Recipe: Perfect Bhapa Ilish

Bhapa Ilish.

You can cook Bhapa Ilish using 9 ingredients and 5 steps. Here is how you cook it.

Ingredients of Bhapa Ilish

1. You need 1/2 Kg or 500 gms. of Hilsa Fish cut into "Bengali Cuts".
2. It's 3 tbsp of mustard seeds.
3. You need 3 tbsp of poppy seeds or khus-khus.
4. It's 2 tbsp of mustard oil.
5. It's as required of Water.
6. You need to taste of Salt.
7. Prepare as required of Turmeric powder.
8. You need 2 of slit green chillies.
9. It's 1 tbsp of hung curd (optional).

Bhapa Ilish step by step

1. Firstly take a bowl, add the mustard seeds, poppy seeds and soak it with 3 tbsp of water for an hour. Now wash all the fish pieces properly. Apply some turmeric & salt all over it and coat them well. Keep it aside..
2. After 1 hour, add the mustard & poppy seeds, half tsp turmeric powder, salt, curd into a blender, add 2 tbsp of water and blend it into a smooth paste. Rest the mixture for about 15 mins. or else if you put this mixture directly for cooking, just after grinding, the mixture will become bitter in taste. So resting becomes an important part of this dish...
3. Now take a steel tiffin and put the fish pieces in it. Now add the mustard paste to it, now add some salt, if required, turmeric powder, 1 tbsp mustard oil, slit green chillies and mix everything well. Now again pour a tbsp of mustard oil. Cover the tiffin..
4. Take a cooker, add some water into, place a stand inside it. Now place the tiffin over it. Now remove the rubber and whistles from the cooker & cover the cooker and steam it on a low flame for 25 to 30 mins. Let it cool down completely then carefully open the tiffin..
5. Your "Bhapa Iilish" is now ready. Serve it hot with steam rice...