Bangladesh this fish is prepared in varity of way like it can be smoked, fried, steamed, baked, prepared with mustard seed paste, curd, brinjal (eggplant). Some common hilsa menus are Fried hilsa, Khichuri-Ilish, Sorshe Ilish, Panta Ilish,Vapa Ilish etc.

It has cultural value in Bangali’s life. It is an obvious food in many cultural festival like Pahela Boishakh, Saraswati Puja.