Hilsa fish in mustard sauce โ the dish that defines Bengali cuisine. From Kolkata to Dhaka to the Bengali diaspora in Pune and Shillong, this is shorshe ilish, city by city.
เฆถเฆฐเงเฆทเง เฆเฆฒเฆฟเฆถ โ เฆฌเฆพเฆเฆฒเฆพเฆฐ เฆชเงเฆฐเฆงเฆพเฆจ เฆชเฆฆ
Bengal's most iconic dish, in a few ingredients
Shorshe Ilish is hilsa (ilish) fish cooked in a paste of freshly ground mustard seeds, mustard oil, green chili and turmeric. Hilsa is a migratory fish that swims from the Bay of Bengal up the Ganges-Padma-Brahmaputra-Meghna river system every monsoon to spawn โ a single migration that feeds the food culture of an entire region. The result is Bengal's most celebrated dish: pungent, rich, and eaten spooned over hot steamed rice.
One migratory fish, three distinct food cultures
33 cities from Kolkata to the Dooars โ the heartland of shorshe ilish, where the dish is a weekly monsoon habit
11 cities from Dhaka to the Padma river towns โ home to the world's most prized hilsa, and the fish's official national status
6 cities across Northeast India and the Bengali diaspora โ Guwahati, Shillong, Agartala, Bhubaneswar and Pune โ where hilsa is imported and cherished
Click your city for local season notes, prices, where to find it, and tips
West Bengal, Bangladesh, Northeast India and the Bengali diaspora โ the most complete shorshe ilish guide anywhere
Each city guide is grounded in its own river, season and food culture โ not a copy-pasted template
June-to-September monsoon timing explained for every city, so you know when to look for the best fish
From home-cooked โน260 plates in North Bengal to festive เงณ1,300 Padma-hilsa spreads in Rajshahi