Doi Ilish / Hilsa fish cooked in curd

With the days going by in a whirlwind, I did not get much time to dedicate to and do justice to the beautiful Ilish that I got this time.
Most of it I enjoyed just plain fried.
A tauk once, a chanchra  with my homegrown Pui leaves another .... that's all.
And then,  I found this lyaja/ tail with the muro / head in the freezer.
While the muro went into the chanchra , I was wondering what to do with the lyaja when my heart craved the ilish meat in a 'taste buds awakening' gravy.

I did not want it in a jhol.
Found a bowlful of curd in the fridge and I knew what I wanted.
I could almost feel the tang of the curd with the spice of fresh green chillies and the soft meat of the lyaja soaking it up.
Mixed with some plain hot rice, it would be a match made in heaven.
Ok ok .... cliches apart .... I set aside the piece to thaw and went about cooking B's lunch.
I cook the vegetarian part of the meals first and then cook the non vegetarian ones.
And finally clean the kitchen.
This is my way of managing my house where pure vegetarians and pure non vegetarians co exist.

 It does exhaust me by the end of everything ... which is one of the reasons I do not get to click good photographs of my dishes as regularly as I would love to.
So after I made this, I hurriedly clicked some photos, thinking that I will finally be able to make a post.
Only to find out that I have a Doi shorshe ilish on my blog already.
Then quickly realised that it did not have shorshe / mustard paste.
So I could make a post after all. 😊

I have used just the tail as I was cooking for my self.
I ask the tail to be kept slightly bigger than I would for a Rohu fish as the Hilsa is bony fish.
And as the tail tapers, the bonier it becomes.
It is easier to remove the longer bones when the piece is bigger.

Need :

Ilish fish - I used the tail, you can use any piece
Sour curd - 1 cup , beaten with water and a little salt
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp + 1 tbsp
Kalo jeere / Nigella seeds - 1 tsp
Fresh green chillies - 3 or 4 , slit into halves
Mustard oil - 1 tbsp + 1 tsp + 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Water - a little, for gravy

How to :

Heat 1 tbsp of mustard oil in a heavy kadahi / wok.
Marinate the fish with 1 tsp of turmeric powder and a little salt.
Fry the fish lightly and remove aside.

In the same oil, add 1 tsp more of the oil and add the nigella seeds.
Then add the curd on low heat, stirring constantly ... or else wit will curdle.
Add turmeric powder, salt and the green chillies, cover and bring to a simmer.

Let in the fish piece and cover and boil for some more time.
Do not raise heat at all and keep stirring once in a while.
Add water if needed.

Remove cover and when gravy has reached desired consistency, pour 1 tsp of mustard oil all over it, cover, remove from heat and let it stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Done!!

The slight tang of the sour curd with the fragrance of the raw mustard oil and the green chillies is a heady mix.

Serve with hot rice.

Enjoy!!