Friday, February 24, 2017

Aloo Posto


A simple and delicious stir fried potato dish, aloo posto is a staple in Bengali households. Using just a few ingredients you can make these spicy potatoes and they taste awesome with dal and plain roti. The main flavor comes from poppy seeds. The key to making an delicious aloo posto is soaking the poppy seeds long enough so they grind to a fine paste. As the dish cooks, you get a rich silken gravy clinging to the potatoes. You can decide on the consistency of the gravy and add more water as desired. Traditionally these are cooked in mustard oil which really adds to the flavor big time. So make this dish in mustard oil if you can source it. Vegetable oil works too.

Ingredients: (Serves 4-5)
5-6 large potatoes
4 Tbsp poppy seeds
2 tbsp mustard oil(or vegetable oil)
½ tsp nigella seeds
2 green chilies (optional)
½ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp sugar (optional)
Salt to taste
  1. Soak the poppy seeds in a little water overnight. Water should cover the seeds. If you forget to do this the night before, soak them in hot water for 2 hours.  Grind poppy seeds in a blender using a few tablespoons of soaking liquid to a fine paste. Keep aside.
  2. Peel the potatoes and dice them. 
  3. Heat oil in a pan over a medium flame. Add nigella seeds and green chilies. Fry for a few seconds and add the cubed potatoes. 
  4. Add the turmeric powder and salt and stir well. Fry for a minute or two and stir in the poppy seed paste making sure it coats all the potato pieces. Add about a ¼ cup water and bring to boil.
  5. Simmer and cook for about 10-15 minutes with the lid on. 
  6. Halfway through cooking give it a stir and add a little more water if it looks too dry. Mix in the sugar at this point if using. 
  7. Serve hot with puris or  rice and dal. 

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