I was a good student in school.By good, I mean that not only was I bright in studies, but disciplined and well-mannered too. Since the last two lines of this post have already thrown all my modesty in air, let me also say that I feel that I was good because I was really hardworking and believed in healthy competition with the other students.
I had a real good friend who used to beat me in the class ranks every time by one level.Without fail, he used to get one rank ahead of me in every test or exam in the class.A week before every exam were to begin, he used to tell me “Tanvi, You ll beat me this time in the scores, coz I am not prepared enough.” Followed by this he used to tell me “You may not get such a chance again when I am unprepared, so make the most of it!”And everytime I used to be sooo irritated by his words and I used to tell him that I don’t want him to stoop down for me and that he should give me fierce competition. The result was the same everytime-prepared or un prepared, he ranked first and me second and never vice versa! Today, when I think about him, I can so very clearly justify the fact that he had a very aciculate mind and I was more of a assiduous hardworking types 
We were very good friends, we used to share the same bench in class and ate lunch together too.Once he told fooled me saying that he is so brilliant because his mom used to give him two raw eggs in a glass full of milk every morning coz it strengthens the brain. That day, I came back from school and told my mom that from now on I wanna eat raw eggs in the morning too.When she came to know the reason behind such devious demand from me, she had a hearty laugh. Additionally, she told me that if I eat nuts and fish, which have good oils , then not only will I have strong and sharp brain but my skin will glow & hair will be shiny…her words fell on ears of a teenage girl like raindrops falling on barren land.
Now, Indian parents have one very typical habit amongst many..they just need to know what their children like or do not like in food …and in both cases they will feed the kids until they puke! They will overprepare the foods you like and will stuff you with those until you start disliking them..and for the ones you don’t like, they will nag you to death to eat them till your dislike turns into hatred.My mom’s nutty & fishy trick worked wonders for her and disasters for me…She made me eat a handful of nuts daily & fish at least twice a week each time telling me how I ll beat my friend’s scores in class and will become beautiful too at the same time…and me.. ..a fool kid..thinking to excel in class ate all those otherwise torturous foods as if I were being fed ice cream :)
When I think of those few years when I was manipulated by my mom, I still taunt her.But whatsoever, she succeeded in her endeavours and eventually developing a taste of both of these foods in me..coz nuts & seafood form one of my favorite foods as of today.Fish is my most favourite non vegetarian item and I can’t have my day without handful of almonds & walnuts!
Okay now for the recipe,it’s one of the easiest east indian fish preparations consisting of smearing the fish with mustard paste and steaming it in a banana leaf.I used aluminium foil though because I cud not find banana leaf in here.The authentic preparation is with a kind of tropical fish called ‘Hilsa/Ilish‘, however any type of fish can be used.The key to authentic taste is the use of fresh ground mustard seeds and use of raw mustard oil.The pungency of mustard combined with flesh of the fish lends a divine taste.
I was intrigued when I saw my MIL using both lemon juice and yogurt for the paste,she said reason being, rubbing lemon juice cures the fish slightly and yogurt takes care of the pungency of mustard.Normally, this dish is best enjoyed with rice however you can throw in some other veggies of your choice too in the steamer and have it on its own..totally up to you.I like to dry grind my mustard seeds first and then mix with water coz I believe I am able to control the texture better that way.Below goes my take on the recipe:
What I need:
- Hilsa/Ilish/Any fish of your choice -4 pieces [preferably the belly cut]
- 2 tbsp brown mustard seeds
- 2 tbsp yellow mustard seeds
- 1 tsp white poppy seeds [khus-khus/posto]
- 2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp red chilli powder [adjust to taste]
- 2 tsp green chilli paste
- 3 tbsp thick plain yogurt
- 1 tbsp coconut cream
- 2 tbsp raw mustard oil
- Water
- Salt to taste
How I did it:
- Wash the fish pieces and pat them completely dry.Using a fork, poke the pieces on both sides,rub with lemon juice,turmeric and 1 tsp salt and set aside for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, using a coffee grinder, dry grind both the mustard seeds and poppy seeds into a coarse powder.
- In a small bowl, mix in the powdered mustard, poppy seeds, yogurt, green chilli paste, coconut cream, red chilli powder, salt to taste and combine well.Add water if required to make a thick paste.
- Smear the fish pieces with this mustard paste.Save the remaining paste.
- On a big sheet of aluminium foil, arrange the mustard smeared fish pieces.Do not stack them over one another.Once arranged, drizzle with the mustard oil and remaining mustard paste [in any] and fold over the aluminium foil to make a small parcel.
- In a steamer, steam the parcels for about 10-15 minutes or until the fish is tender.
- Remove from steamer and let rest for 5-8 minutes to cool down.Do not discard the liquid/juices in the parcels,that forms a terrific sauce/gravy.
- Serve with warm steamed rice.
Enjoy!
Sending this to Hearth n Soul Vol 23
Woww, am just drooling over that delicious looking bhapa illish..very tempting..
I love the combination of flavors in this dish. Coconut and turmeric, yogurt and lemon are such beautiful and flavorful ingredients.
Looks wonderful Tanvi. My mom at some stage of here cooking craze, started using mustard oil in her daily cooking. We as kids used to hate it and used to ask mom …if we have become poor and we can’t afford good oil any more.LOL…Even though the food used to taste good , the pungent smell, and the sudden change registered this negative idea about the oil in my mind. Its time now to overcome those and buy mustard oil!
OMG Kulsum..I just cant imagine cooking without mustard oil…I m so conditioned to its taste! Initially, when I shifted here and cudnt get good quality mustard oil, I used Olive & canola ..even corn oil..but as soon as I found an indian store carrying a good brand…I shifted
If I go as per you say…I m saving money I suppose 
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Yummmm! I never used to like the flavor of mustard oil while growing up, but now I find it quite palatable!
(I don’t like the flavor of ghee either–I try to use it very sparingly if at all!
)
I love love love me some fish curry. I love your pictures.
Hi dear,there is an award for u here http://seduceyourtastebuds.blogspot.com/2010/11/purple-cabbage-rice.html
kindly collect it
wow Tanvi this rocks love Indian fish dishes my hubby makes the best fish fry drop me a line for a guest post rebeccasubbiah at yahoo dot com
thanks for your great comment hugs rebecca
Tanvi,
This fish curry looks delicious . Tempting one.
love the story! isn’t it funny to remember why we did certain things?
Looks good. You can’t do much with Hilsa, except a few traditional recipes. This one tops many meals in our home, with some variation from your recipe.
I absolutely LOVE fish curries and this looks so incredible I would gobble them all up in a second!!
That is really yummy dish and love the spices you’ve used, this is different from the usual curry we used to cook..
Hi tanvi,
Bhapa Elish looks great. Simply Mouthwatering.
Deepa
Hamaree Rasoi
My mother had tough time feeding my sister. She had to really force her to eat. However I was a very obedient child
who ate almost everything she gave except for that garlic curry 
Love this bright mustard colored fish curry, droollll..
And regarding those day light bulbs, I bought them from Home Depot.
Absolutely loved the pics they look fab and mouthwatering!
wonderful read Tanvi, i was never first in the class neither a bright student i never used to bother about marks
how nice to know ur were a class topper and fish curry looks awesome am drooling over here 
This dish is just so darn pleasing to a hungry tummy! You have outdone yourself! Could you mail me some jalebi? LOl!
tht colour is awesome..im sure the flavours must have been awesome as well
How we were innocent those days
That is a wonderful sweet memory! Love fish in any form, sounds too good!
Tanvi it’s one of my favorite dish and in Bengal almost every house have their own delicious version of Bhapa Ilish! You just make it rocking dear!
Just I want to know is Ilish available in Vegas and if you don’t mind I want to know about it prices because in my state a good Ilisha fish price is going sky high, though this year we get to have some good one and our wallet don’t look that slimmer …. haha!
Love Always.
This sounds like a very great meal! looks flavorful and colorful!
My roommate is Indian and her mom recently tried to convince her that almonds will cure every ailment she ever has. So this post totally made me laugh.
This preparation of fish looks so delicious! I’m glad you developed a taste for it after all these years!
FIsh is looking so tempting….we too had fish & rice yesterday for dinner……
I loved reading your memories about school days and about your mother, too.
I used to hate fish as I child and now it’s a fave of mine too. Love this recipe, beautiful flavors.
It’s great reading about your memories! I love how you tie them in to what you’re cooking. Your fish sounds wonderful!
Tanvi, I do not want to offend the piece of fish…but I could be satisfied just with the sauce and the rice…with all the flavor in it…love the coconut sauce and all the yummie spices in it
Wow! This dish looks gorgeous!! I really love all of the flavors in this fish dish. What a beautiful post
Hope you’ll swing by my CSN giveaway this week and enter! 
You sure made my mouth water with this. Yum. Banana leaves i can find. Mustard seeds will be difficult but will look.
Wow Tanvi! I am admittedly not a fish lover, as my mother was allergic to shellfish she didn’t cook much from the sea and so I never got a taste for it, but your recipe, with the lovely combination of spices looks very appetizing! Thanks as always for sharing on the hearth and soul hop each week! All the best! alex@amoderatelife
Must try this one out, i love fish .
This is one variation of the traditional recipe that I was not aware of. My mum makes it only with the mustard paste and needless to mention the banana leaf imparts a lovely flavour. It is rather unfortunate that you were unable to use a banana leaf I am sure it would have tasted nice.
Glad you liked the fish kabab recipe. Actually my mum decided to experiment with mutton shammi kabab recipe, she tweaked the recipe a bit basically she did not use eggs in the fish kababs as one normally does in muttton kababs and it was a success. If the quality of fish is good it is very tasty.
doool……. wow wow wow…yummy…super duper presentation
http://jellybelly-shanavi.blogspot.com
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