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Shidol bhorta
Fermented dried fish mash
সিদল ভর্তা (shidol bhorta): Rangpur's fermented dried-fish cake fried and mashed with garlic, chilli and mustard oil
Shidol is one of the great preserved foods of Rangpur, Nilphamari and the far north: tiny puti fish, lightly dried, pounded with taro stem and packed into earthen jars to ferment, then shaped into flat cakes that are dried again. A small piece goes a very long way, and the most loved way to eat it is as a bhorta, fried in mustard oil with a mountain of garlic and dried chilli and mashed by hand into a rough, pungent relish eaten with hot rice. Its smell is powerful and the flavour deep, salty and funky, a bit like a Bangladeshi anchovy paste. Outside Bangladesh, buy shidol only from a reputable grocer, sealed and well within date, and never eat it uncooked. The typical blunder is frying it too briefly; it must sizzle until the raw smell turns toasty. Chef's tip: if you cannot find shidol, the same method works with good shutki.
- Total time
- 25 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the bhorta
- 1 ¾ oz shidol (fermented dried fish cake)broken into small pieces
- 3 tbsp mustard oildivided
- 15 cloves garlicpeeled
- 1 red onionfinely chopped
- 2 green chillieschopped
- 2 tbsp fresh corianderchopped
- saltto taste, if needed
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Heat 2 ⅛ tbsp mustard oil in a small frying pan over a medium heat until hot.
2 minStep 2: Fry 8 dried red chillies for about 30 seconds until they darken and puff, then lift them out.
3 minStep 3: Fry 15 cloves garlic for 4–5 minutes, stirring, until soft and golden, then lift it out.
6 minStep 4: Fry 1 ¾ oz shidol (fermented dried fish cake) in the same oil for 4–5 minutes, pressing it with the spatula, until it is hot through, crumbly and smells roasted rather than raw.
5 minStep 5: Tip the shidol, garlic and chillies into a bowl or onto a flat stone with 1 red onion, 2 green chillies and 2 tbsp fresh coriander, and mash and knead with your fingers or a pestle into a coarse paste.
5 minStep 6: Work in the remaining ⅞ tbsp mustard oil, taste and add salt only if needed, and shape into small balls. Serve with hot plain rice.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 140 kcal
- Protein
- 9 g
- Carbs
- 6 g
- Fat
- 9 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does shidol bhorta take?
- About 25 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Is it very spicy?
- It has some heat. Use less chilli for a milder version, or more if you like it hot.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
- What can I use instead of red onion?
- White onion or shallots, same amount (soak raw onion in cold water for 10 minutes to soften it).
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