kalo jeere kancha lonka bata ar begun diye ilish macher jhol recipe

This is my kalo jeere kancha lonka bata ar begun diye ilish macher jhol, a delicious Bengali style hilsa fish curry made with hilsa fish(ilish maach), kalojeere(nigella seeds), brinjal or eggplant, and green chilli paste cooked in mustard oil. When I was fed up cooking our rich and spicy hilsa fish curry recipes, I certainly make this hilsa fish curry at home, the most light & comforting hilsa fish curry from Bengali cuisine. The most simple and easy to make hilsa fish curry recipe tastes delicious if served with steamed rice.

If you are searching for an ilish macher patla jhol, then you can try this kalo jeere kancha lonka bata ar begun diye ilish macher jhol, a light soupy finger licking fish curry with the least spices. To make this dish, first, marinate the fish with salt & turmeric powder. Then slightly fry the fish and brinjal one by one, preferably in mustard oil. Then temper the oil with kalojeere and slightly sauté. Add kalojeere kancha lonka bata in oil, saute with salt and turmeric powder. Add water to make a light gravy. Once the gravy starts boiling, first add the brinjal, then add the fish to the gravy. Slow cook for 8-10 mins, and ilish macher jhol is ready.

For making this recipe, I generally fry the fish a little, but you can use raw hilsa or kancha ilish in this jhol if you like. Mostly, we prepare our ilish recipes with shorshe bata, but this jhol is totally different from them. Though ilish is considered an oily fish and not good for our stomach so for adding kalo jeera to this curry gives it a healthy touch. But don’t worry, Kalo jeera has a very subtle flavour, so the flavour of kalo jeera can not spoil the actual flavour of ilish; rather, it enhances its taste. It’s also a very quick recipe of ilish as we know ilish has very soft meat and doesn’t take a long time to cook.

Kalo jeera phoron ar begun diye ilish macher jhol is a traditional fish curry of Bangladeshi cuisine, I guess. Like my mom(from West Bengal) basically prepares this jhol with shorshe bata (no begun), whereas I’ve seen my mom-in-law(from Bangladesh origin) mainly making this jhol with begun and Kalo jeera during the whole season of ilish. But I prepared this jhol in my way by making a paste of Kalo jeera, which I feel is best for making a healthy jhol with ilish mach. As kalojeera or kalonji is known for good digestion, and no other masalas are used in this recipe, so it must satisfy your cravings for ilish without making any health hazard.

So if you wish to have a healthy version of ilish macher recipe, then you may try this kalo jeere kancha lonka bata ar begun diye ilish macher jhol at home. Hope my step-by-step recipe(with pictures) will help you to learn how to make this ilish macher jhol. But don’t forget to let me know your valuable feedback in the comment section below.

Even you may try other my ilish recipes from my website,

• Bhapa ilish recipe
• Ilish macher paturi
• Shorshe ilish recipe
• Doi ilish recipe
• Ilish biryani recipe

Kalo jeere kancha lonka bata r begun diye ilish macher jhol recipe

Ingredients

• 5 pieces Ilish machh (Hilsa fish weigh around 450 g)
• 3 tbsp Mustard oil
• 1+1/4 tsp Kalo jeere or Kalonji or nigella seeds
• 6 pcs Kancha lanka or Green chilies
• 200 g Begun or Brinjal or eggplant
• 2 tsp Turmeric powder
• Salt(as required)

Prep time: 5 mins

Cooking time: 30 mins

Served in: 35 mins

Served for: 5 people

Course: Main course

Cuisine: Bengali

Author: Moumita Paul

How to make ilish macher jhol with step-by-step pictures

Instructions

• First, make a paste of 1 tsp Kalo jeere( jeera) and 3 green chilies by using a mortar pestle or grinding stone, or grinder jar.

• Then take a bowl, add the Kalo jeera kancha lanka paste, little water, and 1 tsp turmeric powder and 1/2 tsp salt. Mix it nicely. Keep it aside for later.

• Clean and wash the fish and coat the pieces well with 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp turmeric powder.
• Then Place a pan on medium heat, make it hot, and add 3 tbsp mustard oil to the pan.
• When the smoke started coming from the oil, then add the fish to it.

• Fry it till it gets lite golden brown color. Remove the fish from the pan.

• Then fry the lengthwise cut brinjal in the same pan till it gets nice golden brown in color.

• After removing the begun, add 1/4 tsp of whole kalo jeera to oil in the pan. Stir it well.

• Just after a few seconds, add the kancha lonka kalojeere paste(kept aside) in the pan.

• Now, sauté the masala well until the moisture will get dry.

• Then add the 2 cups of water to the pan and let it boil.

• When the gravy starts boiling then first add the fried brinjal to the pan and cover it for 5 mins.

• After 5 mins when the brinjal gets soft then add the fish to the gravy. Then cover the pan again for 4-5 mins.

• After 3-4 mins of cooking add 3 green chilies (slit) to the gravy.

• Boil the gravy for another 5-6 mins, then turn off the heat and serve this dish with piping hot rice.

Tips

• Use salt and green chilies as per your taste.
• You can use raw fish, too, for this recipe.