Saffron Cauliflower

Saffron Cauliflower

Saffron is one of those spices that should be discarded after a year because it loses its aroma and flavour. I often use saffron as a substitute for turmeric powder. In this case, cauliflower and potatoes were cooked with white poppy seed paste and saffron, which imparts a beautiful golden hue. Serve as a side dish with steamed rice, chapatis or tortillas.

Chicken in Cashew, Mustard and White Poppy Seed Sauce

Kaju Shorshe Posto Murgi

This dish was inspired by a Facebook post for Shrimp cooked in cashew and white poppy seed sauce. After a number of adaptations, this is what I arrived at. It was made with chicken instead of shrimp with the addition of lime juice and mustard paste which completely changed the flavour and aroma of the original recipe.

Fish in Mustard & Poppy Seed Sauce

Shorshe Posto Bata Maach

I find that making this dish on the spur of the moment is not possible because mustard seeds need to be soaked overnight in salt and water to get rid of its bitterness.  Pre-grinding mustard and poppy seeds to a powder saves a lot of time.  The other time-saver is to add the fish directly to the gravy instead of frying it beforehand.  This steams the fish, keeping it moist and tender.  

Deem Posto - Eggs in White Poppy Seeds Sauce

Deem Posto

Posto (the Bengali name for white poppy seeds) dishes are a common item at Bengali tables. The poppy seeds are soaked in boiling water, cooled and blended with green chilies and salt until smooth and creamy. This sauce is used in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. The general procedure is to temper the oil with nigella seeds (kalo jeera) and green chilies, add the vegetables or hard-boiled eggs in this case, simmer them with ginger until cooked and add the posto before taking off the stove.

A word of caution for anyone who has a drug test coming up, I have been told that consuming any food containing poppy seeds (black poppy seed muffins, for example) may affect the results of the drug test.

Jhinge Alu Posto

Jhinge Alu Posto

Jhinge is known as ridge gourd in English and, in North America, is available almost exclusively at Indian markets. It is a watery vegetable that reduces to practically nothing, so make sure to get 4-5 of them, if possible.

Spines on the surface give it its name

Posto are white poppy seeds that are soaked in boiling water, set aside until it cools to room temperature and then blended to a creamy paste with salt to taste and green chilies. It tastes wonderful with hot rice or any variety of Indian breads.

Begun Alu Posto - Eggplant & Potatoes in White Poppy Seed Sauce

Begun Alu Posto

Alu Posto is a favourite Bengali preparation and adding eggplants to it makes it creamier and more delicious. Japanese eggplants are practically seedless which makes it a good choice in this dish.

White poppy seeds, soaked in boiling water and ground with salt until thick and creamy is best served for lunch because it induces a restful afternoon nap. I love posto stir-fried with any vegetable. Add shrimp to it for boosted flavour and call it a main dish.

Alu Potol Posto - Potatoes & Pointed Gourd in White Poppy Seed Gravy

Alu Potol Posto

Potol used to be available only on the Indian subcontinent but is now available year-round in the Indian markets of North America. I remember guests visiting us in Rangoon, Burma, from India would bring potol with them. It was such a treat for us!

Potol

Decades later in India, my son returned from a shopping trip with his paternal grandfather, and recounted his adventures at the open-air market. He proudly declared that they had brought back 'pot-holes' from the market. He giggled hysterically as he watched me figure out that he was talking about potols. His favourite pasttime is to twist Bengali words into English words, often times with hilarious results.

Alu Posto is a favourite side dish served with Bengali meals. Alu Potol Posto can be eaten with hot, steamed basmati rice or with chapatis or parathas.

Green Beans Alu Posto - Green Beans & Potatoes in White Poppy Seed Sauce

Green Beans Alu Posto

Green beans are plentiful at the market throughout the year. Make sure to pick up at least a pound because they reduce considerably during cooking. The white poppy seeds need to be soaked in boiling water and left to cool at room temperature before blending to a smooth paste.

Fresh Green Beans

The mound of green beans looks pretty daunting at first, and it would be awfully tedious to remove the stem and tail ends one bean at a time.

Ready to chop

However, they are easily dealt with if they are lined up, ten at a time, and chopped up in batches. Line up the stem ends and remove with one slice of the knife. For this preparation, I cut the beans into small 1/2" lengths and removed the tail ends.

Recycle those Plastic Bags

Here's how I recycle those plastic bags in which vegetables are packed. Lined inside a deep bowl all the vegetable scraps can be disposed of and the bag easily lifted out and thrown away with minimal fuss.

Eggplant & Sweet Potatoes in White Poppy Seed Sauce

Misti Alu Begun Posto

White poppy seed sauce (posto) is one of my favourite dressings to use on stir-fried vegetables. This type of sauce gives any vegetable a thick and creamy gravy. White poppy seeds have a calming effect, is best eaten with hot and steamy rice, followed by a long mid-afternoon nap.

Phool Kopi Karaishuti Posto - Cauliflower & Peas in White Poppy Seed Sauce

Phool Kopi Karaishuti Posto

White  poppy seed (posto in Bengali) is very versatile and can be added to any combination of vegetables. It is especially tasty with cauliflower and peas. 

This dish was introduced to me by my sister, Rene, who lives in Toronto in Canada. I specifically remember the evening she made this on one of my visits to Toronto. She had also made Chicken Razala whose leftovers she told me she'd packed for my husband to have when I got back home to Michigan. 

At the U.S. border, a female customs official questioned me about what food I was carrying in the car and I told her about the chicken. She asked me to pop the trunk and examined the ice chest, came back to me in a fit of anger and informed me that she could impound my car. Really startled, I asked her what the problem was and she said she found some cauliflower along with the chicken. I told her to take the entire contents of the ice chest and throw everything in the trash, for all I cared. Honestly! Give a woman a little bit of power and she's likely to go bonkers!

Alu Deem Posto - Potatoes & Eggs in White Poppy Seed Sauce

Alu Deem Posto

Posto (white poppy seeds) dishes are a common item at Bengali tables. White poppy seed sauce is used in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. The general procedure is to temper the oil with nigella seeds (kalonji) and green chilies, add the vegetables, or eggs and potatoes in this case, simmer them with ginger until cooked and add the poppy-seed sauce at the end. The poppy seeds are soaked in boiling water until cooled and blended with green chilies & salt until smooth and creamy.

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I'm providing a pictorial of the steps I followed in making this dish.

Lau Shukto - Bottle Gourd in Mustard and White Poppy Seed Sauce

Lau Shukto

I love kitchen gadgets and finally broke down and bought a julienne-peeler. It's so easy to use and made short work of peeling and julienning 3 chayote squash.

On the menu for dinner was jumbo prawns steamed in mustard (sorshe) sauce. The ground mustard is strained for this dish, but I don't feel good about discarding the pulp, so I used it for making this lau shukto. Even though I didn't use bottle gourd (lau), chayote squash tastes just like it. The former is not available in the supermarkets and requires a special trip to an Asian or Indian market, so I often substitute chayote squash for bottle gourd. Any Indian preparation that uses bottle gourd tastes just as good with this squash. Zucchini is another option that works well.

Both the mustard and white poppy seeds are ground with a green chili each and salt. The bitterness of the black mustard seeds is eliminated by soaking them in an equal quantity of salt and tap water for at least 2 hours or until the seeds turn red. They need to be rinsed thoroughly through several changes of water to get rid of the salt. I use a tea strainer to do this.

The white poppy seeds are soaked in boiling water and set aside to cool to room temperature. This softens the seeds and produces a smoother paste when blended.

This is a very quick and easy dish to prepare once the two sauces are blended. Using the julienne-peeler cut the squash in very even strips, so it took no time at all to cook.

Jhinge Posto - Ridge Gourd in White Poppy Seed Sauce

Jhinge Posto

Ridge gourd is a dark green, tough skinned vegetable that is soft and spongy on the inside with a similar texture to zucchini.

Ridge Gourd

Notice the spines on the surface from which it gets its name. The spines are inedible and have to be peeled away prior to cooking. Some people, including me, like to leave the rest of the skin intact, but I peel the ridges and skin because Hubby prefers it that way. 

It takes very little time to cook, so this is one dish I like to include in my weekly meals. Ridge gourd is not commonly found in North American grocery stores. It is available in Indian, Asian and specialty markets. 

White poppy seeds, called posto in Bengal, India and khus khus in other parts of India, are rich in iron and is known to have a calming effect. To soften the seeds in order to get a smooth paste, it is necessary to pour boiling water over the poppy seeds, soak them and allow to cool before blending. Salt and a green chili is added to the soaked seeds to add to the flavor. The blended paste is added a few minutes before taking the dish off the fire and serves to also thicken the sauce.

Asparagus & Shrimp in White Poppy Seed Sauce

Posto Bata Chingri & Asparagus

Shrimp and white poppy seed sauce go well with asparagus and a lot of other vegetables such as eggplants, potatoes, pumpkin, summer squash or sweet potatoes. Asparagus provides a crisp note when combined with shrimp in this dish. It also cooks very quickly which makes this so easy to prepare.

Ingredients:
2 bundles asparagus, trimmed and cut in 1" pieces
1 lb. medium shrimp (35-40 count), shelled & deveined
1 Tbsp. ginger paste
2 + 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/4 tsp. nigella seeds (kalo jeera/kalonji)
4-5 green chillies
2 Tbsp. white poppy seeds, soaked in boiling water for half an hour
Salt to taste
1 tsp. mustard oil

Directions:
1. Blend poppy seeds along with soaking water to a thick paste.

2. Heat 2 Tbsp. oil and stir-fry shrimp just until pink and set aside.

3. Heat remaining oil, fry green chilies until skins turn white, remove and set aside.
4. Sputter nigella seeds in oil in same pan.
5. Add asparagus pieces along with ginger paste and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
6. Stir in poppy seed paste along with shrimp and stir well.

7. Cover pan and simmer over low heat for 3 minutes until asparagus cooks.
8. Adjust salt to taste, return fried chilies to pan & garnish with mustard oil.

Serve on a bed of hot Basmati rice.

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Fish in White Poppy Seed & Mustard Sauce

Posto Bata Maach

Ground white poppy seed paste is combined with strained dark mustard seed paste and green chilies to make a delectable sauce in which fish pieces are simmered. Any white fish or small whole fish such as climbing perch (Bengali koi maach) and smelt are ideal for this dish. Fish and sauce spooned over freshly steamed Basmati rice makes a very satisfying meal. 

Cilantro or coriander leaves come in huge bunches at the market and inevitably, a large amount gets tossed because they spoil fast. I ground the remaining cilantro with tamarind paste and mustard oil, and that's what dots the tops of the fish pieces in the picture above.

Lau Chingri Posto - Bottle Gourd/Chayote Squash & Shrimp in White Poppy Seed Sauce

This is a traditional Bengali recipe that I have tweaked by adding the white poppy seed sauce and replacing bottle gourd with chayote squash. 

Shukto - Bitter Melon with a Melange of Vegetables in Mustard & Poppy Seed Sauce

Ilish Maacher Jhaal - Hilsa Cooked in Mustard & White Poppy Seed Sauce

Ilish, or Hilsa as it is known in English, is a Bengali delicasy. 

The spawning habits of this fish reminds me of the salmon runs in Alaska. In the city where I live in Michigan, USA, Bangladeshi & South Indian grocery stores stock flash frozen Hilsa. In Bengal, India, this fish is always eaten fresh, never frozen. 

Hilsa is notorious for its bones, so it definitely is an acquired taste. My Father would soak this fish overnight, bones and all, in vinegar and salt and roast it the next day in the oven. The resulting aroma and melt-in-your-mouth deliciousness is something I will never forget. The vinegar works overnight to melt the bones, so every part of the fish is edible.

This preparation with a mustard/poppy seed sauce is the typical way this fish is cooked in the Bengali kitchen.

Green Beans in White Poppy Seed Sauce

Green Beans & Shrimp Posto

Green beans, peas & shrimp cooked in a white poppy seed sauce

Serves: 6
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
4 Tbsp. white Poppy seeds (Posto)
1 cup Water

3 Tbsp. extra light Olive Oil
½ tsp. Nigella seeds (Kalo Jeera/Kalonji)

1 lb. green Beans, sliced width-wise into small circles 
2 tsp. Ginger paste
Salt to taste
1 cup frozen Peas, thawed
10 – 15 medium shrimp, shelled and deveined

1 tsp. Ghee or melted Butter
2 – 3 Thai red chillies, left whole

Directions:
1. Boil a cup of water in microwave, pour over poppy seeds in a bowl. Set aside to cool and soften.
2. Puree the poppy seeds and water in a blender until it reaches the consistency of a thick sauce. 
3. Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat and add nigella seeds.
4. When the seeds begin to sputter and sizzle, add vegetables, ginger paste and salt.
5. Lower heat to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes until vegetables are tender.
6. Add peas & shrimp, adjust salt to taste and cook for 5 minutes.
7. Add pureed poppy seeds and stir until well combined.
8. Cook for 5 minutes until the sauce reduces and just coats the beans.
9. Garnish with ghee & whole chillies and transfer to a serving dish.

Notes:
The green beans and peas can be replaced with several other vegetables, such as eggplant, cauliflower, potatoes, zucchini, ridge gourd (jhinge), sweet potatoes, pumpkin, etc.

Lau Chingri Posto

Bottle Gourd & Shrimp in White Poppy Seed Gravy

This is another one of Mum's recipes that I retrieved from my notebook.  She taught me that the vegetables in any recipe must all be cut the same size and shape so that they cook evenly. The bottle gourd/squash can be replaced with pumpkin, sweet potatoes, zucchini, okra, eggplants or practically any other vegetable.   

Ingredients:
2 bottle gourd or 5 Chayote Squash, peeled & cut in strips
1 russet potato, peeled and cut in strips
1/2 lb. medium size shrimp, shelled and deveined
4 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. nigella seeds (a.k.a. kalo jeera/kalonji)
1 dried red chili, deseeded
1 large onion, chopped
2 tsp. ginger paste
1 large tomato, chopped
3 tsp. white poppy seeds (a.k.a. posto/khus khus)
3 tsp. black mustard seeds
3 tsp. unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 tsp. sugar
Salt to taste
3-5 green chilies
cilantro 
1 tsp. ghee

Directions:

1. Peel gourd/squash & potato.  To cut gourd in strips, cut in half lengthwise, slice crosswise into crescents, stack crescents and cut into strips.  To cut squash, remove tops, cut in half and soak in water. Place one half cut side down on chopping block and slice crosswise into crescents, then cut into strips. Cut potato in the same way. Set all aside.
2. Soak mustard seeds in tepid water and a tsp. salt for an hour.  Drain and set aside.
3. Soak poppy seeds in boiling water and set aside to cool.
4. In a blender, combine drained mustard seeds, poppy seeds along with water, 1 green chili and some salt.  Liquefy until paste turns white.
5. Toss shrimp with salt and saute lightly in oil until pink. Set aside.
6. Sputter nigella seeds and dried chili in hot oil.
7. Add onions and fry until translucent.
8. Add gourd/squash, tomatoes, salt to taste and ginger paste. Stir well.  
9. Cover and simmer on medium heat until done.
10. Add shrimp, sugar and blended paste. Cook for 5 minutes.
11. Garnish with green chilies, cilantro and ghee.  Remove from heat.

Serve as a side dish with hot rice, chapatis or naan.