Aloo Posto — Potato in Poppy Seed Paste (আলু পোস্তো)

West Bengal; aloo posto is so characteristically Bengali that it is used as a cultural shorthand — 'the Bengali who doesn't eat posto' is a cultural impossibility in popular discourse

Aloo posto (আলু পোস্তো) is the quintessential Bengali vegetarian dish: potato pieces cooked in a paste made from posto (পোস্তো — white poppy seeds, Papaver somniferum) that coats each piece in a thick, slightly nutty, mildly sweet crust. Posto (poppy seed) is to Bengali cuisine what sesame is to Korean or tahini to Levantine — the paste-forming nut-seed that creates body and a distinct earthy flavour. The paste is made by soaking white poppy seeds in water for 30 minutes before grinding wet — dry grinding produces a gritty, dusty result rather than the smooth white paste needed for even coating. A touch of mustard oil and green chilli completes the dish.

Eaten with plain rice — the mildly sweet, nutty posto coating on the potato softens beautifully against plain rice. No strong spice is needed: the poppy seed is the sole flavour medium. A side of dal completes the simple vegetarian Bengali meal.