Aloo Posto - ??? ?????? (Potato in Poppy Seeds Gravy)

Ingredients
Aloo (Potato) - 2 cups, thinly sliced like fresh fries (I like this, but go with your preferred shape).
Onion - 1 cup, thinly sliced
Posto (Poppy Seeds) - 3/4 cup
Panch Phoran (Five Seed Mix) - 1 tsp, (you will get this easily at any Indian store)
Tej Patta (Dry Bay Leaf) - 1 or 2, depending on the size of the leaf
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Dry Red Whole Chilies - 3-4, adjust on your taste buds
Salt - as per taste
Mustard Oil - 1tbsp

Preparation
Take a wide pan and heat mustard oil in it till it starts smokingAdd panch phoran and tej patta and let them splutterAdd potato and onion slices and fry them till potato pieces along with turmeric and salt and close the lid (on medium heat).Meanwhile, dry grind poppy seeds and dry red chilies to an almost fine powder. Some people also prefer to soak poppy seeds in warm water for few hours or minutes, but I prefer this method of dry grinding as my mom taught me, lolNow, add water to the dry powder (in the blender itself) and make into a pasteOnce potato is cooked in the pan, let them fry a bit without the lid on.Add this mixture along with 1 cup water and let it cook with potato for about 4-5 minutes or till raw smell is gone.Remember that due to poppy-seeds paste, the curry will start sticking to the bottom of the pan, so be careful not to burn the gravy :)

Serving
Serve it as I mentioned above with warm rice or even nice rotis. It tastes equally good :)


This along with the following are my entries for my Flavors of Bengal event which I am guest hosting and which was started by Nayna.
Masala Masoor Dal
Tomatoes & Dates Chutney