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Recipe-1 › Curries of the world › Shorshe ilish

Bengal, Bangladesh

Shorshe ilish

Hilsa fish in a sharp mustard-seed paste with mustard oil and green chillies.

Shorshe ilish
Same steps, different flavour base Medium

Too hot for you? Use half the chilli (powder, paste or fresh chillies) and leave out the green chillies.

New here? How this page works

Recipe-1 is one simple curry recipe in nine steps: fry onions and green chillies, add your vegetables or meat, add chilli powder and turmeric, then water and salt, and boil. With small changes the same nine steps make curries from all over the world.

This page takes those nine steps and shows what to change to make Shorshe ilish. You don’t need to read anything else first: every base step is written out below. The changes are worked out on paper from what is typical for this dish; not yet kitchen-tested. Cooked it? Tell others how it went.

Green: the base recipe step (crossed out = do not use it for this dish)Red: what to do instead for Shorshe ilish

See the full base recipe (with timers and tips) · See all curries on the world map

You’ll need

How many people?4

The amounts change with the number of people; cooking times stay about the same (use a bigger pot for more). Taste as you go: you can always add more chilli or salt, but you cannot take it out.

Main ingredient: 4 Hilsa (ilish) steaks, rubbed with turmeric and salt.

From the base recipe

  • Onions not used
  • 4–5 Green chillies
  • Cooking oil not used
  • Red chilli powder not used
  • ½ tsp Turmeric
  • 1 tsp · 150 ml Salt and water
  • Ginger garlic paste not used
  • Cloves, cardamom and cinnamon not used
  • Garam masala (optional) not used

Add for Shorshe ilish

  • 3 tbsp Mustard seeds (black and yellow), ground to a paste
  • 4 tbsp Mustard oil
  • ½ tsp Nigella seeds (kalonji)

Leave out

  • Onions
  • Red chilli powder
  • Garam masala
  • Ginger garlic paste

The nine steps, with the changes

Where a step has a red line, do the red line and not the crossed-out green base step. Steps with only green are done just as in the base recipe.

  1. Base step: do not useCut onions and chillies.

    Shorshe ilish: do thisSkip the onions; slit 4–5 green chillies.

  2. Base step: do not useFry in some oil for around 4 minutes on medium-high heat.

    Shorshe ilish: do thisHeat mustard oil until it smokes lightly, cool a little and crackle nigella seeds.

  3. Base step: do not useCut the vegetable(s) of your choice.

    Shorshe ilish: do thisUse the hilsa steaks.

  4. Base step: do not useAdd them and fry for around 4 minutes on medium-high heat.

    Shorshe ilish: do thisFry the fish lightly on both sides.

  5. Base step: do not useAdd red chilli powder and turmeric.

    Shorshe ilish: do thisAdd turmeric only, with the mustard paste mixed in water.

  6. Keep frying until just before they start browning.

  7. Base step: do not useAdd some water.

    Shorshe ilish: do thisAdd a little water.

  8. Add salt.

  9. Base step: do not useBoil until the gravy is as thick as you like.

    Shorshe ilish: do thisSimmer gently 8–10 minutes. Finish with a spoon of raw mustard oil.

Serve: With plain rice.

For meat and seafood, make sure it is cooked through: chicken until no pink remains inside; mutton, goat and beef need long, slow cooking.

← Kadhi pakoraAll curries on the mapSri Lankan dhal curry (parippu) →

Food marks, as on packaged food in India: vegetarian · non-vegetarian (meat, fish or egg). Dishes with both marks can be made either way.

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