Hilsa steaks cooked in a pungent paste of ground mustard seed, green chilli and raw mustard oil — the most prized fish dish in Bengal.
What makes it shorshe ilish
Hilsa — no other fish.
Freshly ground mustard seed, sharp enough to sting the nose.
Green chillies slit into the pan, and raw mustard oil at the end.
Eaten with plain rice, bones and all picked out by hand.
Where it comes from
Hilsa, ilish in Bengali, is a rich, bony fish that swims up the delta's rivers from the sea to spawn in the monsoon, and its season is awaited all year. It is the national fish of Bangladesh, and fish from the Padma river there are thought by many to be the best.
Mustard and hilsa are Bengal's classic pairing: black and yellow mustard seed ground with chilli and salt, loosened with water, and the fish cooked gently in it, or steamed in a sealed tin as ilish bhapa. A last trickle of raw mustard oil sharpens it at the table.
How it varies
Ilish bhapa
Steamed in its mustard paste in a sealed container, sometimes with coconut and yoghurt.
Ilish paturi
Wrapped in banana leaf with the mustard paste and cooked on a pan or over coals.