Ilish Macher Tel Jhol Recipe is such a type of recipe, where the spices are very few, and the outcome flavors are outstanding. You might be astonished, at how only two spices (turmeric powder and nigella seeds, that also nigella seeds are used for tempering only )make a dish so great. The secret lies here; while preparing any hilsa dish, you should keep in mind that the flavor of hilsa should not be suppressed by other strong flavor spices. So by using only turmeric powder, we can extract the full flavor of Hilsa.
What should be the size of Hilsa? The best result you would get is if the fish size is more than 1 kg, but It is really a pocket-pinching to purchase a hilsa weighing more than 1 Kg, so compromising both it must not be less than 800 gm, otherwise, you won’t get the taste.
Nowadays the markets are flooded with small ilish even less than 500 gm, which are totally banned to catch, so it is a little difficult to get bigger size ilish in the local market.
Now coming to the recipe; literally ‘tel jhol’ means in Bengali a stew with floating of oil, but actually, it is cooked using very few spices. In this recipe, the marinated Hilsa fish chunks are fried and then simmered in a thin gravy of turmeric powder and sometimes added with fried eggplant and potato finished in a warm, hilsa-flavored stew.
The types of equipment used for this recipe are
- Mixing bowl
- Knife
- Kadai/Fry pan
- Spatula
The ingredients required for this recipe are
For marinating the fish
- Hilsa/ Ilish fish chunks-4
- Turmeric powder-1/2 tbsp
- Salt
For frying and making the gravy
- Green chillies-2-3
- Turmeric powder-1 tbsp
- Potato-1(cut lengthwise into 4 pieces)
- Brinjal/egg plant-1(cut horizontally into 4 pieces)
- Salt
- Mustard oil-3 tbsp
How to make Ilish Macher Tel Jhol Recipe
For marinating the fish
Clean and wash the hilsa fish chunks, then put them in a mixing bowl
Add turmeric powder and salt, Rub the fish chunks with them, and keep them aside for 15 minutes
For frying and making the curry
- Heat oil in a pan and add the marinated fish chunks and fry them on both sides(don’t over-fry them)
- Once done, take them out from the oil and keep them aside
- Now add the curry-cut potato in the same oil and fry them well, once done Take them out from the oil and keep them aside
- Same way fry the eggplant and also keep them aside
- Now take a bowl, add two cups of water, add the turmeric powder, and mix them well
- Add Kalojire/ nigella seeds and green chili in the same hot oil for tempering
- As they splutter and sizzle, add the turmeric water, mix them well, and boil them for 2 minutes on a high flame
- Add fried potatoes and cook them another 2 minutes
- Now add the fried egg-plant and mix them well
- Add the fried fish chunks, and mix them well
- Cover the lid and allow them to cook for 3 minutes on medium flame
- Turn off the flame and Open the cover, sprinkle ½ tbsp raw mustard oil, and add silted green chili
- Serve hot with hot piping rice
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Ilish Macher Tel Jhol Recipe
Equipment
- A kadai or a fry pan
- Spatula
- mixing bowl
- knife
Ingredients
For marinating the fish
- 4 chunks Hilsa/Ilish fish
- 1/2 tbsp turmeric powder
- 1 tbsp salt
For frying and makingthe gravy
- 3 tbsp Mustard oil
- 1 Potato(cut lengthwise into 4 pieces)
- 1/2 tbsp kalo jeera (nigellaseeds)
- 3 green chili
- 1 Brinjal/egg plant(cut horizontally into 4 pieces)
- 1 tbsp turmeric powder
- salt
Instructions
For marinating thefish
- Clean and wash the hilsa fish chunks , then put them in amixing bowl
- Add turmeric powder and salt, and Rub the fish chunkswith them, and keep them aside for 15minutes
For frying and makingthe curry
- Heat oil in a pan and add the marinated fish chunks and frythem both the sides(don’t over fry them)
- Once done, take them out from the oil and keep them aside
- Now add the curry-cut potato in the asme oil and fry themwell, once done take them out from the oil and keep them aside
- Same way fry the egg-plant , and also keep them aside
- Now take a bowl, add two cups of water, and add the turmericpowder and mix them well
- Add Kalojire/ nigella seeds and green chili in the same hotoil for tempering
- As they splutter and sizzle, add the turmeric water, and mixthem well and boil them for 2 minutes on high flame
- Add fried potatoes and cook them another 2 minutes
- Now add the fried egg-plant and mix them well
- Add the fried fish chunks, and mix them well
- Cover the lid and allow them to cook for 3 minutes in mediumflame
- Turn off the flame and Open the cover, sprinkle ½ tbsp raw mustardoil and add silted green chili
- Serve hot with hot piping rice