Aloo Posto / Potatoes In Poppy Seeds Paste

Aloo Posto is a traditional Bengali dish in which potatoes are cooked in spicy poppy seeds paste. Khus Khus or poppy seeds are known as Posto in Bengali and aloo is obviously potatoes, hence the name of the dish. This creamy spicy potato dish is onion-garlic free, gluten-free and vegan. It has a typical aroma and taste coming from mustard oil, poppy seeds, and nigella seeds. It tastes best with simple dal bhaat, though you can serve it with chapati or poori as well. I have served the Aloo Posto with cholar dal and steamed rice.

This fuss-free dish with few ingredients is comfort food in a Bengali household. The simple recipe calls for stir-frying the potatoes in mustard oil tempered with nigella seeds/kalonji. Then a paste of ground poppy seeds and green chilies is added to it and the potatoes are allowed to simmer in it until done.

I have added dried red chilies also but it is optional. Some people add Panch phoran ( 5 spice mix) for tempering. This is a dry dish but you may adjust the consistency to gravy types if you wish. The only challenging part in this recipe is to grind the poppy seeds into a smooth paste. For that you have to soak the poppy seeds overnight in water, however, you may soak the seeds in warm water for a couple of hours to get a smooth paste. Always use good quality poppy seeds that are not very old as it turns rancid on storage for a long time and that will taste bitter and ruin the whole curry. Poppy seeds can be refrigerated in an airtight container to increase its shelf life and retain its freshness. Do not replace the mustard oil with other cooking oil if you are looking for the authentic taste of this dish. So let's get started.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes ( does not include the soaking time of poppy seeds)
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 3 large potatoes around 250-300 grams
• 3-4 tablespoon poppy seeds 
• 2 green chilies
• 2 whole red chilies
• 1 teaspoon nigella seeds/kalonji
• 2 tablespoon mustard oil
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar (optional)
• Salt to taste

Method:

1. Rinse and soak the poppy seeds in water overnight or at least a couple of hours in warm water. Peel the potatoes and chop them into cubes. Immerse the potatoes pieces in water until use.

2. Sieve out the soaked poppy seeds into a grinder jar with 2 green chilies. Add very little water and grind this to a smooth paste.

3. Heat mustard oil in a pan. Once it smokes, lower the flame and add nigella seeds to it. Once the seeds sizzle, tip in the potato cubes and saute for 2-3 minutes or until the potatoes turn golden at the edges.

4. Next, add the red chilies and turmeric powder and stir fry the potatoes for another 1 minute.

5. Now add the ground poppy seeds paste, followed by 1/2 cup water. Season the curry with salt and sugar. Give a quick stir and cover cook the potatoes until they are done. Keep checking in between to ensure the potatoes do not catch the bottom of the pan.

6. Once the potatoes are done, open the cover and allow the moisture to evaporate. The poppy paste must have coated the potatoes very well by now. If you wish to have a gravy type consistency, adjust the cooking time accordingly. Put off the flame.

  7. Garnish the delicious Aloo Posto with more green chilies and coriander leaves and serve with steamed rice and enjoy with your loved ones!

                        

Recipe Notes:

• Authentic recipe of Aloo Posto has just nigella seeds tempering in mustard oil and use of only green chili, however, you may temper the oil with Panch Phoran (5 spice mix) and use dry red chilies as a variation.
• To grind the poppy seeds to a smooth paste, soak the seeds overnight in water or at least 3-4 hours in warm water.
• Always use good quality poppy seeds that are not very old as it turns rancid on storage for a long time and that will taste bitter and ruin the whole curry. Poppy seeds can be refrigerated in an airtight container to increase its shelf life and retain its freshness.
•  Do not replace the mustard oil with other cooking oil if you are looking for the authentic taste of this dish.
• Aloo Posto tastes best with simple dal bhaat but you may serve it as a side dish with chapati or poori as well.
• Adjust the number of green chilies as per your spice tolerance.
• I referred to various sites on the Internet and a cookbook to settle down to this recipe.

Linking this flavorful Aloo Posto to the #193rd #FoodieMondayBlogHop with #BengaliFoodFest as the theme for the week. As per the theme we have to cook any dish from Bengali Cuisine. This lovely theme was suggested by Sujata Roy who blogs at Batter Up With Sujata. Sujata di is a humble sweet lady just like her Bengali sweets. Do check out her wonderful space for lip-smacking dishes and healthy bakes. I am awed with the variety of Sandesh she has on her blog. I have tried my hands on quite a few Bengali sweets and savories and this time I wanted to try out a dish which is simple and fuss-free yet flavorful and that I can cook on a regular day, ie not a sweet or festive dish. My son loves anything with aloo so I decided to settle down with this dish. I also made the Cholar dal for the first time to serve with steamed rice and this aloo posto. My family enjoyed the flavorful Bengali meal. 

If you are also a potato fanatic like my son, then check out these potato recipes from this blog

Kashmiri Dum Aloo, Achari Aloo, Spicy Potato Salad, Batata Harra, Aloo Chutney Pulao, Aloo Matar Curry in 1 teaspoon oil. 

                                                                

If you ever try this recipe, do share your feedback with us in the comment section below.

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For more recipes from Bengali Cuisine, do check out the following from this blog

• Bengali Vegetarian Thali - Durga Pooja Platter

                                 

• Sponge Rasgulla

                                 

• Bengali Sandesh

                                 

• Kasundi - Indian Mustard Sauce

                                 

• Vegetable Chop - Bengal Style Vegetable Cutlet

                                 

• Begun Bhaja

                                 

• Mishti Doi