Hilsa pickle recipe with mustard oil, vinegar and panch phoron

Hilsa is usually steamed (bhapa), dry-cooked (bhuna) or made into a curry (jhol), but it can also be turned into a pickle. On 5 February 2026 the lifestyle section of the Bangladeshi news site Jagonews24 published a recipe for hilsa pickle made with fried fish, mustard paste, chilli, vinegar and panch phoron. It said the pickle brings variety to everyday meals, tastes especially good with hot rice and can be served in place of a chutney or another side dish. The ingredients and steps of that recipe follow, together with food-safety guidance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on keeping cooked food.

Hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha) is the national fish of Bangladesh. It is an oily fish, rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and its natural oil means it can be cooked in very little fat. The FishBase database describes it as a fish of the sea, estuaries and rivers that swims upriver to spawn, usually 50 to 100 km. It is sold fresh and also dried and salted.

• Hilsa: half a kilo, 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

Panch phoron is a blend of five spices in equal parts: fenugreek, cumin, nigella, black mustard and fennel seeds. It is used in the cooking of Bangladesh, West Bengal, Odisha, Assam and Nepal and is normally used whole; this recipe calls for it ground.

• 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.
• Add the ginger, garlic, mustard paste, turmeric, chilli powder and salt to taste, and stir-fry the spices well.
• When the oil separates from the spices, add the fried fish and the green chillies.
• Add a little vinegar so that the pickle keeps longer.
• Sprinkle over the cumin or panch phoron powder and leave on very low heat for 5 to 10 minutes.
• When the oil rises to the top, take it off the heat, let it cool and serve with hot rice.

The Jagonews24 recipe suggests keeping the pickle in a glass jar. Because it is a cooked fish dish, the usual rules for cooked food apply. The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) says bacteria grow rapidly between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit, so cooked food should be refrigerated within two hours of cooking, or within one hour when the air is above 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

According to FSIS, cooked leftovers that are covered or sealed in airtight containers keep for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator or 3 to 4 months in the freezer. Dividing a large batch into small, shallow containers helps it cool quickly.

Photo: Marajozkee / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Sources: Jagonews24, FishBase (Tenualosa ilisha), USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, Wikipedia (Ilish, Panch phoron)