Janhi Aloo Posto (Bengali Cuisine)

Recipe Description

Janhi Aloo posto is a traditional Bengali recipe of janhi(Ridge Gourd) & potatoes in a lightly spiced poppy seeds paste. Of course, aloo means potatoes and posto means poppy seeds in Bengali recipes.

Janhi Aloo posto is one of the comfort food with rice. This recipe is very popular in Odisha and west Bengal. It can be served with rice or roti. The ridge gourd is a summer vegetable, with lot of minerals and absolutely no fat content.

It is mostly considered bland and not relished by many. The mustard oil with its sharp taste and aroma gives a distinct flavour to the curry. In Bengal or in Odisha most of the curries are mustard oil based, even the pakoras dumplings are also deep fried in mustard oil.

This dish is rich and creamy in texture and the posto adds a delightful flavour to the curry. Ridge gourd is rich dietary fibre.

So, you just try this recipe at your home and share your experience with me. I am sharing this recipe below.

Janhi Aloo Posto (Bengali Cuisine)

Recipe by Pinky ShonaCourse: MainCuisine: IndianDifficulty: Medium

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

30

minutes

Janhi Aloo posto is a traditional Bengali recipe of janhi(Ridge Gourd) & potatoes in a lightly spiced poppy seeds paste. Of course, aloo means potatoes and posto means poppy seeds in Bengali recipes.

Ingredients

• Ridge gourd- 500 gms

• Poppy seeds- 2 tbsp

• Potato- 1 big

• Green chilli- 2 nos

• Ginger- 1 inch

• Garlic- 8 – 10 cloves

• Onion- 1 small

• Turmeric powder- 1 tsp

• Mustard oil as need

• Salt to taste

• Sugar- 1 tsp

• Mustard seeds- 2 tsp

Directions

• First soak the poppy seeds for 30 minutes before making paste.
• In a mixer jar, add poppy seeds, ginger, garlic, onion, green chillies and some water and make a smooth paste.
• Now heat oil in a nonstick pan, add mustard seeds, when it starts crackle then add ridge gourd and potato into it and fry it till gets soften.
• Then add turmeric powder and salt into it. Stir it, cover and cook till the curry is 3/4 cooked.
• Then add the posto paste or the poppy seeds paste to the curry let it cook for 5 minutes.
• Add the water, stir and let the veggies simmer with the paste till it is semi dry and cooked properly which takers nearly 5 to 7 minutes.
• Now janhi posto is ready to serve with rice or roti.

Notes

• Do not overcook ridge gourd.