31st January, 2017
THE METRONOME/ BLOG POST 16
Tomorrow, the 1st of February 2017, promises to be action packed. After the last few months of economic instability all over India post Demonetization, the whole country waits for the new Budget to be announced tomorrow. While on the very same day, people of different faiths across the country celebrate Saraswati Pujo, Basant Panchami, Shree Panchami, Sufi Basant and the Festival of Kites. While my fellow Bengalis will be worshipping Ma Saraswati, the Goddess of learning, wisdom and the arts, others will celebrate the first day of Spring - everyone in a different way, but everyone resplendent in shades of yellow.
Since I haven't posted a recipe song in a while, I'm creating this post around Aloo Posto, the much-requested-for Bengali comfort food, made with potatoes in a creamy sauce made from poppy seeds. I've ended up combining - consciously or subconsciously - all the different flavours of everything this day represents, in the song, which uses the sound of coins from my piggy bank to represent the Budget, and the usual Kitchen Choir take on a Sufi Qawwali-esque chorus in unison, when they're not in polyphonic harmony.
As with my other recipes, this one too is fairly flexible and customisable. The grinding of poppy seeds is often done in combination with green chillies and salt. In place of Nigella seeds/ kalonji/ kalo jeere, regular whole cumin/jeera or panchphoron are also used at times. The dish tastes best when cooked in pure virgin mustard oil. Drizzling a tablespoon of the raw mustard oil over the cooked dish in the end is optional.
SONG AND VIDEO CREDITS :
All vocals : Sawan Dutta
Song written, composed, performed and produced by Sawan Dutta
Video : C. B. Arun Kumar and Sawan Dutta
SONG LYRICS :
Aloo Posto, aloo posto
Everyone look, learn to cook Aloo Posto
Take a few potatoes, medium potatoes ( 5 to 6 )
Peel the potatoes, dice the potatoes
Grind some poppy seeds ( 3 tbsp, soaked in water 2 hrs to overnight )
Make a paste ( use sheel noda or food processor, optionally with green chillies, salt)
Heat some virgin mustard oil for yummy taste
Aloo Post, aloo posto
Prices are steep, potato is cheap, Aloo Posto
Add Nigella seeds ( 1tsp) dried red chilly ( 1-2)
And the potatoes to the hot oil,
Lightly fry, add the poppy paste,
Add chilly ( fresh green, 1-2) and water ( just enough to submerge potatoes)
Then let it boil
Add salt and sugar ( to taste ), simmer ( covered) until potatoes are done
You have the tastiest potato dish under the sun!
Aloo Posto, aloo posto
Here it is, look, now you can cook Aloo Posto