For as long as I can remember, fish has been a huge part of my diet; a lot of my Bengali friends, as well as my extended family, would say the same thing about themselves. Typically, you can have Machher Jhol – which is a very spicy curry with fish, or you can fry it; we normally leave the bones in and pick them out as we eat. Personally, I normally eat Rui (Rohu fish) maach, Pomfret, and Pabda Maach (Indian freshwater fish) which are normally easy to eat in that the bones aren’t really hard to pick out. Also, they provide less of a choking hazard.

That being said, even though I know a lot of Bengalis eat fish, I know that unless taste really matters to them, a lot of people will prefer fish that don’t have a lot of bones to pick out. But then again, that isn’t the case; there is one fish I ate once in Kolkata (and here) called Ilish Maach. In English it’s called “Hilsa Fish”, but my dad and other fish-lovers call it “King’s Fish” or “The King of Fish”. Ilish is an oily fish with more or less very sharp and tough bones throughout its body. Because of this, a lot of people find it difficult to enjoy this delicacy, myself included. I am the type of person who will definitely choose the fish with the least amount of bones to eat- regardless of taste. It is delicious though. So when I do eat it, it’s worth it.

There’s a lot of different ways to prepare Ilish- you can even make boneless Ilish, but a chef who succeeds at this requires quite the credibility. Recently, my dad made fried Ilish (with the bones). I watched him cut the big fish and marinate it in garlic paste, a small amount of ginger paste, turmeric, salt and red chilli powder. He filled the pan with shorshe tel, a powerful mustard seed oil commonly used in Ilish, and went to work. Something to note is that there is a Bengali saying that Ilish doesn’t need any oil because it can just fry in its own oil. This is because of the fact that it’s really oily as well as the fact that it has a high fat content. If you use too much oil to fry it, there may be some fat left behind from the fish. Mustard oil has a pretty high boiling point, so if you ever choose to make this, be aware! 

I patiently waited for the fish to finish frying as I took note of the uncooked smell of the fish from before, and how it changed into a smell where the spices stick out. The uncooked smell of fish was no longer there. I really recommend eating this- despite the fact that it can be a battle to pick through and eat. I promise that the taste will outweigh the struggle to get there. My family doesn’t eat it often, but when we go to India, we see it at our relatives’ house as well as parties very often. This is the power of a delicacy.