Bengali Potato and Poppy Seed Curry

Soak poppy seeds in water for two hours. Strain and add to a grinder jar, along with 2 green chillies and 75 g water. Grind to a coarse paste. Set aside.

Peel and cut the potatoes in 1-cm cubes. If using onions, slice them too.

Heat mustard oil in a pan. Once smoking lightly and pale yellow, add the onions. Fry until lightly coloured (about 1 minute). Drain from the oil and set aside.

Temper the oil with dried red chillies and kaalo jeere. Add the potatoes. Fry for about 5 minutes. The potatoes should not brown, so keep stirring them regularly.

Add the poppy-seed paste, along with salt and sugar. Cook on low heat until the raw smell of poppy paste goes away. This should take about 4 minutes.

Continue cooking on low heat, with lid on until the potatoes are soft. Once in a while, when the pan dries out, you may have to add a splash of hot water to ensure the potatoes don't stick to the pan.

Finish with 2 slit green chillies and 1 tsp of mustard oil.

If you fried the onions earlier, add those now too, and give a final stir, before serving with hot rice and dal, or with rooti.