Simple Gluten Free Kitchen

Steamed Fish in Mustard Sauce (Bengali Style)

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Today, I’m bringing a simple but interesting preparation of Bengali steamed fish (Bhapa Ilish)  to go along with plain boiled rice. The bengali diet includes a lot of fish and the use of mustard oil, seeds and paste. I am not a bengali to claim that fish is staple at our home or I liberally use mustard but I do try to eat fish once or twice a week , cooked in different ways. I made this dish for a group of friends who are bold enough to try something new at my home. There are two ways of preparing bengali style steamed fish, in a steamer or in oven. I like the oven method better because it is cooked and served in the same dish, reducing the amount of time needed for cleaning afterwards.

 

 

Traditionally, this recipe is prepared with bony hilsa and for the sauce, black and yellow mustard seeds are soaked in water and then ground over a grinding stone. Slathered in  fragrant & spicy mustard paste and oil , the fish is then wrapped in banana leaves and steamed. I could not find hilsa fish and banana leaves, so here I used  boneless and skinless cod loins and (steam) baked in oven. The use of mustard oil and freshly ground mustard makes it very pungent, some people add poppy seeds to the paste to reduce pungency, I added coconut milk.

To get an  honest opinion from my friends,  I asked, “Would they want to eat that again in my house?”  Two of them who enjoy all kinds of food said, “Sure!”, other two said ” may be with less mustard”, and  they squeezed lemon juice over it. Even I think I overdid with  mustard seeds but I didn’t know which one? Few days later I came across this great article and learned about mustard. It’s the black mustard seeds that are bitter. Black mustard seeds are used in indian recipes for tempering certain lentils and vegetables but I never found them bitter, could be because they are fried in oil. So, to my understanding when the seeds are roasted or soaked in water for long time their bitterness mellow down. It’s just the taste thing, some like bitter foods, some don’t. My husband who is always a good sport, trying out anything I cook for dinner had no problem with bitterness. He said it cleared his sinus and scarfed down two pieces. I am so blessed to have him!

Overall, the recipe was good not to share with you. It’s an extremely easy and tasty way to do a fish for a group of people.

 

 

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Steamed Fish in Bengali Mustard Sauce

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Yield: 10 pieces

Simple yet impressive bengali fish recipe with ground mustard seeds.

Ingredients

  • 1 kg (approx) cod loins
  • 3 tbsp mustard oil ( 2 tbsp is enough )
  • 1.5 tbsp yellow mustard seeds
  • 1.5 tbsp black mustard seeds (use less if you do not have the taste for bitter foods)
  • 1" piece ginger, roughly chopped
  • 7 green chillies
  • 4 tbsp coconut milk
  • 3/4 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp red chilli powder
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 2.25 tsp salt

Instructions

  1. Soak mustard seeds in 4 tbsp warm water for 1 hour or at least 30 minutes.
  2. Wash and cut cod loins into half. Dry the fish on absorbent kitchen paper.
  3. Combine turmeric, 1.5 tsp salt, red chilli powder and lemon juice in a small bowl.
  4. make a few light cuts in the fish and smear both sides of each piece with lemon juice and turmeric mixture.
  5. Make a thick paste of mustard seeds along with remaining 3/4 tsp salt, 4 green chillies and ginger. Add coconut milk to it.
  6. Rub mustard sauce on fish and place in an oven proof dish in one single layer.
  7. Pour the remaining sauce over it so that it covers all the fish pieces nicely.
  8. Add the remaining 3 slit green chillies on the top and drizzle mustard oil on them.
  9. Cover the dish with an aluminum foil and bake at 375°F for 20 minutes.
  10. Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes.
  11. Serve hot with rice.
https://www.simpleglutenfreekitchen.com/2014/10/steamed-fish-in-mustard-sauce-bengali-style.html

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Your husband is a smart and good man. : ) I love fish with mustard style dressing/sauce but I’ve never had it this way. It looks wonderful and I love that you can pop it in the oven, all done in one dish.

    Reply

  5. This creamy and delicious mustard sauce would be perfect for so many dishes!
    Would you suggest it with some vegetables for a vegetarian? Any specific vegetables? 🙂

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

    Reply

  7. Wow, this is such a nice looking fish dish…I love all the spices in the mustard sauce. Looks delicious!
    Hope you are enjoying your week Balvinder 🙂

    Reply

  9. I could eat fish everyday but my husband prefers it just once a week if that. Although he’s a huge fan of mustard, so I’m thinking with this recipe I might be able to squeeze in fish 2x in one week. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

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