Whatever dish you make with hilsa, it tastes good. But hilsa is not only for bhapa, bhuna or jhol; it can also be made into a pickle. The pickle adds novelty and variety to a meal as well as flavour, and served with hot rice it makes the food even more appetising. Hilsa pickle can bring variety to everyday cooking and can also be served in place of a chutney or other side dishes.

Here is how to make hilsa pickle.

• Hilsa: half a kg, cut into small pieces
• Mustard oil: 1 cup
• Chopped onion: 1 cup
• Garlic cloves: 2 tablespoons
• Ginger paste: 1 teaspoon
• Mustard paste: 1 tablespoon
• Dried chilli powder: 1 teaspoon
• Turmeric powder: half a teaspoon
• Cumin powder: half a spoon
• Panch phoron powder: 1 teaspoon
• Vinegar: 2 tablespoons
• Green chillies: 6
• Mango pickle: 1 tablespoon (optional, for sourness)
• Salt to taste

First wash the hilsa pieces well, rub them with salt and turmeric, fry them in mustard oil until reddish and set them aside. In the same oil, fry the chopped onion until light brown. Then add the ginger, garlic, mustard paste, turmeric, chilli powder and salt to taste and stir-fry the masala well. When the oil separates from the masala, add the fried fish and green chillies.

Add a little vinegar so the pickle keeps for a long time. Sprinkle over the cumin or panch phoron powder and leave it on very low heat for 5 to 10 minutes. When the oil floats to the top, take it off the heat, let it cool and serve with hot rice. To keep it for a long time, store it in a glass jar; putting it in the sun now and then will keep the pickle better.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.