What is the ultimate comfort food? Bhaat, Posto’r bora, Musurir Dal, Alu Chokha or Alu Sedhho with a dash of kancha shorsher tel would be a prompt answer of any bong. And a glass of Gondhoraj Ghol would be a perfect companion to tackle the pashbalish before bhat-ghum.
Posto is an integral part of Bengali kitchen; in fact it would not be wrong to call posto, a raw emotion of Bengali. We, Bengali people love poppy seed so much that we have tied an emotional knot with posto. Be it Postor Bora, bata, bhaja, bhape , torkari we love them all. Posto literally is that magic wand (read seeds) which can transform any inedible food to a delicious preparation!
The usage of poppy seed is confined in veggies only; it has a wide territory in non-vegetarian preparations too. Posto Murgi, Rui Posto, Dim Posto, Posto (Khashi) Mangsho are quite popular recipes from good old days. Recently the sky high price of poppy seeds and health consciousness has given volunteer retirement to poppy seed from bong life.
But the good news is due to Bengali’s newly adopted eating out culture the renowned restaurants are recreating these traditional preparations to allure people from their kitchen.
Postor Bora is one ancient recipe which has maintained its presence remarkably in Bong kitchens for decades. It is a very simple and easy recipe which can produce a dozen fritters in a jiffy. All we need is smoothly blended posto bata (poppy seed paste). If we can do that correctly, we are done with a batch of successful postor bora.
Watch detailed Video of Postor Bora Recipe.
Read the entire recipe and Notes carefully before you start cooking. Do make sure all ingredients are at room temperature (unless mentioned) and weighed or measured correctly in appropriate weighing scale or measuring instruments such as cups or spoons. Remember these are not regular cups or spoons which is used in daily life.
SERVING & STORAGE:
Posto’r Bora tastes best with bhaat, dal and aloo sedhho (steamed rice, lentil and smashed potatoes). It tastes also good with tea as quick snack.
Always consume hot poppy seed fritters immediately, right after frying. It does not taste good cold or after refrigeration (not even after reheating).
- Posto, poppy seed: ½ cup + 1 tsp
- Onion, finely chopped: ¼ cup
- Green chilli: 4
- Turmeric powder: ½ tsp
- Red chilli powder: ½ tsp
- Salt: 1 tsp
- Rice flour: 2 tbsp
- Mustard oil: ¼ cup
- Warm water: ¼ cup
- Soak ½ cup poppy seed in ¼ cup of warm water for 30 mins. Posto should absorb the water completely, if there is left any drain water and reserve posto.
- Transfer poppy seeds into blender jar along with 2 green chilli and grind into a coarse paste. Do Not add any water. Now sprinkle 1-2 tsp water and grind again until puree is smooth.
- Transfer posto bata in a clean bowl and mix with salt, turmeric and red chilli powder.
- Add chopped onion, green chilli and rice flour; mix to form a smooth lump-free dough.
- Sprinkle 1 tbsp rice flour and 1 tsp poppy seeds on a clean and dry flat palate or tray.
- Take 1 tbsp of mixture at a time and roll between palms to form a small patty and place on rice flour-poppy seed mixture. This coating will help bora to absorb less oil while frying.
- Heat mustard oil in frying pan. Mustard oil plays a vital role in taste of postor bora; it enhances the flavour of poppy seed.
- Add previously made patty one by one in the pan; don’t over crowd the pan. Fry for 5 mins or until slightly brown in colour. Flip carefully as they are very fragile and cook for another 4-5 mins.
- Once fritters are nicely done, remove from oil and place on paper towels to absorb excess oil from bora. Serve hot with rice and dal as a meal or with chai on snack time.
Have you tried/cooked any of the recipes from my blog Scratching Canvas? If yes I would love to know your feedback and opinion. Take a picture of your cooked food and share on Instagram with the hashtag #scratchingcanvas. I will share your picture and opinion with all. See you there 🙂
EAT, LOVE & ENJOY! REPEAT!!!
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