Ilish Bhapa

Bong Eats’ ilish bhapa steams hilsa in a mustard, yoghurt and coconut preparation. The source also names it shorshe ilish bhapa and identifies it as a Bengali recipe.

Brown and yellow mustard seeds are soaked in the named water and drained. Salt and some of the same green chillies are ground with the seeds into a smooth paste.

Grated coconut, beaten yoghurt, sugar, turmeric and mustard oil are mixed into that paste. The cleaned fish slices are coated with it, arranged in a tiffin box and topped with halved green chillies.

The lid is fastened and the fish marinates before steaming. The box sits on a stand in a pan, with separate external hot water reaching no more than half the box’s height; the pan is covered for steaming.

The fish rests briefly after removal from the pan before serving. The author describes bringing the tiffin box to the table and opening its lid to reveal the steaming hilsa.