Get a taste of the season's first hilsa at 'Ilish Utsav' in Kolkata

The season of hilsa is here and to keep the spirits high, The Westin Kolkata is ready with their Ilish Utsav. On a rainy Saturday afternoon, we visited the hotel to sample their hilsa dishes. Keeping up with the theme, the decor, too, featured quintessential Bengali hues such as red and white, prints such as gamchha (checkered) and motifs such as pakha (hand fan), ghot (water pot), and kola gaach (banana tree). Replicas of the fish were a cute addition to the decor.

Along with the classic ilish dishes — and some made on request — the menu also boasted of regional Indian delicacies, dishes from other parts of the world, live food counters and a huge dessert counter. Ranjay Kumar Tiwari, chef de cuisine at the hotel, shared, "For the ilish menu, we have ilish bhaja, ilish bhapa, shorshe ilish, ilish er alu begun er jhol, ilish polau and so on. If guests are looking for some specific recipes, even that can be made on demand."

Junior sous chef Dibyaroop Basu added to it, saying that they have tried to keep the classic recipes, or grandmothers' recipes as we know them, on the menu. He also shared with us how the ilish fest is sustainable with zero wastage of fish meat.

We started off with plain basmati rice paired with ilish maacher pui shaak chochhori (a mishmash of Malabar spinach, hilsa head and other veggies), and we loved how flavourful it was. Unlike most places, they added only the chewable bones of the fish head and removed rest of the smaller bones. We took a generous helping of maach-bhajar tel (the oil in which the fish is fried, which absorbs all the flavours from the fish) with a slice of crispy fried fish. What made it more special was that this was our first ilish this season!

We also had the ilish er alu begun jhol and it was on point; the dish tasted exactly like the versions made by our moms or grandmoms at home. But the star of the show was the ilish polau. Here's where all the smaller, boney pieces go, and you can pretty well imagine what a flavour bomb this can be. Chef Basu shared that the fish pieces are boiled to create a stock, in which the basmati rice is cooked and then tossed in ilish macher tel – kind of an elevated version of the boiled rice with fried fish oil you make in Bengali households. If you really love your ilish, you have to give this festival a try.

Meal for one: INR 2,199 onwards. Till July 28. At The Westin Hotel Kolkata, Rajarhat.

Take a visual tour of our experience here: