BHAPA ILISH

ইলিশ মাছ (hilsha fish in English) is the national fish of Bangladesh. I have come across many people who cringe by the thought of eating fish, especially the younger generations. But somehow almost all of them absolutely love hilsha fish. ভাপা ইলিশ (Steamed hilsha in English) is a luscious dish often served in home gatherings and functions, although my mom preferred সর্ষে ইলিশ (hilsha with mustard) over this. So usually, this is made in a metal lunch box which is then steamed in a water bath or alongside rice. When I first prepared this dish, I was barely prepared (which is like always =P). Honestly I didn't even know that I could steam it while wrapping in a foil paper. But whatsoever, I tried the best way I could think of which was filling a large saucepan with water and placing a small pot in it to steam the dish. It was a very simple dish and since then it has become  my go-to food, I mean every time I get my hands on hilsha fish though. So let's see how it went.

First off, I had to prepare the mixture that goes inside the smaller pot which basically included chopped onions, chopped green chili, tomato wedges, and mint leaves. My hubby was totally against mint, turns out the flavor mint comes off a little strong for him and I ended up not listening to him. If you have gone through Bangladeshi cuisine, you will definitely notice our love for onions and green chili as base. We start almost every curry with onions and green chili. My seasoning mainly consisted of red chili powder, turmeric powder and salt. Adding cumin and coriander powder works too but I wanted the spices to be light so it doesn't overpower the fish's taste.  Once everything was added, in went the fish. Now, generally people use mustard paste, but because I didn't have any when I decided to prepare this, I used mustard oil instead. I mixed and combined everything together and let it marinate for about 30 minutes, you can go longer if you want. But I was hungry and really excited to see how this dish would turn out so 30 minutes for me. I, then sealed the pot with aluminum foil and placed in the water bath in the larger pot. It took about 40-45 minutes to cook but since it was my first time steaming, I checked it every 15-20 minutes which I highly recommend not to do. It does slow the cooking process. Finally I served it with basic steamed rice and it tasted amazing. Remember how my hubby protested against mints, he absolutely loved that. It added a separate zing that went really well with the flavors of mustard oil.

Ingredients: 6pcs         hilsa fish 2 tbsp      chopped onion 3/4 pcs    green chili 1 pcs         tomato 7/8 pcs    mint leaves 1/2 tsp     red chili powder 1/2 tsp     turmeric powder 1/2 tsp     salt 1/2 cup    mustard oil