Bengali home classic · Poppy seed paste

Aloo Posto Recipe (Bengali Potatoes in Poppy Seed Paste)

Soak the posto. Grind smooth. Low and slow.

Recipe by Farwa ZeeshanTested in the NineFoods home kitchen

Aloo posto is potatoes in a creamy paste of white poppy seeds and green chilli, finished with raw mustard oil. The paste is gritty when the seeds are not soaked, and it sticks and burns easily. The fix is soaking the poppy seeds, grinding them very smooth, and cooking the potatoes on low heat with a lid.

Prep30m

Cook25m

Servings4

kcal / serving280

LevelEasy

Jump to the method

The 3 laws of aloo posto

Why this recipe works

Soak posto

Dry seeds

Smooth, creamy paste.

Grind fine

Coarse

No grit.

Low and covered

High heat

Paste burns easily.

Shopping and prep list

Ingredients

Servings

Tap items as you gather them · 0 of 0 ready

The NineFoods posto gauge

Is it ready?

Taste the paste and press a potato.

Tap a stage to see what to do.

Method · 3 stages

Step by step

Paste

No heat · 25 min

Soak posto, grind with chillies and a little water until smooth.

Look for: creamy paste.

25:00

Potatoes

Low · 15 min

Crackle kalonji, add potatoes, turmeric, salt and water; cover until nearly soft.

Look for: tender potatoes.

15:00

Posto

Low · 8 min

Stir in the paste and cook. Use the gauge above.

Look for: creamy aloo posto.

08:00

Chef's troubleshooter

What went wrong? Pick the symptom

Why

Seeds not soaked.

Fix next time

Soak and grind fine.

Why

High heat.

Fix next time

Cook on low with a lid.

Why

No raw oil.

Fix next time

Finish with raw mustard oil.

Why

Large cubes.

Fix next time

Cut small.

Swap smart

Ingredient roles and substitutes

Ingredient	Job in the dish	Swap with
White poppy seeds	Paste	Cashew paste
Mustard oil	Signature	Vegetable oil
Potatoes	Main	Ridge gourd or onions
Green chilli	Heat	Less for mild

After the meal

Serve, store, reheat

Serve with

Rice and dal.

Store

Fridge 2 days.

Reheat

Low heat with a splash of water.

How we tested this recipe

Tested in a home kitchen, not a studio

Recipe developed and tested by Farwa Zeeshan, who cooks and tests every NineFoods recipe on a regular home stove.

Cooked from start to finish with the exact quantities above for 4 servings, using both the metric and US cup measures.
Every one of the 3 stages was timed at the stove; heat levels and the 'look for' cues are what we saw in the pan.
The doneness check (is it ready) and the troubleshooter come from batches that went wrong, and how we fixed them.
Reheating and storage advice was checked on leftovers, not guessed.

Read our full testing process

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