Pyaj Posto / Bengali Style Dry Onion Curry with Poppy Seeds Paste
Music is therapeutic. The more I listen, the more I
become addicted to the peace it gives to my mind, body and soul. True...that
sometimes an external force becomes so powerful that it can calm down the inner
chaos.
These days we are getting some really good quality onions. Healthy, fat and completely dust free. On display there are all kinds of them....red, yellow, white, shallots and also the pearl onions. But I love the pearl ones. The are so badly good looking. And the cherry on top is their colour. Its a true show stopper. Magnificent in one word. Although the red onses look very similar with the red onions, they taste sweeter than them. I am in love with them...so much so that I buy them quite often. I made Macher Kaliya / Fish Kalia with them, and they made the curry extra special. Sweet and more tasty. They are a little expensive than the regular ones, but the extra price is so worth it!! I don't think I am going to stop buying them in any near future!! No No!!! :)
All these posto / poppy seeds recipes are from my
in-laws. Poppy seed is their daily dose of life, they possibly cannot pass a single day without it. Aloo posto (potato with poppy seeds) , jhinge posto (ribbd gourd with poppy seeds), potol posto (pointed gourd with poppy seeds) , chingri posto (prawns with poppy seeds) ...what not!!!!There is another recipe of
poppy seeds / posto i.e. tomato posto. This tomato posto is quite interesting as
it is a little tangy as well as sweet...salty and at the same time creamy. Will share that
recipe some other day.
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| sauté the onions |
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| add salt and sugar |
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Pyaj Posto is another example that how much versatile
poppy seeds can be. They can mingle up with almost anything. The recipe is very similar with the Aloo posto,
which I have already posted. The only difference this time is that we do not
add any potatoes and continue cooking after adding the poppy seeds to the
sauted onion. After a long process of stirring and simmering, and then simmering
and stirring again, the final result is a dry curry, where the onions have
browned a little bit and the poppy seeds paste smells wonderful with the
combination of green chillies and witty mustard oil.
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| stir and simmer |
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| reduce to a dry curry |
Pyaj Posto / Bengali Style Dry Onion Curry with Poppy
Seeds Paste
Serves 2-3
Ingredients:
3 large onions – chopped
2 and ½ tbsp poppy seeds
1 inch stick of ginger
3 green chillies
1 tsp turmeric powder
Salt
A pinch of sugar
1 tbsp oil (you can reduce the amount of oil)
Method:
Make a smooth paste of the poppy seeds with the ginger
and 2 green chillies, with some water. Grind them until smooth. The paste
should be smooth and without any grainy texture. To get a smooth paste, first
grind the poppy seeds and then add ginger, green chillies and water. Some
people soak the poppy seeds before grinding, but I do not like that procedure.
To be sure check before pouring the paste in a bowl.
Heat half of the mustard oil in a kadai / pan and put in
the chopped onions. Add some salt and sugar and cook till onions become
translucent and the edges have start to become golden.
Now add the poppy seeds paste, turmeric. Stir to mix everything and let it cook. Cook
for 7-8 minutes, or until the raw smell of the poppy seeds are gone. If the
onions become too dry add a dash of water in between to avoid them sticking to
the pan.
When the poppy seeds are almost (95%) cooked break the
last green chilli in half and trough them into the onions.
Drizzle the rest of the mustard oil over the onions. Mix and simmer for another 1-2 minutes.
Taste and adjust seasoning.
Put off the flame and serve hot with some steamed plain
rice.
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