ALOO POSTO- A POTATO DISH FROM BENGAL BY SOUMYASHREE CHATTERJEE

(C) CAN STOCK PHOTO

A Bengali kitchen is never complete if it’s not adequately stocked with bhat (rice) sorsher tel (mustard oil), sorshe bata (mustard paste) and posto (poppy seeds) among other things. Whether the fare of the day is vegetarian or on vegetarian, whether it is chicken or fish, or just potatoes these are absolutely necessary to get you going as bare necessities. In fact these are often all you need to rustle up something. Today I will be stealing into mom’s kitchen for one typical bong experience- alu posto (potatoes with poppy seed)

Poppy seeds are commonly known to us as khus khus, and have multiple benefits. While we know poppy to be the source of opium, the seeds when harvested properly and drained of the alkaloids that lead to intoxications is an excellent source of minerals like calcium, magnesium, iron and potassium. It is also a rich source of fiber and unsaturated fatty acids. Thus khus khus or Posto as we love to call it is not only an amazing taste enhancer but also is very good for health. The fibers help relieve constipation, it helps induce sleep as it has trace amounts of the alkaloids morphine, Thebaine and codeine thereby relieving stress, high on linoleic acids it helps in lowering cholesterol. The minerals in khus khus like copper and zinc help enhance brain functions, thus making for a holistic food ingredient. What’s more make syrups out of this, add a bit of water and beat the global warm with a nice cool drink.

So let’s journey with Posto into my mom’s kitchen. To make this simple yet yummy dish we will gather the following:

Potatoes ½ kg

Poppy seeds 20 gms

Kalonji  (Black cumin) sprinkling

Green chili 4-5 to taste

Salt and sugar to taste

Getting ready:  To make this dish work, the most crucial task is to make the poppy paste just right. To begin with immerse the poppy seeds in a bowl of warm water for about 15-20 minutes. Then grind the seeds into a rough paste. Now add 2 green chilies and a bit of mustard oil and grind again. Once the paste reaches a smooth and even consistency with the seeds properly ground. The paste that comes out is so yum that if you have some leftover you can just mix with a bit of rice, add a dash more of mustard oil or green chili salt to taste and have it just that way. In fact you will find that you are having something that’s spicy and at the same time cools the body in this heat.

Let’s cook

Peel the potato and cut it either into small cubes or the traditional Bengali way into slivers (like French fries) and keep it in water. Now heat some mustard oil in a wok till the fumes start rising. Once the oil is hot enough drop a few green chilies into the oil along with the kalonji (Black Cumin). Enjoy the band as the chilies splutter in the oil and after the band dies down add a dash of salt and sugar to taste. Now add the potatoes and sauté it till it starts turning golden brown. Now add the Posto paste into the potato mix and add water just a bit to steam it. Cover the wok for 5-6 minutes till the potatoes get cooked in the steam. Once you are sure of it, dry the water that’s in the wok by cooking on a low heat. Just before taking the flame off add some mustard oil to the mix till the smell of the mustard just hits you form the mix. Mix thoroughly and Voila You are through. I have seen some of my friends add a dash of turmeric to this but the pure tastes of the Posto mixing with the mustard is in a way an unadulterated feel for me, but for sure you can add up a bit of turmeric before adding the Posto. Crush in one of the green chilies while having it with the rice and flare up your taste buds. One simple more variant to this is to fry a bit of onions before you add the potatoes if you want to add in that taste in this mix, for it blend in evenly.

Serve this with a serve of rice to go with it and a few green chilies to spice it up and you are on the way to a hearty meal. The fun with this is that you can mix this classic dish with some other veggies like cauliflowers or okra and the end result is just as much fun. But that is for another day. On the way out do remember my mother’s best kept ingredient, for that is what they have been adding over centuries to make every meal taste exquisite. Food cooked with a smile and love always tastes yummy and does best for your health. So do add a sprinkle of your best smile while cooking and a dash of love for the people you are cooking for and I will leave you with two words. Bon appétit.

Note:This is the authors way of cooking this dish. The author Does not make any Representation that this is the right, Only and/or authentic way to cook this dish. Everyone is Free to make his/her Interpretation and adjustment to the dish.