Alu posta

This is essentially a Bengali dish, which has been adopted in the Bihari/ Jharkhandi households effortlessly. i find a lot of variations of this dish online. well this is mine.

Ingredient:

Poppy seeds (Posta): 4 Table spoons
Garlic pods (peeled): 3-4
Red chilli whole: 2
Boiled potatoes: 3 medium sized (cut and diced)
Salt: to taste
turmeric: 1 pinch
Mustard oil: 1-2 table spoons


Method:

• Soak poppy seeds overnight. next day Grind it with a little water, garlic and red chillies. you now have a posta paste. 
• Heat some mustard oil in a deep pan. Once the oil is hot, put in 1 red chilli, whole. once it changes colour, add teh diced potatoes to the oil. let it cook for 5 minutes. 
• Once the potatoes are cooked add the posta paste to it. Coat it properly and let it cook for two minutes. Stir continuously.
• The paste and potatoes will start sticking to the pan add some water at this point. Just 10-15 mls. let the masala come together.
• at this point add the salt and the turmeric. stir.
• let it form a thik gravy. 
• after taking it off the burner, garnish with some green coriander for flavour and colour
• Serve hot

Tip:

If you add a little salt and mustard oil to the posta paste and it becomes a very tasty chutney that lasts for about 3-4 days)

Papri or Rice Cheela

this is s typical jharkhandi dish that i learnt to make after my marriage. It is very easy and tastes very nice with potato curry or aloo dum.

Ingredients:

Rice: 500 gms (soaked overnight)
Chana Dal: 50 gms( soaked overnight)
Salt to taste
water
Refined oil or Olive oil to cook


Method

• Soak rice and chana dal together overnight. 
• In the morning, drain excess water and blend the two to a coarse paste in the mixer. 
• Add salt to taste while blending. 
• If the mixture becomes too fine it will become runny and will be difficult to handle
• Heat the pan to medium heat. Pour oil and spread on the pan
• Add a little water to make it to the consistency of dosa batter or just enough that it can be spread easily on the tawa.
• Spread the mixture on the tawa and wait for 2 minutes for it to get cooked.
• once done flip it to other side to cook.
• Do not brown it a lot.
• papri is ready.

the mixture should make about 12-15 papris.
these are light eats and can be had with chutney as well as curry's. 

Ol ki sabzi or Elephant Foot Yam Curry

Ingredients:

Elephant foot yam: 500 gms
Onions:3 medium sized, chopped roughly
Green Chillies: 4 to 5 nos
Ginger Garlic paste: 1 heaped teaspoon
Mustard oil: 4 tablespoons
Mustard Oil: to deep fry the yam
whole Garam masala: (2 cardamoms, 2 cloves, 1 badi elaichi,
                                     1 stick of cinnamon, 2 medium sized bay leaves,
                                     1 teaspoon of jeera)
Turmeric: 1 pinch
Salt: to taste
Red chilli powder: 1 pinch
Dhaniya powder: 1 pinch


Method:

• Roughly cut the Yam in 2 or 3 pieces so that it can be boiled. Keep the skin on. Put in a pressure cooker and boil it for 5 minutes. The Yam should be cooked but not too sot or it will crumble.
• Once the Yam is boiled, let it cool and take teh skin off. generally Yams have a problem of causing an itch on the skin. its better to rub mustard oil before taking the skin off.
• after the skin is off, roughly chop the yam in 1 inch squares. Dry off the yam pieces.
• Once dried, deep fry them in mustard oil on medium heat, till they are firm. you do not need to brown them a lot.
• put a Pressure cooker on the flame on medium heat pour some mustard oil in it let the oil heat completely.
• After the oil is hot, put in some whole garam masala in the oil. let it splutter a little and then add the ginger garlic paste.
• Fry the masal for 1 minute and then add the chopped onions and chopped chillies. fry it till they become transparent.
• once the onions are done add turmeric, dhaniya, lal mirch and salt to the masala paste.
• let it fry for a minute. stir nicely and then add the fried yams to the masala. Coat the masala on the yams, fry for 1 minute.
• Add water to the vegetable mix till its covered. do not add too much water as it will ruin the taste and make the yams soggy and they will break.
• once the water is added, put the lid of the pressure cooker on let it cook till 1 whistle of the cooker is on.
• once the vegetable has cooled down, take of the lid and let the sabzi simmer for a while. 
• the masala will thicken and will become dark brown in colour and it will strt realising oil. it needs to be stirred continuously on medium heat. you can add water according to the kind of curry you want.
• Garnish with coriander leaves before serving