National fish of Bangladesh. It is a marine fish that comes to the rivers of Bangladesh and East India to spawn. Hilsa is very popular among Bengalis.. Hilsa is an economically crucial tropical fish. Large quantities of hilsa are caught yearly from the Bay of Bengal delta, the estuaries of the Padma-Meghna-Yamuna rivers. It is a marine fish but this fish spawns in large rivers.
When the egg hatches and the baby grows (called jataka in Bengali), the hilsa fish returns to the sea. Sarse hilsa, vapa hilsa, hilsa paturi, kada vaja, dopeyaja and jhol are very popular. Kachur leaves and pieces of hilsa fish, heads, etc., are a particular dish. Hilsa fish stuffed with egg and fragrant rice is cooked in a unique way known as Bhaturi or Hilsa Fish Polao.
This is a special monsoon dish. Hilsa fish can be preserved long by oxidizing it in salt. The hilsa preserved in this way is called salted hilsa. Various delicious dishes are also cooked with it. It is said that there are about 50 types of hilsa fish cuisine. Hilsa eggs are also a trendy food.
Very little oil is needed to cook this fish as hilsa fish is rich in oil. As hilsa is not always available in North America, the Bengali people have taken shad fish as an alternative to hilsa. Saad fish is considered as an alternative to hilsa because the colour and taste of this fish are almost similar to those of hilsa.
Along with the various benefits of Hilsa fish, there are also one or two disadvantages. Hilsa can cause allergy problems in some people. Those prone to allergies should avoid Hilsa fish. But those who don't have allergy problems don't get gas, they can keep hilsa fish in their diet. It will improve your health. So try to include hilsa fish in your daily diet.
