The land of the poppy eaters – that might be a becoming title for Bengal, given the portions of poppy seed we eat within the state. Posto, as poppy seed known as in Bengali, or khus khus in Hindi, is taken into account a delicacy. The white seeds are soaked in water and floor to a paste, which is then added to greens, leading to a creamy, nutty coating. Typically the soaked seeds are floor and blended with inexperienced chillies and somewhat rice flour, formed into small truffles or tikkis, fried, and served with dal.
Poppy seed is so commonplace in Bengali delicacies – and held in such excessive regard – that I virtually took a packet as a present for my hosts in Singapore. Fortunately, I didn’t. I used to be later knowledgeable that poppy seeds are banned in Singapore and carrying them may have led to my arrest, and presumably a really prolonged keep behind bars.
This brings us to a bigger query: why is consuming poppy seeds thought-about legal or frowned upon in some nations?
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In India, we use white poppy seeds. In the USA of America, lemon cake with black poppyseed is widespread; these seeds are virtually unimaginable to search out in India. Belief me, I’ve tried. Whereas many Indian communities use khus khus of their delicacies, Bengalis have made it practically a staple. In the course of the Mughal interval, poppy seeds had been even utilized in khjuru, a candy, leavened bread the place they had been kneaded into the dough together with sugar, formed into flatbreads, and deep-fried.
Singapore’s ban stems from the truth that the capsule of the poppy flower is the supply of opium, often called opion in Greek, afyun in Arabic, ahiphena in Sanskrit, and aphin in Hindi. Opium was delivered to India by the Arabs across the eleventh or twelfth century, and shortly, areas like Uttar Pradesh and Malwa grew to become centres of opium manufacturing. In 1511, a Florentine agent and service provider, Giovanni di Empoli, recorded that Portuguese admiral Albuquerque chanced upon opium aboard eight captured ships from Gujarat.
By 1516, Barbosa had listed opium as a key export from India. In 1668, French traveller François Bernier noticed that the Rajputs consumed opium as a stimulant on the eve of a battle –– this will clarify why they misplaced most of them. Jesuit priest Father Monserrate referred to poppy seed not as khus khus, however by the older time period “put up,” from which the Bengali posto is derived.
By now, I’m assuming it’s clear that opium was of nice significance to India and was closely consumed by the haves, if not the have-nots.
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Singapore’s ban stems from the truth that the capsule of the poppy flower is the supply of opium, often called opion in Greek, afyun in Arabic, ahiphena in Sanskrit, and aphin in Hindi. (Photograph: ha11ok from Pixabay)
Throughout Akbar’s reign, the poppy transitioned from being a medical plant to being a leisure drug. A royal decree elevated cultivation, and the crimson flower started to appear as a motif in royal textiles. The dried white seeds, shaped after the opium-rich latex had been extracted and which include negligible narcotic properties, additionally entered the royal kitchens.
Khus khus is often used as a thickener for gravies, including a nutty flavour and creamy texture. Even at this time, it stays an costly ingredient. Wars have been fought over poppy seeds, novels written on the ocean of poppies which drowned India, particularly when the British found the massive marketplace for unlawful opium in China. The East India Firm, ever resourceful, monopolised the opium commerce in India. By the top of the nineteenth century, picket chests full of opium balls had been being ferried to China, and the EIC was preventing the opium wars to grab an offshore base at Hong Kong and safeguard its profitable narcotics empire.
The place there may be demand, provide follows. Large tracts of agricultural land within the Bengal Presidency had been transformed into infinite poppy fields. That is what resulted within the ample use of posto in Bengal. The dried poppy seeds left over after opium extraction had been thought-about waste till the ingenious Bengali housewife discovered a use for them. She found that after floor, the seeds had a nutty flavour and creamy texture, particularly when blended with mustard oil, chillies or onions, or cooked with boiled potatoes or gourd. Posto can also be imagined to have a cooling impact on the physique, making it perfect for Bengal’s sweltering summers.
I don’t know whether or not poppy seed, when consumed within the beneficiant quantities most well-liked by Bengalis, really has a sedative impact, nevertheless it may clarify our love of a day nap.
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This can be a pleasant, albeit barely costly, ingredient. And when you’ve mastered methods to cook dinner with it, there’s no turning again.
Right here is one in all my best and hottest recipes for alu posto or potato with poppy seed. Do attempt it.
ALU POSTO
Elements
• 500 gms potato – reduce into cubes and boiled
• 1 giant onion – sliced effective
• 75 gms of poppy seed – soaked in water
• 4 inexperienced chillies
• ½ teaspoon nigella seed/ kalo jeera/ kalonji
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons mustard oil
Methodology
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1. Make a thick paste of the soaked poppy seeds utilizing a mixer-grinder.
2. Warmth as much as 3 tablespoons of oil in a deep pan.
3. Add the nigella seeds.
4. Add the onions and sauté until they turn into translucent.
5. Add the potatoes and sauté together with the inexperienced chillies, salt and sugar.
6. Lastly, add the poppy seed paste and be sure that all of the potatoes are evenly coated within the paste.
7. Prepare dinner for 4-5 minutes, including a tablespoon of water.
8. Lastly, add 1 tablespoon of Mustard oil and take away from the warmth.
9. Alu posto normally has a really thick gravy coating the potatoes. Serve with scorching rice.
Subsequent week, I’ll write concerning the wonders of Kashmiri meals and why it’s not simply restricted to rogan josh and yakhni, together with some tips about the place to purchase Kashmiri components in Delhi.
