Recipe for Shorshe Ilish Bhapa
Qazi Tabassum Anam from the Bangladesh community here in Edmonton shared her ethnic recipe of how to prepare Shorshe Ilish Bhapa, a special fish dish from Bangladesh that is oftentimes served on Bengali New Year.
Qazi Tabassum Anam serving food to the Bangladesh community
Ingredients
- 4-6 pieces of a large fish, Hilsa (ilish)
- 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
- 2-3 green chillies
- 3 tablespoons of mustard oil
- 1 tablespoon of yellow mustard seeds
- 1 tablespoon of mustard seeds
- salt to taste
Preparation
- Soak the mustard seeds in a low amount of water, just enough to soak, together with a pinch of salt and one whole green chili for 3 to 4 hours.
- Grind the soaked seeds and the chili into a smooth paste.
- Wash the fish and sprinkle a pinch of salt and the turmeric to both sides.
- Use a pan that fits into a pressure cooker, and lightly brush oil onto the pan.
- Apply the paste freely to all sides of the fish.
- Place the fish in the pan. Adjust your salt if needed.
- Place the rest of the paste on top of the fish and pour 2 tablespoons of mustard oil on top.
- Cut green chili in stripes and place on top.
- Cover the pan with a lid.
- Put 3 cups of water into the pressure cooker, and place a ring in it. Sit the pan on top of the ring inside the pressure cooker.
- Let it steam for 10 minutes.
- Serve hot with steamed rice.
"Hilsa with Mustard" by Mohammed Tawsif Salam [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
