BAKED ALOO POSTOR BORA

Shall I go or not?.... The entire morning was wasted on this.... Where to? Or what... for my walks which has become a necessity now. Old doctor Chang has become stricter and told I have to do it. Even I wish to live more... just not in the mood to take a leave before seeing my Olive Oyl.... you never know who it will be this early. One should not be a fool enough to weave stories on how the future is going to be and waste the present, there are few such.... need not be any. Somehow, this morning I felt like doing some healthy cooking though the mind craves for some mutton biryani or a plateful of hilsa curry and rice. I keep aside such cooking for the nights or weekends. I am cooking some red rice with carrots, beans and scrambled egg. What is there to accompany? I am grilling some pineapple chunks marinated in tandoori masala. The combination sounds weird, right? The grilled pineapple was done for my vegetarian Punjabi friends yesterday. They are all glam dolls... hence, the appetisers were grilled... baked... paneer or even aloo-matar tikki. 

Do you think my men ate grilled aloo tikki and pineapple without any bribe? My boys are not that good.... I had to allure them with batter fried masala pomfret.... there was Thai Jasmine rice tossed in butter in the main. Both my men were happy. By the way, two green, super fresh chalkumro.... that is ash gourds are resting in the refrigerator.... I will cook them with either prawns or with bori... dried lentil fritters and freshly chopped coriander leaves with a simple tempering of cumin seeds and dry red chillies. For my friend Bianca Castafiore I am thinking of preparing a no bake mango cake. After all these, if I feel like I will venture out. Then there is also the music bug, somedays it totally overpowers me.... for few days it is the comparatively new sensations Monali Thakur and Papon. The girl is a yesteryear Bengali actor's daughter... really enjoying their duet 'yeh moh moh ke dhaage' or a solo 'sawaar loon'.

My new Samsung Microwave came with a magic grill / bake plate as a gift or a boon. I enjoy using it... in the process we tend to use less oil. Posto... poppyseed is something most of the Bengalis swear by.... then I hear of blue colour poppyseed used elsewhere and wow... in cakes too! I will not take the risk of baking a cake with it because I hardly get out of my den. Except for exploring new places.... I hardly wish to be experimental or adventurous..... neither am I judgemental. I do what I like ... I think it should be true for all. Postor Bora or poppyseed fritters / pakora has always been loved by my family and it has some childhood memories attached to it. 

This fat old lady is quite an old lady truly and a little girl of eight years back in 1978-79 may be. There was a severe flood in West Bengal that year. The happy family of four lived in a two roomed rented flat, Monday through Friday, the maternal grandfather too stayed as he worked there. All the streets were waterlogged with a scarcity of food. I wonder how the super mom managed with a younger kid of two years. With almost no supply of vegetables and fish in the market.... we were having this postor bora, dal and minimal something everyday perhaps. This little girl who was innocent then asked her mother... mani have we become rich?.... Then too poppyseed was quite expensive for a middle class Bengali to have regularly. We definitely were not but the super lady arranged somehow. I am no where near our mother or grand mother.... little I have inherited.... it is their training or blessings that makes me what I am. 

You know readers.... postor bora does not seem that 'exclusive' anymore..... I feel it is a normal human tendency to lose interest in what we can afford. Mani used to prepare postor bora without using the potato. The daughter fails to get the right consistency of paste done in a blender..... I always admit my shortcomings.... rigidity been the foremost. I just cannot be what I am not.... neither do I expect others to be. This baked aloo postor bora can be enjoyed as an appetiser or to be had as an accompaniment with dal and rice. We use a lot less of oil when we bake these fritters instead of deep frying. In fact, traditionally done poppy seed fritters cannot be deep fried, they would break! Our mother would paste the soaked in water posto / poppy seeds manually & sauce in minimal oil for long! There lies the trick! Let us do them together and be happy souls today and for ever. I happily  had my ear job done for the second time to the displeasure of my men... so they deserve some meaty curry tonight.

If you stay in Dubai or Singapore.... use white sesame seeds instead of poppyseed.... recipe remains the same.... Mind it, else you may land in the jail!

INGREDIENTS :

Poppy Seed : 3-4 tbsp [use white sesame seeds if in Dubai or Singapore] 
Potato : 1 standard sized
Green Chilli : 2
Turmeric Powder : 1/4 tsp
Sugar : 1/2tsp
Salt : As Required
Oil : 1tbsp

METHOD :

Wash the poppy seeds with help of a strainer. Soak them in hot water for an hour.... my grinder is stubborn otherwise. Though our mother prefers a coarse like paste done in a 'shil-nora'. After an hour get a paste of it done using a little of water & 1-2 green chillies!

Wash the potatoes and prick all over it using a fork. Take in a microwave proof plate and microwave at high heat for 5 minutes. Let cool, peel off and then mash thoroughly.

Take the poppyseed paste and potato together in a bowl. Add the salt, sugar,  turmeric powder and the oil  to it. Mash all together thoroughly.

Prepare tennis size balls taking out small portions and flatten in between your palms. Grease the baking tray with one or two drops of oil. Place the bora / pakora atop.

Preheat oven at 180*C!. Bake the postor bora or poppyseed fritters for 10-12 minutes at 180*C or until they are golden brown atop. 

Thereafter, you would turn over and bake for another 5 minutes... which may not be required.

Transfer to a serving plate and enjoy hot with dal and rice. Trust me ... you will love this Bengali bora / fry / pakora anytime... any day.