Today is February 14, World Valentine’s Day. But our love today is a little different, with Rupali Hilsa! It was 1 pm. We, a team of 5, left Dhaka’s historic Intercontinental Hotel. We were accompanied by a special guest, election observer and senior journalist Ashish Gupta from Delhi, India, and two officials from the Bangladesh Election Commission. When our Hi-Speed microbus entered the Dhaka-Mawa Expressway, Ashish Da was impressed by the smoothness of the road. After covering 40 kilometers in just 30 minutes, we reached Mawa Ghat, which is located on the banks of the Padma.
We went straight to the ‘Bikrampur Padma Hotel and Restaurant. There, fresh Padma Hilsa was neatly arranged. We chose two Padma Hilsa. We also bought mustard oil from there. Ashish Da himself stood and watched the fish being cut. There were a total of 10 pieces, excluding the head and tail. After frying 10 pieces of fish, they were eaten as a snack and the tails were kept for the famous stew.
Now let’s come to the real attraction of Mawa Ghat—Padma Hilsa Tail Stew! First, the fish tail is fried until soft. Then, this incomparable stew is made by grinding it with onion, red chili and mustard oil in a mortar. When Ashish Da was first given Lokmata, the expression on his face showed how impressed he was. He was saying, “I have eaten a lot of Hilsa in Delhi or Kolkata, but the crunch of this tail stew and the royal aroma of Hilsa oil are completely different!” This stew seems to have made the taste of the entire Padma heavenly.
One by one, steaming hot rice, fried Hilsa in mustard oil, fried eggplant worth 30 taka and fried chillies arrived on the table. It was accompanied by a spicy stew of raw onion and mustard oil. As the five of us started eating with satisfaction, the story of the hilsa of Kolkata and Delhi came up in the chat. Ashish Da frankly admitted that the texture and aroma of this fresh hilsa from the Padma cannot be compared to that of any other place. He described it as a “lifetime experience”.
Our Indian guest was amazed by the vastness of the Padma Bridge. Our discussion turned to the issues of environment and climate change. As a journalist, he was quite curious about how much easier the bridge has made travel and what its impact on nature was.
In the sweet afternoon sun, we set off again on our way to Dhaka. Before dusk, we reached the Intercontinental Hotel. Hearing a journalist from Delhi praise the hilsa of the Padma on Valentine’s Day made our trip worthwhile.
