Sunday, June 15, 2008

Alu Posto - Bengali cuisine

Posted by Picasa(Potato in Poppy seed paste)
Ingredients:
Posto/Poppy seeds - 50 gms
Potato - 3 medium cut
Onion - 1 large sliced
Green Chillies - 4
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Red Chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - To taste
Oil

Soak poppy seeds/posto /khus khus soak in 1/2 cup water for at least 6 hours (overnight preferred). Soaking for a longer times makes it easier to grind.
Grind as a tight paste with as little water as possible, salt, and 2 green chillies.
Cooking procedure:
Heat oil in kadhai. Add onions and fry on medium heat for 2 min.

Add potatoes and fry on medium heat for 5 min.
Add turmeric, chilli powder, ground poppy seeds/posto and fry on medium heat for 5 min.
Add 1/4 cup water, and salt. Cover and cook on low heat for 10-12 min till potatoes are done.
Once the potatoes are cooked, add green chillies (these can be added earlier on when frying the potatos - either sliced or diced depending on whether you want to bite into the chillis ) and evaporate excess water by turning the heat to high and cooking uncovered. This is a dry preparation.
I modified it since fa wanted a gravyish curry. The curry was served to the unsuspecting bengali who came home. He took a spoonful and said hey this tastes familiar. I suppose that meant I had cooked it quite like the original!!

1 comment:

  1. Hey...how unique. I definitely am going to try this. Ground poppy seed ...hmmmm....never did this before...what kind of a flavour does it add? I've only had poppy seed in sweet things; salad dressings, fruit dishes and cakes....

    ReplyDelete

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