🇧🇩 Bangladeshi Cuisine

Shutki Bhorta

Mashed Dried Fish

Prep Time 10 min

Servings 4

Difficulty Easy

Calories 168 kcal

An intensely pungent mash of dried fish, onion, chilli, and mustard oil — a love-it-or-leave-it Bangladeshi staple that defines authentic Bengali flavor.

Ingredients

100g dried fish (shutki), washed and cleaned
2 tbsp mustard oil
1 onion, finely chopped
4 green chillies, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp red chilli flakes
Salt to taste
Fresh coriander

Instructions

1 Fry dried fish in a dry pan until crispy and fragrant, about 3 min. Let cool.
2 Break dried fish into small pieces. Mash roughly with a mortar and pestle.
3 Heat mustard oil, fry onion and garlic until softened.
4 Combine mashed fish, fried onion, green chillies, red chilli flakes, and remaining mustard oil.
5 Mash everything together roughly — texture should be chunky, not smooth.
6 Garnish with coriander. Serve with hot rice.

Did You Know?

Shutki is so pungent that Bangladeshi apartment buildings often have rules about when you can cook it to avoid complaints from neighbors.