Monsoon Ilish Fish Recipe Special: A Light Bengali

Ilish Tel Jhol

Ilish or hilsa fish fry is great, but a thin curry featuring this oily fish that Bengalis wait all summer and winter to sample is simply irresistible. Meet this simple ilish fish recipe, which is the ilish tel jhol, where ‘ilish’ is the hilsa fish, ‘tel’ is oil and ‘jhol’ refers to the gravy or curry. It is named such because the fish curry is made almost entirely with mustard oil, nigella seeds (kalo jeere), green chillies, and a little salt, with nothing else. The point of this simple fish curry is to let the fish's rich flavours do the talking, and typically a fresh catch is preferred for this dish. Among hilsa recipes, this is the simplest one, and aside from the ingredients mentioned above, the fish gets a salt-and-turmeric marinade, typical of Bengali cooking. Then the fish is fried until firm, then added to the curry after tempering nigella seeds, green chillies, and a salt-turmeric paste loosened with hot water. A handful of brinjal, fried in the same mustard oil, complements the hilsa's flavour. For those who like their curries thicker, tend to add a little atta at the end. Because ilish is a bony, delicate fish, you have to be careful with it. After marinating, lower it carefully into the hot oil during frying, and use the same gentleness when adding it to the jhol. Do not stir too much and break the fish; ilish maach needs to stay intact, or their little bones might end up in the jhol and make it a nightmare to eat. Serve tel jhol with plain steamed rice.