Aloo Posto [ পোস্তো ] or Potatotes cooked in Poppy Seed Paste

Aloo Posto (Potatoes cooked in Poppy Seed Paste)

পোস্তো or Posto is common name for white poppy seeds in West Bengal and used widely as base ingredient for many bengali recipes.

Probably ‘aloo posto’ is one of the most famous Bengali vegetarian delicacies.

Almost a month without mom’s Bengali food is difficult, but it is even more challenging to cook something when you are away from home. Today, watching rain wash away my summer Sunday afternoon plans; I decided to make aloo posto! This is the perfect way to have house-warming party of my new 18^th floor room in the Netherlands. Aloo posto is a simple recipe cooked with potatoes and poppy seed paste. And fortunately, the Netherlands has one of the best qualities of potatoes as well as poppy seeds.

Jewish food shops is best place to buy culinary poppy seeds in the Netherlands: If you are planning to buy best quality poppy seeds (known as maanzaad in dutch/ graine de pavot) in the Netherlands try to get it from one of Jewish food shops. Though I prefer white poppy seeds, the blue poppy seeds they sell here are good and less bitter.

What do you need?

Nice big potatoes

Posto paste (poppy seed paste)

Water

Vegetable oil

Turmeric powder

Bay leaf (optional)

Panchphoron – it is five spices; refer my previous blog post(optional)

Green chilies

Salt

How to make poppy seed paste?
Clean and soak the poppy seeds in luke warm water for about half an hour. Drain the excess water and grind it to thick paste. If you like bit hot add the green chilies in the grinder.

Aloo Posto
Wash and peel potatoes. Often I don’t peel potatoes and it tastes good too!  Cut them in small cubes. The number of potatoes and the amount of poppy seeds paste depends on your taste. I prefer lots of poppy seed paste about five tablespoons for two medium sized potatoes. Heat the oil (typically mustard seed oil, but any vegetable oil is ok too) and add the potatoes, panchphoron and bay leaf (optional), salt, turmeric powder and fry them for couple of minutes in slow flame. Add the posto (poppy seed paste) and fry for another four mins. Add sufficient water to cook till potatoes are done (not overdone) and dry. Aloo posto is ready to be served with steamed rice along with other side-dish.

I remembered after lunch that we missed to click photograph of my aloo posto! I'm using this image from webpage :)

Mochar torkari chola daler bodar deeye (banana flower)



Mochar Torkari (banana flower veg)


Mochar torkari chola daler boda deeye (banana flower vegetable)

Ask any Bengali and s/he will tell you how to use each and every parts of a banana plant. Stems (thor in bangla), flower (mocha), raw banana (kach kola), and ripe banana (paka kola) are eaten while the leaves are used to serve food. Preparation time for mocha is longer than cooking time. To remove the flower, clean and cut it takes time. Moreover after cutting into small pieces it needs to be soaked at least eight to nine hours (or overnight). My mother’s recipe is even tedious, not to mention it make is more delicious. She elaborates the cooking process by adding deep fried lentil choladaler boda.   

You need fresh mocha/ Banana flower, nicely chopped potato (mom uses sweet potato (rangalu), cumin seed, coriander powder, red chilli powder, fresh tomatoes chopped, fresh grated coconut, turmeric powder, salt, vegetable oil (typically Bengalis use mustard oil, but any other refined oil can be used),

For cholar daler boda you need lentils (preferably Bengal gram dal/ chola dal or any broken lentils), salt and oil. Soak the lentils overnight, drain water and grind it to thick paste. Add salt and green chillis (optional). Deep fry by pouring one tablespoon of lentil batter to make small balls. Fry till the boda turns golden brown/ cooked. Remove excess oil and let it cool.

For mochar torkari, boil the pre-soaked flower pieces with pinch of salt. Drain the water and leave the boiled chopped banana flower aside. Heat oil and fry the chopped potatoes (or sweet potato/ rangalu) till tender. Remove excess oil. Heat oil in deep frying pan and add all spices (cumin seed, coriander powder, chilli and turmeric powder) and add the chopped banana flower, tomatoes and salt (and little water if required). Add grated coconut and fried potato pieces and fried cholar daler bodas. Cover the pan and cook it till tender. Serve it with steamed rice.  

You won't find this recipe in the menus of restaurants... either find a Bengali friend or try to find mocha in supermarket, whichever is convenient ;)

Next blog I'll bring another authentic recipe from mom's kitchen.

পয়লা বৈশাখ Poila Boishakh Mishti Nolen Gurer Sondesh

নববর্ষ পয়লা বৈশাখ

Happy Bengali New Year Poila Boiskhakh April 15, 2011

(in Bengali Sidereal CalendarYear 1418 of Boishakh month)

I love all Bengali festivals.. only for sweets! Sweets are not just a part of food, but have become significant part of Bengali culture. On the eve of Poila Boishakh (West Bengal New Year), I plan to prepare homemade nolen gurer sondesh. Literal translation would be date palm brown sugar milk fudge.

Being a Bengali and never been to West Bengal may surprise you, but its true! That doesn't stop me from being sondesh lover (a non-bengali would pronounce as sandesh) without worrying about my waistline (will make it up by running an extra mile for a week). Making sondesh is not easy task.. it requires tons of sweet patience. Here is the recipe if you want to try at home. Otherwise, just find an authentic Bengali Sweet shop (my favourite is Sweet Bengal in Mumbai) and buy delicious sondesh! Or, just visit a sweet Bengali friend ;-)  

You need:
Fresh milk 
Nolen Gur (or date palm jaggery)
Raisins
Wooden mould (of different design and shapes)

Most Bengali sweets are made from chana (cottage cheese) and date palm jaggery. Prepare the chana by boiling and coagulating the milk. Then knead the chana with nolen gur till soft and light. Finally use the prepared dough to make shapes and sizes with the help of wooden mould. Decorate with raisins. Ready to serve!

Next month will come with more authentic traditonal bengali sweets!!

Poornimar Shinni

Traditionally most Bengalis prepare Shinni on every full moon night (poornima in bengali) as a ‘prasad’ - offering.

Today is full moon night - March 19, 2011 - and is 14 per cent bigger than normal size. It is supposed to be biggest moon since 1993 and next big full moon (close to Earth) will be in year 2029!I thought it will be great idea to make this easy to make prasad as dessert..

Shinni is absolutely simple to make and delicious (you need to develop the taste bud!) recipe.

All you need is:
Over riped bananas = 2
Whole grain wheat flour = 1 cup
Batasha (piece of candied sugar) optional as per your taste
Milk = 2cup
Raisins = handful
Cashewnut = chopped
Camphor (Kapur) = it adds flavour, but I avoid adding this piece of chemical!
Freshly grated coconut (this is NOT optional) = 1 cup
Chopped tropical mix fruits (optional avoid sour fruits) = ¼ cup
Patali gur (jaggery made of palm sugar) or brown palm sugar = as per taste

What you need to do:
Nothing!! Just mix all the ingredients! And it is ready to offer..

Maacher Paturi (fish steamed in banana leaf)

Maacher Paturi


Paturi means wrapped and steamed food. Typically wrapped in banana leaf, but if you cannot find fresh banana leaf feel free to use aluminium foil. However, the taste of steamed food in banana leaf is what makes Bengali's paturi so delicious.

Today, I prepared Rui Maacher Paturi. It is simple to make and quite healthy, especially because it is fat free. Here is the secret if you are craving for good fish and nice vital stats ;-)

All you need is:
One big fresh banana leaf, cleaned and cut in to small pieces (about 20cm X 15cm).
Freshly grounded mustard and coconut paste
Salt and turmeric powder
Five drops of oil
And ofcourse fresh Rui Maach pieces or any fish that you prefer

What you do with the ingredients
Just marinate the fish pieces in salt and turmeric powder for 10min.

Then, put the steamer and bring the water to boil.

Paste: The best way to get mustard paste is: Soak mustard seed in water for 10mins and then ground it using stone mortar and pestle (instead of bowl shaped mortar we use flat shape). Add the freshly grated coconut and fresh green chilli.

Oil the banana leaf pc and add one teaspoon of paste in the centre

Put the marinated fish pc on top of the paste and add one more teaspoon of paste on the top. Add one green chilli on top of the fish pc

Wrap the banana leaf and seal the ends with tooth pick or tie it with a cotton thread.

Steam it for 15-20mins.

Paturi is ready to serve with hot rice!

Hope to sweeten get the next blog with Sandesh recipe.... :-)

Rui maach shorshe batatey (Rohita fish in freshly grounded mustard sauce)

Cooking fish in mustard sauce is one of the favourite recipes for my family. As a child, I disliked the pungent odour of freshly grounded mustard sauce. In order to reduce the mustard taste, my mother would add fresh coconut paste. Rohu fish is all time favorite fish for many bengalis. Infact it is considered as a sacred foods and is eaten during religious festivals and on all auspicious occasions by most Bengalis!

This non-oily white fish is my favourite fish.

Rohu or Rui রুই (as pronounced in bengali) is a fish of carp family (for scientific name I think it is Labeo rohita). It is herbivore and not a sea fish. It is commonly found in rivers and freshwater lakes, which makes it sweet fish. 
Mustard oil and seed: typically the fish is fried in mustard oil (golden brown) and then added to mustard gravy. The technique of making freshly grounded mustard paste is tricky. The paste should not be too coarse (it will not bring the mustard flavour) nor should it be too smooth (it will become bitter). The best way to get mustard paste is: Soak mustard seed in water for 10mins and then ground it using stone mortar and pestle (instead of bowl shaped mortar we use flat shape). Add the freshly grated coconut and fresh green chilli.

What you need is:
four nice round shaped cleaned pieces of big Rohu/ Rui
mustard paste (with coconut and green chilli as per your taste)  about 5 tablespoons
for those who like mustard oil 2-3 tablespoon (i prefer oil free food without compromising on taste)
salt, turmeric, and lots of your patience ;-)

How to do it:
1. Marinate the fish with salt and turmeric for about 10 mins. Wrap it in banana leaf and steam it for 10min (or till done). For those who prefer maachbhaja i.e. fish fry - you can deep fry the fish till golden brown.
2. Prepare the musard and coconut paste. Fry the paste in non-stick pan (no oil is needed, but if you like you can add it!) and add salt, turmeric and about 75ml of water and let it simmer for 2mins.
3. Add the steamed (or fried) fish to the sauce and cover the pan with a lid. Let it took for 5mins. It is ready to eat with plain steamed rice and vegetables.

Isn't this simple!

Next blog will be posted on Feb 12 and 27th.  Till then happy cooking and eat well. :-)

why this blog..............food, cooking, recipes,nutrition, health, diet, body, mind

January 2011

Food is said to influence us. The way we talk, behave, think and look are all related to the what we eat.

January 2011 forced me to enter my mother's arena in the house-- kitchen! With her hand fracture, she relied on me for authentic bengali food. I spent maximum number of hours in kitchen. Though I am fond of Bengali food (ofcourse being Bengali helps) but was never familiar with the nitty gritty of cooking Bengali specialities. I began exploring the traditional Bengali recipes (especially those which were passed from my maternal grandmother to my mother).

Just in case you don't know about my background.. my undergraduation was in Food Science (from SNDT) and for my BSc had Nutrition as one of the subjects (Nirmala Niketan college of home science)!

This blog will be updated fortnightly (15th and 30th)..... do check it out!