Kacha posto bata! Raw poppy seeds paste! How to make posto bata?
If you are not Bengali then you may raise your eyebrows. Who eat raw poppy seeds? Is it edible? Haha! These are the most common queries and if you are not Bengali then nobody can help you in this matter. This kacha posto bata is one of the most favorite traditional dishes of many Bengali people.
Posto & Bengali people
It is popular in Bengal. But people whose ancestors were from East Bengal do not prefer this poppy seeds in food. But all those people whose ancestors were from West Bengal like this poppy seeds in various dishes. I mean they enjoy raw poppy seeds paste as well as poppy seeds paste in fish curry too. They also like aloo posto, jhinge posto, posto bora, posto chicken, posto egg curry etc. Nowadays most Bengali people like aloo posto & jhinge posto. But when it comes to kacha posto bata then mostly ghoti people ( whose ancestors were from West Bengal) prefer this and they make this raw poppy seed paste almost every week too.
Though I am not a ghoti but still I like this awesome Bengali traditional dish with plain rice. But it is not something that is served at our home every week rather we prefer this occasionally.
Suggested post: 5 popular & delicious Bengali snacks
Poppy seeds production & its nutrition values
Poppy seeds are also used to make pakoda across the country. But it is not as popular as it is in West Bengal. Though it is used by various Indian cuisines but production of poppy seeds in India is very less as compared to world production. Czech Republic is the major producer of poppy seeds. It produced 31% of World total production in 2016. Turkey, Spain, Hungary & France are other major producers of poppy seeds. It also contains various nutrition values. It is an excellent source of dietary fibre & various minerals.
Also read: Bengali khasta kachuri, Radhaballabhi, Bengali style panipuri (puchka/fuchka), Special jhalmuri
There are various ways to make kacha posto. Many people add various other raw ingredients to make kacha posto bata more delicious & special. So many people paste raw onion along with post whereas a few numbers of people prefer to add kalo jeera (kalonji). So I think every person follows a specific kacha posto bata recipe to make it special according to his own taste. But I think most people will definitely add green chillies and mustard oil in raw poppy seeds paste.
How to make posto bata at home?
Kacha posto bata recipe
- ½ cup poppy seeds
- 2 green chillies
- 1 raw garlic clove
- Salt as needed
- 1 tablespoon mustard oil
- 1-2 teaspoons of water
- Take poppy seeds, little water, raw garlic clove and green chillies and make paste by using mortar pestle (or traditional sil batta)
- Now take that paste in a bowl and add salt & mustard oil and mix all before serving this with rice
But making this raw poppy seeds paste by using mortar pastel or traditional sil batta needs significant effort. So many people prefer to use mixer grinder to make posto bata. But how to make posto bata in mixer grinder? Is it possible? Though mixer grinder made poppy seeds is not as good as prepared with traditional sil batta. But still you can make this by using electric mixer grinder. You just need to soak poppy seeds for 3-4 hours and use atleast 3/4 cup of poppy seeds. In case you want to make small amount of posto bata in mixer grinder then final result will not be as expected.
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