Macadamia Free Vegan Bengali Aloo Posto

Total time1 hr 15 min

Prep time20 min

Cook time25 min

4.6

(21)

This Bengali classic is pure comfort — golden potato cubes coated in a thick, fragrant paste made from soaked white poppy seeds, green chilies, and mustard oil. The posto paste is the soul of the dish, ground into a dense, opaque coating that clings to every piece of Yukon Gold potato with a nutty, subtly spicy depth that's unlike anything else in a weeknight rotation. Mustard oil does serious heavy lifting here, first bloomed with nigella seeds and a dried red chili to build a smoky, pungent base, then finished with a raw drizzle at the end that wakes the whole dish back up. The technique is straightforward — sauté, coat, cover, and let the paste do its thing — but the result tastes like something that took far more effort than it did. Every ingredient in this recipe is naturally plant-based, so there's no need to swap or substitute a single thing to keep it fully vegan. Tree nuts of any kind never come near this dish, which makes it a genuinely safe and satisfying option when you need to cook for someone avoiding them. Serve it with steamed rice and a slit green chili on top, and you've got a meal that's deeply regional, deeply delicious, and completely unfussy.

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Ingredients

4 servings

For the posto paste

½ cup white poppy seeds (posto)
2 green chilies, roughly chopped
¼ tsp salt
3 tbsp water, plus more as needed

For the aloo

1.5 lb (about 4 medium) yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into ¾-inch cubes
3 tbsp mustard oil
½ tsp nigella seeds (kalonji)
1 dried red chili
½ tsp turmeric
¾ tsp salt, or to taste
¼ cup water
1 tsp raw mustard oil, for finishing

For serving

1 green chili, slit lengthwise (optional)

Instructions

1
Place the white poppy seeds in a small bowl, cover with cold water, and soak for 30 minutes. Drain well.
2
Transfer the drained poppy seeds to a spice grinder or blender along with the 2 roughly chopped green chilies, 1/4 tsp salt, and 3 tbsp water. Grind to a smooth, thick paste, scraping down the sides as needed and adding water 1 tsp at a time only if the blades stall. The paste should be dense and opaque, not watery.

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