Panta Ilish
The best part of Pohela Boishakh is the food! Revealing our first festive Bengali new year spread.
Pohela Boishakh or Bangla Noboborsho is the first day of Bengali calendar which is the official calendar of Bangladesh. This festival is celebrated on 14 April in Bangladesh and on 15 April in Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam by people of Bengali heritage, irrespective of their religious faith. It is the celebration of the Bengalihood, transcending the border between Bangladesh and West Bengal, rising above any religious differences. It is the revival of the indigenous cultural roots and home-style cooking of Bengali and Bangladeshi food.
In Bangladesh, a country marked by a huge chasm between the rich and the poor, the once austere bhorta (mishmash of vegetables), mach bhaja (fried fish) and panta bhat (plain white fermented rice) has become the game-changer — marking the return of the privileged to the food of their forefathers. The gradual incorporation of bhorta and bhaja as a celebratory food at home and abroad is a tale of how sharing common food as a ritual on occasions like Boishakh has become a marker of cultural and national identity for Bangladeshis.
The Full Boishakh Feast: Ilish Bhaja, Panta Bhat, Five Types of Bhorta and Kolar Mocha Ghonto
Recipe - Panta Ilish
Serves: 3-5
Traditionally Bengalis at home and abroad eat Panta Bhat (overnight steeped rice), Ilish (Hilsa Fish) and varieties of Bhorta to commemorate Pohela Boishakh. The recipes for Panta Bhat and Ilish are very simple, so simple that it doesn’t even need to be written down but in the spirit of documenting Bengali and Bangladeshi food, we are going to share how we make Panta-Ilish at The Spice Odyssey.
Panta Ilish | Fermented Rice and Hilsa Fish
Panta Bhat | Fermented Rice
The literal meaning of Panta Bhat is “overnight steeped rice”, which is exactly what it is. This is a rice-based dish prepared by soaking cooked rice, generally leftover, in water overnight. Traditionally served in the morning with salt, onion, fresh green chilies and Aloo Bhorta, Bengali style mashed potatoes.
Did you know? Panta bhat has more micronutrients than fresh rice. It is traditionally considered very beneficial in feverish conditions.
There are many variations of the dish, though all are made by soaking cooked rice in water overnight.
Rice - 1 cup, cooked
Water - 2 cups
Cook rice the way you normally do, allow it to cool down, about 3-4 hours. Add 2 cups of cold water or more, making sure there is about an inch of water above the rice grains. Cover the lid — care must be taken to cover the dish during the long soaking to avoid any contamination. Keep it stored in room temperature. About 12–24 hours later, panta bhat is ready to be served.
Panta bhat retains its taste for 2-3 days before it starts to disintegrate and spoil. There are many ways to eat it — Ilish bhaja, bhorta, fish curries, shutki (dried fish), and even jhal gorur mangsho bhuna (spicy beef curry).
Ilish or Hilsa — the king of king among all fish. Did you know it's also the national fish of Bangladesh? This fish alone contributes about 12% of the total fish production and about 1.15% of GDP in Bangladesh.
Eating Ilish was a weekly fair growing up in my parents' home. Off the top of my head, I can easily think of 50 different ways of preparing this fish. I remember once seeing a magazine spread showing off 200 ways of cooking Ilish. In Bangladesh, West Bengal and Odisha, ilish is eaten in many different ways — it can be smoked, fried, steamed or baked in young plantain leaves, prepared with mustard seed paste, curd, eggplant, and many different vegetables and condiments. To say, Bengalis love this fish is an understatement.
Ilish Bhaja | Hilsa Fish Fry
lish Bhaja is Ilish in its simplest form. Unlike most fish, Ilish has a very unique flavor without the pungent fishy smell. It's also rich in omega 3 fatty acids which gives the fish its' marbled fat content and softness. I've chosen to highlight it's delectable taste and melt in the mouth texture by keeping the preparation very simple. A pinch of salt, a dash of turmeric, and a little rub. Then off it goes to be fried in simmering hot mustard oil. 3-5 minutes on each side until it's crunchy and golden brown. Enjoy it with hot steamed rice, panta bhat or alone. There is no wrong way of eating it.
Ilish Steaks - 5-6 pieces
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp, as needed
Mustard Oil - 2 tbsp
Onions - 1/2 cup, sliced
Fresh Green Chilies - 3-4
Coat the fish pieces in turmeric and salt. In a skillet, heat mustard oil over medium-high heat until it starts to smoke. Add the fish pieces carefully and fry on each side until it is crispy and golden-brown. Once the fish is fried to your preference, remove it from the heat and set it aside.
Add the sliced onions and green chilies to the leftover oil—rendered fish fat and fry them until the onions are translucent and changes to a yellow color; the green chilies should be crispy fried as well. This way the onions absorb the fish flavor, which tastes great alongside the crispy fish. Serve them with hot steamed rice or fermented rice.
Kolar Mocha Ghonto | Banana Blossom Curry with Shrimp
You are probably wondering where is the recipe for this. Well, I am not sharing it. This was a pain in the a$$ to make and will be even worse trying to explain and write down the recipe. I had to dissect a whole banana blossom piece by piece until my hands were black, which took me about an hour. Although it turned out very yummy and it is one of my favorite vegetable curry from my childhood, Kolar Mocha Ghonto is extremely time-consuming and just not worth the headache and black fingers (banana flowers oxidize really quick).
Lol come to think of it, I have done this twice now. Once when I begged my mom to cook it for me and at first she was like “hell no! Finally, she made a deal with me that the only way she would is if I helped her clean the banana blossoms. Obviously I forgot the lesson from that day, which is why I attempted to cook it on my own again 5 years later. Would I make this again? Maybe, when I have that once in a blue moon nostalgic craving from childhood and I am willing to waste an hour of my life picking through banana flowers. Otherwise, its honestly not worth the cleaning and prepping and cooking. Don’t worry there will be plenty of Bengali vegetable recipes. And I have an alternative to the Banana Blossom Curry which takes about 1/4 of the time to whip up and I will share it with you all eventually.
