Ilish - the heavenly fish

When Bengalis call it "Hilsa" to sound non-communal, that takes away half its taste. Ilish is the fish to be worshipped and not just eaten! Like salmon, it travels upstream to lay eggs and then eventually die. They come from the Bay of Bengal, get into the innumerous distributaries of the Ganga-Brahmaputra delta, get into India and Bangladesh and finally sacrifice their lives for fish eating Bengalis. When the first one of the season lands up on our plates, either fried or in a savory mustard gravy beside steaming rice, Bengalis get a glimpse of heaven! They wouldn't trade that experience for anything, not even for a one on one interview with God Almighty. I wouldn't for sure!

Why we love Ilish? Well, there's no question of liking or disliking Ilish. Ilish is not a fish like Rui or Salmon that you'd choose to like the taste. Ilish is a philosophy that you can only feel and cherish. Those who are yet to experience this philosophy are to be pitied and those who die without eating a mouthful of Ilish are sure to be born again!

Ilish can be cooked in many ways, from the delicate "Ilish biryani" to the slapdash fried Ilish but they are all awesome and have their individualities. "Shorshe ilish" is a very common and much loved dish where Ilish is cooked in a gravy of mustard seeds. So is "Bhapa Ilish" where the fish pieces are smeared with mustard paste, spicy green chillies and a host of aromatic spices and just plain steamed. My favorite is the simplest "Ilish bhaja". Here, the fish is rubbed with a little salt and turmeric and fried in mustard oil (to use any other oil is to do a sacrilege against Ilish). The great thing about Ilish is that it gives out it's own oil when it's about to be fried. That fish oil (just like salmon's) is revered also. To eat that with steamed rice and bite a piece off a green chilli with each mouthful is a phenomenon that can't be described.

Ilish paturi - wrapped in banana leaves

The only thing that goes against it is the gazillion fine fish bones. Only an expert can pick all those out. Most people actually chew and eat up the tiny bones. My theory of why Ilish has so many bones goes like this: "Ilish without bones would be 'all-perfect'. 'All-perfect' things don't exist in this physical world. That's why Ilish has bones."

There are multitudes of Ilish recipes, some hailing from rural Bengal like Ilish cooked in wrapped banana leaves or gourd leaves while others being concocted at fashionable restaurants in Calcutta but the final verdict is you can't be a true Bengali if you don't hail Ilish as the Heavenly fish!

 To end this article, here's my ode to the ethereal Ilish-

ইলিশ মঙ্গল কাব্য

এ মাছ দেখিবা মাত্র মন চঞ্চল |
কখন পাইব স্বাদ ভেবে কাটে পল ||
এ মাছের রূপ-গুণ জগত ভুলায় |
স্বদে গন্ধে ভরে ওঠে মনুষ্য হৃদয় ||
ভাজা মাছ তেল দিয়ে মাখা হয় ভাত |
দু মিনিট পরে দেখো ফাঁকা হয় পাত ||
সরিষার ঝোল হলে কিবা তার স্বাদ |
পাতুরি দেখিয়া মনে ধরে না আল্হাদ ||
বেগুন আর কালো জিরে দিয়ে হয় ঝোল |
বেশি ঝালে হবে কিবা পেট গন্ডগোল ||
বর্ষার বারিধারে বাঙালির মন |
চায়ে কেবল এ মাছের হরেক ব্যঞ্জন ||
খিচুড়ির সঙ্গেতে ভাজা যদি থাকে |
সোনায় সোহাগা যেন মনে হয় তাকে ||
রুপোলি এ মাছটি যে বাঙালির প্রাণ |
বর্ষায় বাংলায় এই মাছ খান ||
ইলিশ মাছের স্বাদ অমৃত সমান |
যে রাঁধে সে গুণী বটে, খায়ে পুণ্যবান ||