City Centre 2 recently hosted a cooking contest featuring the king of fish and the maharaja of cricket. Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly attended the grand finale of Ilish Majlish, organised by a mustard oil brand, and spoke of his love for the silver crop.

“My favourite hilsa dishes are Ilish Korui and Sarse Ilish, both of which are frequently prepared at home,” said Ganguly, also highlighting the health benefits of cooking with mustard oil.

The contest involved 54 participants, who were shortlisted from 183 after several stages of screening.

“My son was buying hilsa at the market when he was approached by the organisers and asked to send them a photo and recipe of the dish I would be cooking. That day, I made Laupata Ilish and after submitting details, got selected for the second round,” said 70-year-old Dali Sengupta of Santragachhi.

Software engineer Madhusree Majumdar also learned of the contest when organisers spotted her husband shopping at a market in Barasat. “I passed the preliminary rounds with Doi Ilish and Sorse Ilish. Cooking is a stress buster for me, and I can even cook at midnight if I crave something. I love treating people to my dishes too,” she added.

Ganguly donned an apron as well, requesting an elderly contestant Shibani Dutta to be his “non-striker partner”. He followed her instructions, mixing spices with the hilsa and frying it.

Most contestants were women from various age groups, and they were provided with a wide range of ingredients by the organisers. Meanwhile, RJ Khash Kaushik wielded the microphone, sharing trivia about hilsa as the others cooked. Popular Bengali actors Kharaj Mukherjee and Sonali Chowdhury were present too.

The winner of the competition was Poushali Roy Ghosh from SN Banerjee Road. She made Shahi Ilish Korma in the live cooking final and had brought Ilish Tehri from home, a fusion dish blending the cuisines from Madhya Pradesh and Bengal. “I’m a teacher, but cooking is my passion. I’ve inherited this skill from my mother and grandmother,” smiled the winner.

Saikat Dey, a resident of Kudghat, was encouraged by his wife to join. “This is my hobby, and I enjoy cooking for friends,” said Saikat, whose Hariali Ilish won him the first runner-up spot.

Second runner-up Ranjana Das cleared the first round with Nalini Ilish with Nalen Gur, and for the final, she prepared Ilish Mouli, a dish from Kerala with her own innovative twist. “This is a great platform for people like us who like cooking and mostly share them on social media,” said Basu.