
Khoka Ilish er Tok Recipe / Tangy Baby Hilsa

The marinated Baby Hilsa/Khoka Ilish is fried and then simmered in a stew made with tamarind and other spices like turmeric powder and red chili powder and finished in a warm, spicy, and tangy flavored sauce which makes a delicious Khoka Ilish er Tok Recipe / Tangy Baby Hilsa. This is a popular recipe in the village side in West Bengal which is almost a lost recipe.
Equipment used
- Mixing bowl
- Frypan
- Spatula
Ingredients
- Fried Baby Hilsa-1
- Tamarind pulp- 1 tbsp
- Panch phoron-1/2 tsp(It comprises mouri (fennel seeds), methi (fenugreek seeds), kaalo jeera (black cumin seeds), jeera(cumin seeds), and a typically Bengali spice, called radhuni)
- Turmeric powder-1/2 tbsp
- Red chili powder-1/4 tbsp
- Red chili-1
- Oil-1 tbsp
- Salt
How to make Khoka Ilish er Tok Recipe / Tangy Baby Hilsa
Fry the baby Hilsa and keep them aside. How to fry baby Hilsa, if you want, then refer to my earlier post How To Make Ilish Mach Bhaja.

In a mixing bowl take one tbsp tamarind pulp and dilute it by mixing 2 tbsp water and keep it aside

Add 1 tbsp oil to a frying pan and heat it on a medium flame

Now add one whole red chili and sprinkle ½ tbsp panchphoron for tempering

As they splutter and sizzle then carefully add the tamarind water

Now add salt, turmeric powder, and red chili powder and mix them well



Slowly place the fish in the pan and mix it with the tamarind stew


Now turn it over to the other side to absorb the gravy

Allow the fish to cook till the sauce becomes a little thick

Transfer it to a serving plate and serve it hot or cool with rice

My other posts on Hilsa are How To Make Ilish Posto, Ilish Mach Bhaja, Ilish Biryani, Ilish macher matha diye chal kumro, Bhapa Ilish, narkel diye bhapa ilish