As Bengalis celebrate the season of consuming the prized hilsa, a new Powai eatery is offering a special menu. Here’s all you need to know about the coveted fish and where to relish it
Doi Ilish. Pic courtesy/Chandrima Sarkar
India is one of the few countries that is blessed with four seasons and seasonal food; and each season offers a unique culinary experience. Right now, it’s time to devour the prized hilsa, a one-of-a-kind fish that’s extremely popular in eastern India and Bangladesh. But if you’re a city foodie who craves for this fish, you can start the feasting, thanks to a month-long menu, including hilsa delicacies at the newly-opened Powai-based Calcutta Chronicles.
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The eatery is offering dishes like cheese-dhonepata ilish (hilsa in cheese and coriander curry), ilish kalojeera begoon jhol (hilsa in nigella seeds and brinjal curry), shorshe ilish (hilsa in mustard curry) and ilish fry (deep fried hilsa). Consulting chef Joy Banerjee, who crafted the menu, shares, “Cheese dhonepata ilish is currently the favourite among hilsa-lovers, as it combines the flavours of the East and the West.” The eatery is happy to prepare the hilsa as per one’s preference, even if it’s not on the menu.
Ilish kalojeera begoon jhol
But what really makes this fish so special? “Hilsa is known as the queen of fish, and is popular because of its unique taste. The delicate flavour allows itself for any preparation that doesn’t overpower the taste of the fish. The fact that it is rare and available only for a short span of time, makes connoisseurs crave for it even more,” informs chef Banerjee.
Chandrima Sarkar, Navi Mumbai-based creator of a blog (@notoutofthebox) best known for her photographs and recipes, says that this unique taste can be attributed to the fact that it’s a freshwater fish. This lends it a sweetish taste. “In Bengali, we call it misti joler mach (sweet water fish) and the taste is sublime. It lacks the overpowering aroma and overwhelming flavour that a pomfret has. So the fish can be seasoned the way one likes,” she says.
Chef Joy Banerjee
Sarkar has been preparing traditional dishes like doi ilish (hilsa cooked in a curd-mustard gravy), ilish paturi (hilsa cooked in a banana leaf parcel), ilish mach bhaja and ilisher tel. “Ilisher tel is hilsa that is fried in mustard oil and later, the hot fried fish is served with rice along with some portion of the oil in which the fish is fried, because hilsa releases its own oil and flavours in the mustard oil while it gets fried. So, serving the fish oil along with fried hilsa is popular among Bengalis,” she says.
Chandrima Sarkar
Chef Chuba Jamir of Naga Chukka, a cloud kitchen, shares, “The amazing thing about hilsa is the slightly sweet taste and how well the flavours blend with it. I love experimenting with it, so I end up using salt, black pepper, turmeric, garlic, ginger, curry leaves and lemon for different recipes. Though, I prefer making it with bamboo shoots, which is the traditional Naga way,” he explains.
Chef Chuba Jamir
Chef Jamir gives a slight twist to the hilsa dishes with ango aon [fish cooked with Naga local herbs and etsuk (bamboo shoot)]; and ango masala (hilsa cooked in basic masala and sun dried etsuk) “Hilsa has a lot of bones! You need to be careful while eating. So it teaches patience,” the chef signs off.
Till: August 31; 11 am to 4 pm and 6.30 pm to 11.30 pm
At: Galleria Shopping Mall, Central Avenue, Hiranandani Gardens, Powai
Log on to: @calcuttachronicles_restaurant
Call: 7980123627
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