What: Hilsa Feast
Where: Sonargaon
When: On till September for lunch and dinner
Pocket pinch: Rs 4,000-plus for two

It was a damp, cloudy afternoon when we walked into Sonargaon at Taj Bengal, where the chef had laid out a spread of dishes heroing the hilsa. There was the crispy Ilish Dimer Bora and the classic Shorshe Bata Ilish, both to be had with steamed rice, alongside some not-so-familiar flavours like the biryani and the pizza and three dishes cooked by bloggers Debjani Chatterjee, Indrajit Lahiri and Anindya-Madhusree.

After trying out almost eight dishes, t2 was happy high on hilsa!

Bhapa Ilish is a staple in every Bengali household but the one at Sonargaon has a twist — it’s made with coconut and yoghurt, which makes the gravy thicker and adds a slight sweetness to cut the pungency of the mustard paste.

At Cal 27, the all-day dining of Taj Bengal, the hilsa is romancing the pizza. Chunks of deboned hilsa are used as the topping along with bell peppers and onions in the Ilish Pizza. 

The Ilish Maachher Tel Jhal, which is a semi-spicy jhol made with potatoes, brinjal and slit green chillies, is the ultimate comfort food. 

Ilish Biryani is our fave pick from this hilsa spread. The dish has a delicate balance of the hilsa flavour and the spices that go into the biryani. The kewra water was avoided to let the hilsa stand out.

Musician Soumyojit Das snapped a groupfie with (l-r) Tanusree Shankar, Sourendro Mullick, Taj Bengal general manager Manish Gupta and Nandita Palchoudhuri. 

HOW TO COOK HILSA

Mustard seeds often turn bitter when ground into a paste. To avoid that, grind it in a mixer without water to make a powder and then add cold water, turmeric, a bit of sugar and green chillies and make a paste. 

Instead of throwing away the gills of the fish, clean them properly and boil to make a stock that can be used to make various hilsa dishes. The stock will enhance the flavours. 

When cooking Ilish tel jhol, people mostly add nigella seeds, water, diced potatoes and brinjals together, but to get the best taste you should mix the brinjal and potatoes with a bit of salt and turmeric and fry them. Followed by a phoron, add the seasoned fish and toss it on both the sides and then add the fish stock. Add spices like turmeric, salt, dry chillies, sugar and cumin powder in water and pour it into the fish and let it simmer. In the last couple of minutes, add the fried potatoes and brinjal. Drizzle the ilish bhaja tel on top and serve. This gives the perfect hilsa scent.

Text: Pramita Ghosh
Pictures: B. Halder