Recipe
🥙 LUNCH
Shorshe Ilish
Hilsa fish in a pungent mustard-and-green-chili sauce, the prized national dish of Bengal, eaten with rice.
Bangladeshi · medium · serves 4
prep 20 min · cook 20 min
~547 cal · 44g protein · 0g carbs · 39g fat · 0g fiber · 0g sugars · 12g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Shorshe ilish, hilsa in mustard sauce, is the most revered dish of Bengal and the national fish dish of Bangladesh. The ilish (hilsa) is beloved almost to the point of obsession, and this preparation, drenched in a sharp mustard sauce, is considered its finest expression.
The fish is cooked gently in a pungent paste of ground mustard seeds, green chili, and turmeric, loosened with a little water and finished with raw mustard oil, whose heat is essential to the dish. Served simply with plain steamed rice, it is prized for the interplay of the rich, oily fish and the nose-tingling bite of the mustard. Bengalis debate endlessly over the perfect balance.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, egg-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
1 1/2 lb hilsa or other oily fish steaks
1/4 cup yellow and black mustard seeds, ground
4 green chilies
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 cup mustard oil
to taste salt
Instructions
1
Grind the mustard seeds with a couple of green chilies and a little water into a smooth paste; let it rest so the bitterness mellows.
✎ Chef’s note
Soak and grind the mustard fresh, and add a pinch of salt while grinding, to keep the paste from turning bitter.
2
Rub the fish with turmeric and salt.
3
Warm the mustard oil, add the mustard paste, turmeric, and water, and bring to a simmer.
4
Slip in the fish and whole chilies and cook gently until done, then finish with a drizzle of raw mustard oil and serve with rice.
Bengali national dish.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Dhaka. Ilish, the hilsa, is the national fish and a seasonal one, running up from the sea into the rivers with the monsoon and landed in quantity at Chandpur and Mawa. At the Bengali new year it is eaten as panta ilish, fried fish alongside rice that has been left overnight in water.
🗺️
Bangladesh. Hilsa is the national fish and the argument is about which river it came from, with Padma hilsa held to be the finest. It is oily, bony and eaten with the bones negotiated rather than removed, cooked with mustard oil and mustard paste. Panch phoron, the five-seed mix, is fenugreek, nigella, cumin, black mustard and fennel, added whole.
🌍
Asia. Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, and its food spans the delicate seasonality of Japanese washoku, the chili-fired curries of India and Thailand, and the wheat-and-lamb traditions of Central Asia. Rice, noodles, soy, and fermentation recur across its regions, while ancient spice routes and religious traditions shaped distinct grammars of flavor. Whether from a street-cart wok or a monastery kitchen, eating is deeply communal and ritual-rich.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Bangladesh
Bhuna KhichuriToasted rice and moong dal cooked rich with ghee, whole spices, and caramelized onion, monsoon comfort from Dhaka.
Ruti with Aloo BhajiSoft whole-wheat flatbread with a lightly spiced potato-and-onion curry, the everyday Dhaka breakfast.
RoshogollaSpongy cheese-curd balls simmered in light sugar syrup, the springy sweet of Bengal.
Browse all Bangladesh recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Blender.
Storing it: Cool leftover rice quickly and refrigerate within an hour. Keep up to 2 days and reheat until piping hot all the way through.
Make it a Bangladesh meal
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RoshogollaDessert
Bhuna KhichuriDinner
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Frequently asked questions
What is Shorshe Ilish?
Hilsa fish in a pungent mustard-and-green-chili sauce, the prized national dish of Bengal, eaten with rice.
Where does Shorshe Ilish come from?
Shorshe Ilish is a Bangladeshi dish from Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Can Shorshe Ilish be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Shorshe Ilish recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Shorshe Ilish safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Shorshe Ilish take to make?
About 40 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 20 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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