Ilish Pulao is a Bengali Way of Life
Maitreyi Sen Paul finds that hilsa and ilish pulao are deeply embedded in Bengali culture, with festivals and celebrations that mark the season of the fish.
It has been over a decade now, but I first tasted Ilish Pulao as a newlywed. From our very first meeting, my heart was won. Simple, elegant, and incredibly flavorful, ilish pulao is sublime dish, mildly spiced, light and easy to prepare.
When I asked my husband’s family about the origin of the dish, the response was stoic: Ilish Pulao is very much family recipe. While it is not prepared to mark any specific festival or ritual in the region, it is also true that any occasion or special day is marked with the cooking of ilish pulao. When there is reason to celebrate, and the queen is in the season, ilish pulao is prepared.
Fishing, Festivals & the Hilsa
The rivers in Bangladesh are primed for the cultivation of fish, especial ilish (hilsa). The proximity of the Bay of Bengal, where the rivers Padma and Meghna converge, is the ideal spot to fish. These silver beauties are in abundance between June and September, and January to April, the ideal season for hilsa. In the monsoon, the fishermen’s nets are heavy with ilish. But hilsa is never fished after October, all the way until January; this is hilsa breeding season, and the community has a beautiful way of remembering this: it is taboo to eat ilish after Durga Puja’s Dashami until Saraswati Puja. This delicate weaving of science into the community’s festivals and rituals with socio-cultural rules is elegant and effective.
But when it is time to fish, every home is a celebration of hilsa. They are familiar with the anatomy of the fish, and while eating, navigate its delicate bones without injury. Ilish for the Bangladeshi people, is a way of life. There is a beloved adage in Bangladesh: Unless your entire home smells of hilsa – your plates and glasses included, you aren’t doing it right.
Maitreyi Sen Paul’s Recipe for Ilish Pulao
Ingredients
8 pieces hilsa, cut and cleaned, rubbed with salt and turmeric
2 cups (500g) aromatic rice (I use Chinigura, Kalijeera or Gobindobhog)
Oil, to fry
1 inch ginger, finely chopped
2-3 dried red chilies
3-4 green chilies
½ cup fresh coconut, diced
2-3 bay leaves
Garam Masala, whole (4-5 pods of each)
4 cups water, boiled
Ghee
Method
Shallow fry the fish in oil. Pay attention to how you fry: do not over or under fry. It will break if under-fried and can be too tough to eat if over-fried. Over-frying also destroys the quality, taste, and aroma of the fish.
Soak the rice for 10-15 mins before cooking. Drain the excess water and spread over a dry cloth. (This ensures that the rice grains do not sticking to one other.)
Place a heavy bottom pan on the fire. When hot, add ghee, then dry red chilies, bay leaves, and whole spices.
Once the spices bloom, add in the chopped ginger and fry until aromatic.
Now, add in the coconut bits, and fry until golden brown.
At this time, add the rice and fry until it puffs up a little.
Boil the water, and add to the rice, with the slit green chiles.
Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
Now add the fried fish pieces, cover and allow to cook for another 5 minutes. This way the fish doesn’t become too mushy and will not break apart. This step also ensures the fish imparts its aroma through every single grain of rice.
Open the lid in between to check for the rice cooking. The cooking time would vary depending on the quality of water and rice.
Once done, the rice should be golden, aromatic and fluffy and fill you whole house with its presence.
You can add fried cashews and raisins to garnish, if that is to your taste.
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