Aloo posto

Soak 3 tablespoons white poppy seeds in cup water. I usually soak the poppy seeds overnight, so that the grinding is easier. Otherwise, they dont grind well. If you forget the soaking, then soak at least for a couple of hours in warm water. After overnight soaking, use a fine-mesh strainer and drain all the water. Below pic shows the soaked poppy seeds.

Add the poppy seeds in a small chutney grinder. Add 1 green chili and 1 tablespoon water. Grind to a fine paste. Add more water if required while grinding.

Next rinse, peel and chop 2 large potatoes (300 grams potatoes). Heat 2 tablespoons mustard oil in a pan or kadai and let it smoke on a medium flame.

(Optional) Cut brinjal into large pieces and fry them in a pan. Add salt to taste.

Add dry red chilli and fry for 10 sec. Add potatoes and fry on high flame for 3 mins or until potatoes turn golden brown in colour. (Add fried brinjal) Add turmeric, sugar and salt and mix together.

Add poppy seed paste and two whole green chilies and mix well. Fry for 1-2 min to potatoes are nicely coated with paste.

Now add to cup water. The amount of water required depends on the consistency you want. Usually aloo posto has a dry to semi-dry consistency, but for a gravy consistency, you can add some more water.

Cover the pan with a lid and on a low flame simmer till all the water dries up and the potatoes are cooked. The poppy seeds paste will also cook by then. Do not overcook the potatoes. Do check a couple of times when the potatoes are cooking. If the potatoes are undercooked and the water has dried up, then you can add some water.