Try This Underrated Ilish Fish Recipe For A Bengali-Style

Hilsa Dum Pulao

Ilish fish recipe collections rarely stop at a jhol or a bhapa; there are several niche dishes, and one over-the-top hilsa recipe is ilish pulao. This pulao centres the deliciously oily fish and layers it into a rice dish cooked dum-style, as a biryani would be, sealed and finished under a tight lid. It's a popular preparation in Bangladesh in particular, distinct from the Kolkata-style Ilish Biriyani, which uses potatoes, more spice, and a different assembly method. For this pulao recipe, short-grain rice is used: naturally fragrant varieties such as Gobindobhog, Chinigura, or Tulaipanji. They hold their shape and scent even after going through the dum stage, and the recipe calls for soaking for 30-40 minutes before parboiling separately with whole cardamom, bay leaf, clove, and cinnamon. The hilsa is rubbed with turmeric and salt, then simmered in a fried onion-ginger-garlic paste and whisked curd, cooked until the oil separates from the mixture before the fish goes in. The beloved birista, used to top many biryanis, does the heavy lifting in flavouring this dish. It's made with a portion of onions, thinly sliced and deep-fried until crispy and golden, along with slit green chillies. This birista is layered between the rice and fish: half the rice first, then the fish with its thickened gravy, then a scatter of birista and chillies, then the rest of the rice, and finally more birista and chillies on top. The pan goes back on a low flame, covered, for another 5-7 minutes of dum, then it's rested for 5 minutes and opened.