Aloo Posto (Potato in Poppy seed paste)

                                                                    
One of the very popular Bengali recipes is Aloo Posto. And Aloo Posto is my favourite side dish, which goes along well with rice and daal. I find it to be extremely tasty and very easy to cook. 'Aloo Posto' is potato cooked in poppy seeds paste. It's a delicacy.....so please try it at least once. I'm sure you will relish it with your loved ones.


Serves: 4, Preparation time: 20-25 minutes


Ingredients:
5-6 medium-sized Potatoes 
3-4 Green chillies
4 tbsp Poppy seeds (khus khus)
1/2 tsp Onion seeds (kalongi)
1 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Red chilli powder
2 tbsp Mustard oil
1 tsp pure Ghee
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
Salt to taste
1 cup Water


*To make a Posto Bata (Poppy seeds paste): Soak in 1/2 cup water for overnight. This will give you best results as soaking for a longer time make it easier to grind. Next morning grind the poppy seeds in Mixer/Grinder with as little water as possible and add 2 green chillies, salt. For better results we do it in a traditional way i.e ground in a Sheel Nora (Grinding Stone) in India.


Method:
Cut the potatoes into one-inch pieces and soak them in water. Heat up mustard oil in a pot till it reaches smoking point. Remove, let it cool down. Heat it again on medium flame, add kalongi and potato. Mix well. Fry on low flame, stirring all the while. Add sugar, salt, 2 slit green chillies, red chilli powder and poppy seed paste. Cover the lid and fry on meduim heat for 5 minutes. Add a cup of water, cover and stir fry on low flame till the potatoes are almost done. Finally, when you notice posto paste smeared on the potato cubes, it's time to switch off the gas burner. This is a dry preparation so if there is excess water evaporate it by turning the heat to high. Stir in pure ghee and garnish with green chilli. Aloo posto is best served with plain  rice. 

                                                                   




Thank you Nisha for presenting me this 'Smart Food Blogger Award'. We bloggers are a virtual family and we always stand by each other by posting encouraging comments.
Rules for accepting these awards:


1. Thank the person who presented you with this award.
2. Pass it on to one or many blogger friends.

                                                   
I would like to pass this award to few of my blogger friends:
Aysha of http://ayshadileen.blogspot.com/
Cicily of http://ceciliantonio.blogspot.com/
Jagruti of http://joyofcooking247.blogspot.com/
Khaugiri of http://khaugiri.blogspot.com/
Sook of http://myfabulousrecipes.blogspot.com/
Aparna of http://ladiesspecialadukkala.blogspot.com/