This is the season to eat hilsa to your heart's content. In the monsoon almost every home cooks some hilsa dish. You often have steamed hilsa, paturi or a thin curry, so this time try hilsa lotpoti.

For an unfamiliar taste of a familiar fish, make hilsa lotpoti. It needs only a few spices. Here is the recipe.

• Hilsa, 6 pieces
• Grated coconut, 1 cup
• Turmeric powder, 2 tablespoons
• Chilli powder, 1 teaspoon
• Mustard oil, as needed
• Salt and sugar, to taste
• Green chillies, 5-6
• Lemon juice, 1 tablespoon

Rub the cut and washed hilsa with salt, turmeric and chilli powder and leave for half an hour. Then blend the grated coconut, green chillies, salt, turmeric, chilli powder, mustard oil, sugar and a little water.

Heat a pan and lightly fry the fish, then coat the pieces well with the coconut and spice mixture. Add a little water.

Scatter chopped green chillies over the fish, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Then remove the lid and sprinkle lemon juice over the fish. The hilsa lotpoti is ready. Serve it with hot rice.

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