Traditional Ilish Mach Bhapa | Stovetop and Microwave Versions

Ilish mach (or Hilsa) bhapa is cooked by steaming the fish in a closed container. My mother in law used to steam it in a stainless steel tiffin box. But I have found an easier way to cook it with similar results— in the microwave!

In earlier days we used to eat a lot of rice, in fact we would take a spoon of rice for every course on the menu, and generally there would be a minimum of 4 courses in each meal. That means there was a lot of rice cooked in every Bengali home. To make Bhapa chingri or Ilish all they had to do was place a tightly covered container with the fish in it on top of the just cooked rice and cover it with a heavy lid. In about half an hour the fish would be ready.

In case you do not want to cook in the microwave you can steam it on the stove top.

To steam the fish on the stove top, take a steel bowl with a tight lid and put the fish and the spices in this bowl, and coat the fish pieces well, add the mustard oil and the chilies too and cover with the lid, you can use foil to cover the bowl as well. You just have to ensure that steam does not get into the fish in the container. Put some water in a big pan which has a lid, place a small steel dish on the bottom then place the box or bowl with the Ilish maach on top of the dish, the bowl should not be immersed in the water . Cover the pan and bring the water to a boil. Now lower the heat and let it cook for 20 minutes. The water in the pan should not dry out. After 20 minutes, take out the bowl from the pan, and open the lid only after it cools a little. Transfer the fish into a serving bowl.

If you use the microwave then you will need a microwave safe glass dish with a lid. Put the fish and all the mustard paste, salt, turmeric into the glass dish, mix them well so that each piece of fish is coated with the spices and the mustard paste. Add the slit chilies and pour the mustard oil in too, and cover it . Microwave for 3 minutes on full power, then take it out and flip the fish pieces, and put it back in the microwave for another 3 minutes. Fish is ready to be served.

Recipe

Ingredients

• Ilish maach pieces 300g
• Yellow mustard seeds 2 teaspoons
• black mustard seeds 1 teaspoons
• salt 1/2 teaspoons
• Haldi or Turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon
• Kalonji or Kalojeera ( nigella) 1 pinch
• green chilies 4
• Mustard oil 35 g 0r 5 tablespoons

Method

• Wash the Fish pieces well, sprinkle a little salt and Turmeric powder ( haldi) and coat each piece well. Lay them flat in a microwavable glass dish.
• Mustard paste: soak 1 teaspoon of black mustard and 2 teaspoons of yellow mustard in 1/4 cup of water for at least half an hour. Grind the mustard seeds and a green chili in an electric grinder to a fine paste.
• Add the pinch of Kalonji( nigella), 1/2 teaspoon of Haldi ( turmeric), 1/2 teaspoon of salt, to the mustard paste and mix it well.
• Pour it on the fish and coat the pieces well with the paste.
• Pour in the mustard oil, add the green chilies.
• Cover with a lid or plastic wrap, and pop it into the microwave.
• Microwave for 3 minute, then take the dish out and flip the pieces. cover and put in in the microwave for another 3 minutes.
• Take out and serve with hot steamed rice.

In photos