straight away over hot steamed rice with a spoonful of the oil, the chillies and a pinch of salt; it does not reheat well.
What is Ilish bhaja?
Ilish bhaja is a traditional dish from Bangladesh, cooked in a pan, and takes about 40 minutes from start to finish. It is built around hilsa fish, steamed rice and mustard oil. The recipe below uses 6 ingredients and is written out step by step.
How long does Ilish bhaja take?
At 40 minutes it is quicker than 89% of the 586 dishes in Copper's atlas. The method runs to 8 steps, the longest being 20 minutes.
Any tips for making Ilish bhaja?
Heat the mustard oil until it smokes to remove its raw pungency, lower the heat before frying, and keep that oil to spoon over the rice.
How Ilish bhaja compares
Hard to find elsewhere: hilsa fish (1), green chillies (1) and steamed rice (1).
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