Hilsa fish (ilish maach)
To a Bengali family, ilish is far more than dinner. It means monsoon season, Pohela Boishakh and the Sunday lunch everyone remembers. Hilsa, also spelt elish or hilsha, is a rich, oily fish… 7 Products
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Hilsa fish (ilish maach)
To a Bengali family, ilish is far more than dinner. It means monsoon season, Pohela Boishakh and the Sunday lunch everyone remembers. Hilsa, also spelt elish or hilsha, is a rich, oily fish that swims up the great rivers of Bangladesh and eastern India, and its flavour is unlike anything else. We sell it frozen in several sizes: whole fish of around 500–650 g, around 1 kg, and the prized "boro ilish" at 1.1–1.4 kg, most of them priced by weight.
If you'd rather skip the knife work, choose ready-cut hilsa pieces in a 1 kg pack. Look out too for ilisher dim, hilsa roe, which is fried and eaten with hot rice.
Hilsa shines in simple recipes: rubbed with turmeric and salt and fried in mustard oil, or simmered in a sharp mustard sauce as shorshe ilish. Rohu, pabda and other river fish sit alongside it in our Bengali range and the wider frozen fish section. Frozen orders are dispatched Monday to Wednesday in insulated packaging, for a €9.99 cool-box fee.
Preparing and cooking hilsa
Thaw the fish slowly in the fridge for 12–24 hours rather than in warm water, which spoils the texture. Scale a whole hilsa, remove the head and cut it crossways into steaks 2–3 cm thick, keeping the tender belly pieces (peti) apart from the firmer back pieces (gada). Rinse only briefly; heavy washing carries away much of the flavour.
- Ilish bhaja: rub with turmeric and salt, rest 10 minutes, then fry in hot mustard oil for 3–4 minutes a side. Pour the fragrant oil over steaming rice with a green chilli.
- Shorshe ilish: simmer the steaks gently in a paste of ground mustard seed, green chilli and mustard oil.
Round out the spice tray with panch phoron and turmeric. Hilsa is bony, so eat slowly and use your fingers.
Frequently asked questions
What is hilsa called in German?
There's no widely used German name. Shops sell it as hilsa, elish or hilsha; its scientific name is Tenualosa ilisha. It belongs to the herring family, which explains both the rich, oily flavour and the many fine bones.
Should I buy whole hilsa or hilsa pieces?
A whole fish lets you cut it yourself and use every part as Bengali cooks do, such as the head in dal and the belly for frying. The 1 kg packs of pieces are already portioned and save time on a busy day.
How do I deal with all the bones in hilsa?
Hilsa has fine bones running right through the flesh. Cut it into fairly thick steaks so the bones hold together while cooking, and eat slowly with your fingers. Belly pieces (peti) are noticeably less bony than back pieces (gada).
Can I refreeze thawed hilsa?
It's best not to. Cook thawed fish within a day. If one fish is too much for a single meal, cut it into portions while it is still half-frozen and defrost only the steaks you plan to cook.