Posto Bora / Bengali Poppy Seeds Fritters

My husband never gets tired from eating alu posto and kolai er dal. This is his holy grail and no matter what happens he sticks to it. But me...I get bored easily. So while poppy seeds bug is on its biting spree...I look around to make something different with them.

A few days ago I made a spicy curry with the poppy seeds fritters. Ma used to make them a lot. Those fritters are big in size and the curry is very spicy and hot. Their big size is also owing to the fact that they go with the gravy which gives them plenty of time to get the inside properly cooked. But when you are eating just the poppy seeds...the fritter has to be made thin and we also add some chopped onions, green chillies and coriander leaves to make them taste better.

Adding flour is a must, do not skip as that works as the binder. Eat these fritters with rice and a good drizzle of mustard oil. They are definitely one of the best starters in the Bengali cuisine... (After shukto) I have come across.

Posto Bora / Bengali Poppy Seeds Fritters

Makes 6-7 fritters / bora

Ingredients:

3 tbsp poppy seeds

½ tsp all purpose flour

2 tsp very finely chopped onions

1 green chilli finely chopped

1 tsp very finely chopped coriander leaves

Salt

Oil to fry

Method:

Make a smooth paste of the poppy seeds using very little water. We need a very thick paste to start with. After grinding check by pressing the paste between the index finger and thumb. If the paste feels grainy grind again.

Transfer the paste to a bowl.

Add water to make a thick but not runny paste. If it’s too thick then the inside will not properly cook whereas if it’s too thin the fritters will not hold its shape.

Add salt, chopped onions, chopped green chillies, chopped coriander leaves and flour.

Mix everything well. If the mixture stays too runny even now add a little more flour to thicken the texture.

Heat some oil in a flat bottomed pan and pour 1 tbsp of the mixture in the pan.

Keep the flame on low to medium and when the fritters get a little firm and the bottom portion becomes golden flip it.

Cook the other side of the fritter for a minutes more, and then take them out of the pan.

Keep them on a paper towel to soak off the excess oil.

Serve hot with some plain hot rice, a nice big hot green chilli and a little drizzle of the pure virgin mustard oil.