Bengali Aloo Posto
A Bengali potato dish in which the potatoes are coated with a pale white poppy-seed paste. It tastes nutty and mild, with green chilli heat and a small amount of sweetness.
Poppy seed paste
60 gBlended to a paste, then stirred into the potatoes (step 6)Whole spices for the oil
3 gAdded to the hot oil with the chillies (step 3)Ground turmeric for the potatoes
3 gStirred in after the first potato fry (step 5)Everything else
Method
- Soak 60 g white poppy seeds in hot water for 2 hours, keeping them fully covered.
- Drain the seeds, reserve 100 ml of the soaking liquid, and blend the seeds with that liquid to a smooth paste.
- Heat 40.5 g mustard oil or vegetable oil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the whole spices for the oil (3 g nigella seeds) and 6 g green bird’s eye chilli, slit lengthways. Fry for 7–8 seconds.
- Add 800 g new potatoes, peeled. Mix well and fry for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the ground turmeric for the potatoes (3 g). Cover and fry for 5 minutes more.
- Add the poppy seed paste and stir until it coats the potatoes.
- Add 199 g water, 4.2 g granulated sugar and salt to taste. Bring to the boil.
- Cover and simmer for 16–17 minutes, stirring halfway, until the potatoes are cooked.
Don't have something?
Poppy seedUse the same weight; grey seeds make a darker paste but taste close.
White sesame seedUse the same weight, lightly toasted; the paste is nuttier and less thickening.
Cashew nut pasteFor 10 g poppy seeds use about 15 g cashew nut paste; it thickens more, so reduce other thickeners.
Groundnut oilUse the same weight; neutral and good for Indian cooking, but you lose mustard pungency.
Sunflower oilUse the same weight; neutral, so add a little mustard powder or mustard seeds if you want some bite.
Vegetable or corn oilUse the same weight; neutral and reliable, but no mustard flavour.
Black cumin seedsUse equal weight. Imparts an earthy, slightly bitter note in temperings, though it lacks nigella's oniony sharpness.
Black sesame seedsUse equal weight. Gives a similar speckled appearance and light crunch on breads, but provides a nutty rather than herbaceous, onion-like flavour.
- Bird's eye green chilli
Use the same weight; heat and flavour are very close.
Green chilliUse 1.5 to 2 times the weight; deseed for less heat. Larger chillies are more watery.
Fresh green chilliUse 1.5 to 2 times the weight; chop finely and adjust heat by tasting.
Baby potatoesUse the same weight. Scrub and leave whole or halve if large; they cook in about the same time and give a similar waxy bite.
Small potatoUse the same weight. Peel only if the recipe needs it; cut to the size of new potatoes so they cook evenly. The flesh is slightly more floury.
PotatoUse the same weight, cut into even walnut-sized pieces. It may break down a little more in long cooking, thickening the gravy.
Ground gingerUse 50% of the weight. Mimics turmeric's warm, earthy, rhizome background, but provides none of the golden-yellow colour.
SaffronSteep a tiny pinch (0.1 g per 2 g turmeric) in 2 tbsp warm water; use to match the rich golden hue. Contributes an aristocratic, honeyed floral flavour rather than earthy bitterness.
StockUse the same weight in savoury dishes; it adds body, so adjust salt.
MilkUse the same weight only in doughs or creamy dishes; it makes the result richer.
Coconut waterUse the same weight in curries or rice; it adds sweetness and a faint coconut taste.
JaggeryUse equal weight; grate or shave finely so it dissolves rapidly, giving a warm, caramel-like sweetness and slightly darker sauce.
Similar dishes
- Same: Lucknowi Khatte Aloo shares new potatoes, green bird’s eye chilli, ground turmeric, water, sugar and salt with this dish.
- Different: It adds cumin seed, asafoetida, ginger, Kashmiri chilli powder, anardana powder and coriander leaf, and uses a cumin-asafoetida tempering finished with anardana, while this dish uses white poppy seeds, nigella seeds and mustard oil and coats the potatoes in poppy-seed paste.
- Same: Heeng Jeere ke Aloo shares new potatoes, turmeric and green chilli with this dish.
- Different: It uses ghee instead of mustard oil, adds asafoetida, cumin, ginger and ground pomegranate seed, and lacks poppy-seed paste, nigella seeds and sugar.
- Same: Bedmi Aloo shares new potatoes, ground turmeric, green bird's-eye chilli, salt, a little sugar and water with this dish.
- Different: Bedmi Aloo uses ghee, ginger, cumin seed, asafoetida, Kashmiri chilli powder, ground coriander, tomato purée and dried mango powder to make a turmeric-tomato gravy, while this dish uses mustard or vegetable oil, white poppy seeds and nigella seeds to coat the potatoes in a pale poppy-seed paste.
- Same: Aloo ke Gutake shares potato as the main ingredient, mustard oil, turmeric, salt, and a whole-spice tempering with this dish.
- Different: Aloo ke Gutake lacks white poppy seeds, nigella seeds, green chilli, sugar, and added water, and it uses cumin seed, dried red chilli, and coriander instead; it also has less turmeric and fewer potatoes.