Nisha Katona’s aloo posto , or poppy seed potatoes. Photograph: Phoebe Pearson/The Guardian. Food styling: Hanna Miller. Prop styling: Lucy Turnbull. Food styling assistant: Thea Hudson View image in fullscreen Nisha Katona’s aloo posto , or poppy seed potatoes. Photograph: Phoebe Pearson/The Guardian. Food styling: Hanna Miller. Prop styling: Lucy Turnbull. Food styling assistant: Thea Hudson Food Poppy seed potatoes and chicken kebabs: Nisha Katona’s recipes for home-style Indian favourites There’s a common misconception that Indian cooking is time-consuming and usually involves a dizzying number of ingredients, but these two home standbys show you can create magic in mere minutes
Prefer the Guardian on Google M y earliest memories are of cooking, sitting on the floor of my grandmother’s kitchen in Varanasi, northern India, dutifully combining water and flour to make dough or grinding spices between stones, both sensory kitchen tasks that became my playtime. The other kitchens of my life – those of my mother and aunt, my own kitchen at home and our restaurant kitchens at Mowgli – are still where I feel most at home, standing over a pot and conjuring aromas that waft through the house. There is a common misconception that Indian cookery is hard, and that for every dish you have to grind and roast and marinade, but that couldn’t be further from the truth: with a single stove ring, 20 or so minutes of fuel, one pot, a board, a knife and a spoon for stirring, you can create magic.
Bengali aloo posto takes the humble potato and elevates it to an exciting main course. We usually eat this with warm rice, simply mashing the two together with a touch of extra salt and a bracing green chilli to nibble on the side.
Soak 2 hr Prep 15 min Cook 25 min Serves 4
50g white poppy seeds ( posto ), soaked in 250ml hot water for 2 hours 4½ tbsp vegetable oil , or mustard oil 600g potatoes , peeled and cut into 2cm cubes ½ tsp nigella seeds 1 dried red chilli , broken in two 1 white onion , peeled and thinly sliced ¼ tsp ground turmeric ¾ tsp salt 2 large green chillies , halved lengthways, deseeded and finely sliced 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander , leaves and tender stalks
Drain the poppy seeds, saving 100ml of their soaking water, then put them in a blender with the reserved water and blitz to a semi-smooth paste.
Put three tablespoons of oil in a heavy-based, nonstick pan on a high heat, add the cubed potatoes and fry for seven to eight minutes, turning often, until golden all over. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the browned potatoes to a bowl.
Add a tablespoon of the remaining oil to the same pan, turn down the heat to medium-high, then add the nigella seeds and dried red chilli, and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the onion and saute for five to six minutes.
Return the potatoes to the pan, then stir in the turmeric and salt. Stir in the poppy seed puree and cook on a medium heat, stirring often, for seven to eight minutes.
To finish, stir in the final half-tablespoon of oil, the green chillies and the chopped coriander, and serve. If you like, add extra water to loosen the sauce to your desired consistency.
View image in fullscreen Nisha Katona’s reshmi kebab. These gently spiced, soft and utterly delicious chicken kebabs were a favourite of mine and my brothers when we were growing up. When we travelled to India for the long holidays, our timid western palates often sought them out as a culinary respite from all the bold heat ar…