Kuakata sea beach is a tourist destination in the south of the country, where you can watch both sunrise and sunset from the same spot. On the way to see the sunrise, tour guides take visitors to the Kauar Char area. There, among red crabs, a vast mangrove forest, a striking beach and fishermen at work, you come upon a ring of motorcycles and, close by, a few tin-roofed food stalls. They are not glamorous, but young entrepreneur Miraj Sikder's hilsa-khichuri will round off the taste of the trip.

Kauar Char lies about 8-10 km east of Kuakata beach and is very popular with tourists. As visitor numbers grew, Miraj Sikder set up a small tea stall there 12 years ago. With more and more tourists coming to see the sunrise every day, he started selling hilsa-khichuri to offer them something new, and began to make a profit. Following his lead, there are now about 8-10 shops there.

Khichuri with one piece of hilsa costs only Tk 50-60, or you can buy a large hilsa of your choice and share it. Fish bharta (mash) comes free, and tourists love it. Besides the price, fresh hilsa collected from fishermen who bring it in from the sea is laid out in rows. Whichever fish a customer picks is cut, rubbed with spices and fried in front of them.

The food is served from 5am until 8am every day. In that time each shop sells Tk 8,000-15,000 worth. The profit margin is small, but tourist demand is high and the food is always of good quality.

Robiul Islam, visiting from Kushtia, said: "I came to see the sunrise in the morning and saw hilsa laid out. Fresh hilsa with khichuri by the sea in the morning was really delicious. It took care of breakfast too, and with fresh hilsa I got a new taste."

Another tourist, Abdus Sobhan, said: "We heard from motorcycle drivers that fresh, tasty hilsa and khichuri are available in the morning. After checking several shops here, we found hilsa and khichuri within our budget. We took two large hilsa, one for Tk 230 and one for Tk 330, which will make 8-9 pieces. We are really enjoying this spread."

Farzana Rahman from Dhaka said: "As part of our Kuakata trip we came to Kauar Char and got hilsa-khichuri very cheaply. I took a Tk 90 package with two pieces of fish and one bharta. Eating this cheaply is impossible where I live. Even more important than the low price is that we never get such fresh fish in our area."

Tour guide Md Russell Hossain said this is one of the spots they show tourists, and visitors are delighted to eat hilsa-khichuri after watching the sunrise.

Md Miraj Sikder, owner of Sikder Restaurant, who started the hilsa-khichuri, said tourists mainly come to the seashore to see the sunrise, the tamarisk forest and the red crab char. If they can eat fresh sea fish here, they are very happy, and that is why he started serving fish and khichuri. Many shops have opened following his example, but his sales have not fallen; rather, tourists can look around and choose, he said.

"We buy the fish caught by small fishermen of our coastal area, and sell it to tourists right here in front of them," he said.

A Rahman, owner of Allahr Dan Restaurant, said 10-15 kinds of sea fish brought in by fishermen are available at his shop, including hilsa, lakka, coral, bashpata and shrimp. They arrange with local fishermen to collect them and sell them to tourists, and tourists spend their time here in complete enjoyment, he said.

KM Bachchu, president of the Kuakata Tour Guide Association, said 50 people provide tourist services under the association. When they tell tourists about Kauar Char's hilsa-khichuri, visitors go there and are pleased with the food, and the association sees this largely as a service, he said.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.