Aloo Sarson-Posta(Potato mustard&poppyseed curry)

It had been nearly more than six months since i had tasted poppy seeds. It was only in this Christmas time that i could get some of it at cheaper price at an Indian store in Brussels. So i grabbed a few packets just to make my traditional Aloo posta . The best thing about this dish is that you do not need many ingredients and its just too quick and fast in preparation. However i customized this dish by adding some mustard to it as i love the taste of mustard too. Some like it with purely poppy seed paste while others just like me incorporate almond and cashew nuts too.

This recipe serves four
Preparation & Cooking time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:

• Potatoes - 4 Large sized, sliced into 1/2 inches
• Onion -1 medium size ,sliced thinly
• Chilly- 1 chopped
• (optional)Paanch Foren(mixture of Fenugreek seed, cumin seed, mustard seed,fennel seed ,kalongi seeds ) 1 tsp each, mix them well and keep it in a closed container for future use.
• Turmeric powder- 1 tsp
• Pepper powder- 1 tsp
• Salt as per taste
• oil for cooking
• Paste- (Add 1 tbsp poppy seeds+1 tbsp crushed almonds + 3/4tbsp mustard+ green chilly 1 in a grinder jar. Add little water and then grind to make a consistent paste)
• water for cooking

Preparation:

• Heat oil in a kadai or pan
• Add 1 tsp of Paanch foren, allow it to crackle
• Now add green chillies and sliced onion, fry until onion turns tender
• Add the sliced potatoes
• Add salt ,stir and cover, wait until potatoes are half cooked
• Now add turmeric powder and pepper powder
• cook until turmeric gets fried.
• At this point add the paste, Add water to adjust the consistency of the gravy and then stir.
• Simmer in low heat for 5 mins.
• Turn off the heat once you see gravy of desired consistency .

The Aloo sarson-posta is now ready to be served. Serve it hot with hot rice or chapati.

Enjoy and Happy Cooking :-)

By: Sushmita Pandit