Bhendi Posto (Okra in Poppy Seed Paste)

My daughters favorite veggy is Bhendi or Ladies finger. If she were to choose she chooses Bhendi over mutton, which is pretty weird

So as you can guess we buy tons of Bhendi and make it in different ways. The most common being Bhendi fry with Daal, the next being Bhendi Posto (Okra with Poppy seeds).

Ingredients

• 1lb. okra small sized
• 2 tbsp. poppy seed
• 1 dry red chili
• 1 tsp. kalonji (Kalojeera)
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Salt to taste
• Oil

Procedure

In a grinder make a smooth paste of poppy seed and dry red chili with little water.

Wash okra and pat them dry. Now snip off both ends.

Heat  4-5 tbsp. oil in a pan and temper it with kalonji seeds. When it stops sputtering add okra and sauté them on high heat for a minute. Sprinkle salt and sugar and cook it covered for 2-3 minutes. Remove the lid and do rest of the cooking uncovered. When it is almost done add poppy seed paste and mix with okra gently so that they don’t break.At the end each okra should be coated by poppy seed paste. Add 1 tsp. mustard oil at the end to get an extra zing.

Dim Posto (Egg in Poppy Seed Paste)

Dim posto is an uncommon bong dish. It’s pretty dry and makes a great lunch with hot steaming rice. I made this with a little twist and added sesame seeds. This is is optional and you can skip and only use poppy seeds.

Ingredients

• 4 hard boiled eggs shelled
• 1 red onion thinly sliced
• 5-6 green chilies slit lengthwise
• 1 tsp. turmeric powder
• 4 tbsp. posto (poppy seed)
• 2 tbsp. til (Sesame seed)
• Salt to taste
• Mustard oil

Procedure

First dry grind poppy seed and sesame seed in a grinder and make a coarse powder of it. Now make a paste of them with a green chili by adding some water.

Smear the boiled eggs with turmeric powder and salt.

Heat 4 tbsp. mustard oil in a pan and fry the eggs on medium heat till they turn golden yellow. Remove the eggs and keep aside.

Add onion slices and green chilies to the same oil and fry them on medium heat for a minute or two. The onions should retain their crunchiness so don’t over cook them.

Now add the poppy seed and sesame seed paste to it. Add boiled eggs and keep sautéing everything till oil gets separated. Add the seasoning and mix once more.

Drizzle one spoon raw mustard oil to get an extra zing. Serve with plain hot rice.

Shahi Murgh Musallam

This is a food fit for the kings. A murgh or chicken is stuffed with fragrant Basmati rice, eggs, spices and cooked in a rich gravy. Generally served in elaborate banquets for the royals.

This originated in Pakistan and found it’s way into Bangladeshi (then East Pakistan) cuisine. I have heard that my grandma used to make this. I did not have the good fortune of having it from her. I learned this recipe from my Aunt (thanks to Vonage :)). Even though the recipe sounded intimidating and complex, it turned out pretty simple to make.

Murgh musallam is best made with small chickens. In the US it is kind of hard to come by and hence I use Cornish Game Hen. I get it from my local Whole Foods store.

NOTE: This needs 12 hour marination

Special Equipment

Wide pan that can accommodate the Whole chicken.

Ingredients For Chicken and Stuffing

• 1 whole gutted chicken weighing about 600gms. Without feather and skin
• 1 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp. Kashmiri red chili powder
• 4 tbsp. plain yogurt
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 lime
• 1 cup Basmati rice washed and soaked for 30 minutes
• 1 tsp. Bengali garam masala powder
• 1 hard boiled egg shelled
• 1 pinch saffron strands soaked in warm milk
• 1 tsp. ghee (clarified butter)

Procedure To stuff the Chicken

Wash the chicken and pat it really dry.

Now with a sharp knife make deep incisions over thigh, drumsticks and breast part. Make some gashes on the joints as well. These incisions will help to cook the chicken
evenly and faster.

Marinate the chicken with yogurt, lime juice, turmeric powder, chili powder and salt. Make sure that you put the marinade from the inside of the stomach as well. Keep it marinated in refrigerator over night.

Next day take out chicken at least half an hour before you start cooking. Mean while cook the rice till it is 90% done. Remove half cup of rice from the pan and cook rest of the rice till it is fully cooked.

Transfer the 90% cooked rice in a mixing bowl and one by one add salt, ghee, saffron infused milk and garam masala powder to it. Mix it gently with the rice so that the rice grains don’t break. Keep it aside.

Now take the marinated chicken and stuff one egg along with the spice smeared rice inside its belly.

With a needle and thread carefully sew the opening.

Heat about 10-12 tbsp. of oil in a flat pan and fry the whole stuffed chicken on medium heat till all sides turn golden brown. It takes about 10-15 minutes. Remove the chicken on a paper towel.

With the rest of the rice make saffron rice to serve with Murg Musallam.

Ingredients For Gravy

• 2 medium onions boiled and made into a fine paste
• 5 baby potatoes peeled
• 4 black cardamom 
• 2 tbsp. ginger garlic paste
• 1 tbsp. Kashmiri red chili powder
• 1 tsp. turmeric powder
• 4 tbsp. plain yogurt
• 2 tbsp. poppy seed paste
• 2 tbsp. cashew paste
• 2 tbsp. rose water
• 1 tsp. Bengali garam masala powder
• 4 tbsp. ghee ( Clarified Butter )
• Salt to taste

Procedure

Heat ghee in a wide pan till it melts. Add black cardamom and wait till it stops spluttering. Add potatoes and fry till they are golden yellow.

Add boiled onion paste along with ginger garlic paste and fry on low heat till oil starts oozing out from the sides.

Sprinkle red chili powder, turmeric powder and garam masala. Stir in well. Now turn off the heat and let the spice mixture cool down a bit. Pour yogurt and mix well with rest of the spices before you turn on the heat again. Add cashew, poppy seed paste, salt and rose water and give a nice mix.

Now gently add the fried chicken to it and apply the spice mixture all over it with a spoon. Cook it covered on medium heat for 10 minutes before you flip the chicken over. Cook the other side for another 10minutes. By this time both chicken and potatoes will be nicely cooked.

Gently cut the stitches and remove the thread.

Pour the gravy on a serving plate and carefully place the stuffed chicken over it. Line up the potatoes and serve with saffron rice.

Korola Pyaj Posto (Karela and Onion in Poppy seed paste)

This recipe has been waiting in the queue for quite a while now. Couple of months back we went for a 10 days road trip to California. We really had a fun time together. The super sunny weather, 6000 km driving, traffic, visiting new place, restaurant food all together it was overwhelming. At the end of the trip we just wanted to eat some home cooked food.

Since we managed to reach home ahead of lunch, I made a super fast two course meal with karola pyaj posto, dal and omelet. My today’s post will be karola pyaj posto. The sweetness of caramelized onion was in great contrast to the bitter crunchy karela (bitter gourd). The smooth posto (poppy seeds) induced a real good sleep in that afternoon as well.

Ingredients

• 2 bitter gourd finely chopped
• 1 large onion thinly sliced
• 2 – 3 tbsp. poppy seed ground to a thick paste
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• Salt
• Oil

Procedure

First take the dry poppy seeds in a chutney grinder or coffee grinder. Dry grind it for 15 – 20 seconds. Add little water and a pinch of salt and mix. Now finally grind them together to make a paste.

Heat oil in a pan and add chopped bitter gourd followed by turmeric powder. Turn the heat low and fry them on low heat till they are done. Remove and keep aside.

Take another 2 tsp. oil and add onion slices to it. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and fry on medium heat till they turn golden brown.Add fried bitter gourd along with poppy seed paste. Mix everything together and keep cooking on low heat for few more minutes till it turns dry.

Serve at the beginning of a Bengali meal with plain rice. 

Chaana Posto (Cottage Cheese with Poppy Seed Paste)

After cooking and eating a bunch of special stuff over the weekend, I try to give myself some rest on Mondays. So for Monday lunch I prefer making something quick and simple for myself. Given that poppy seeds are known to induce sleep it helps me recover from the hectic weekend as well.

Ingredients

• Chaana made out of 2 cups milk (see my rosogolla post on how to make chaana at home)
• 1 red onion finely chopped
• 2 green chilies finely chopped
• 4tbsp. poppy seeds grind into a fine paste with 1 green chili
• 2tbsp. mustard oil
• 1tsp. sugar
• salt to taste

Special Utensil

• Pressure cooker
• Steel/Aluminum tiffin box

Procedure

In a bowl mix all ingredients above together and transfer the content into the tiffin box. Cover the lid tightly.

Pour water in a pressure cooker and place the box so that half of its is down the water. Make sure you don’t cover the tiffin box with water.

Pressure cook it on high heat for 2 whistles. open the lid when the pressure settles down. Enjoy with some white rice and an extra dash of mustard oil.

Jhinge Aloo Posto (Ridgegourd and Potato in Poppy seed Paste)

My daughter had invited one of her friends of Japanese origin for a play-date. While she had sat down for lunch with me we started discussing what I should make for her friend. She instantly replied pointing to what she was having at that time “Jinge Aloo Posto”. I had a hard time explaining to her why it wouldn’t really work out for her friend. She went on insisting “It’s yummy, mummy, my friend will surely like it with rice, they do have rice at home. Also write it in your bongcook so that her mom can make it for her as well”.

So here goes one of the all time bong favs, Jinge Aloo Posto.

Ingredients

1. 2 long ridge gourds
2. 2 medium sized potatoes
3. 3 tbsp. of poppy seeds ( posto)
4. 1 dry red chili 
5. 5-6 green chilies slit length wise
6. 1 tsp. nigella seeds or kalojeera (Kalonji)
7. 2-3 tbsp. of oil
8. 1/2 tsp. sugar
9. Salt to taste

Procedure

I love to dry grind my poppy seeds along with a dry red chili in a coffee grinder and then add little water to make a paste of it. If you have a wet grinder you can make your paste in one go.

Wash ridge gourd and peel the skin alternatively. Cut it lengthwise and then chop into half moon sized quarter inch pieces.

Wash, peel and cut potatoes in accordance with the pieces of ridge gourd.

Heat oil in a pan and temper it with kalojeera and green chilies. Wait till they stop dancing in the pan.

Add potatoes to it and fry on medium heat for a minute or two. Add chopped ridge gourd to it along with turmeric powder. Sauté for a while.

Season with salt and sugar. Cook it covered till the vegetables are tender. Ridge gourd releases water. So allow it to cook in its own water.

When the veggies are almost done and the moisture is all dried up, add poppy seeds paste to it and mix well. Cook everything together for couple of more minutes.

Drizzle some more mustard oil to finish.