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DISH RESEARCH · Main dish

Shorshe Ilish

Also known as: সরষে ইলিশ

Lail Hossain’s shorshe ilish cooks Hilsa steaks in a pungent mustard, onion and green-chilli gravy.

About Shorshe Ilish

Research draft based on the references below. These notes describe particular recipes and presentations; ingredient connections are still being reviewed.

Lail Hossain’s shorshe ilish is a Bengali Hilsa-fish curry with a mustard-based gravy. Her selected version processes onion and green chilli into the paste, rather than using the slices she describes in her mother’s preparation.

Mustard seed and mustard oil provide the pungent aroma the author emphasizes. Garlic, turmeric and salt join the onion and green chilli in the prepared paste.

The fish steaks are cleaned separately. The selected ready mustard powder, onion, green chilli and other spices are processed into a paste, which is sautéed in mustard oil until light brown.

Water is added to the pan before the Hilsa pieces. They cook covered, are flipped, and continue under cover until the water has evaporated and a thick gravy remains.

The author presents the fish with piping-hot rice. This selected profile keeps the documented mustard-and-Hilsa version, while her notes also offer different fish and cooking-oil substitutions.

Ingredients in Shorshe Ilish

Recorded ingredient connections, rather than a complete recipe. Explore an ingredient for more detail.

Ingredient connections awaiting review. Versions and preparation vary.

Origins & food traditions

Explore the countries and cooking traditions associated with this dish. These connections do not establish a single birthplace or limit where the dish is eaten today.

Associations in the cited sources

These describe source-specific cultural or geographic connections. Catalogue links may still need review.

Cooking traditions
Bangladeshi, Bengali
Sources & references
  1. Shorshe Ilish / Hilsha in Mustard Seed Gravy