Aloo Posto

Couple of weeks back a friend asked, "What is posto?" I described to her what it is and she was happy to know that its used for special veg dishes...well if you are still wondering, posto is the Bengali word for poppy seeds.
Here is the Aloo Posto recipe [got it over phone from Mom :) ]
Vegetable:
Medium size potato - 4-5
Spices:
Posto - 3 table spoon
Kalonji [Fennel] seeds - 1 pinch
Cummin powder - 1 tea spoon
Turmeric powder - 1/4 th tea spoon
Red chilli powder - to taste
Garam masala - 1/4th tea spoon
Bay leaves [tej patta] - 1 or 2
Salt to taste
Grated Coconut [optional] - 1/4 of tea cup
Refined or mustard oil - 2 table spoon
Ghee - 1 tea spoon
How to prepare:
Peel, clean and cut the potatoes in halves [big chunky pieces]
Soak posto for 15-20 mins then grind into a paste - soaking makes it easy to grind in a mixie [add coconut while grinding]
Heat 2 spoons of oil a pan, add kalonji seeds and bay leaves to it.
Add the posto paste, cummin, turmeric, chilli powder and salt. Fry well. Add a little water if it sticks to the pan :)
Once the masala starts to separate from the oil add the potato chunks and mix well.
Add 1/2 cup water, cover and let it simmer for 2-3 mins.
Once the potatoes are boiled the dish is almost ready. Add water if you want more gravy.
Add the garam masala and ghee for flavor.
Your Aloo posto is ready to eat.
This goes well with plain rice or poori.