The Bengalis swear by two things – a fill of Posto Baata or Alu Posto with rice and an afternoon siesta thereafter. Posto or poppy seeds, also known as khus khus in other parts of the country enriches our taste buds, cools down our bodies, and simultaneously heals our digestive system. The Posto Chicken recipe described here is a true-blue Bong recipe born in our ancestors’ kitchens when they discovered the power of Posto as a condiment enhancing the taste along with thickening the gravy. 

History of Posto

Though the poppy seeds and their farming originated in the Middle East back during the Sumerian Civilization, the British colonization in Bengal started its abundant agriculture in the fertile lands of Bengal for supplying the booming opium trade in China during those years. The food grain farmers suffered exploitations in the hands of the British for increasing the production of the poppy seeds to the extent where their families spent days with immense hunger. 

The British eliminated the dried poppy seeds as waste before collecting the opium. Desperate foraging by the women of the opium farmers’ families led to the discovery of posto baata or paste of poppy seeds that they could have with their rice plates.

Thus, posto, entered Bengali culinary. And today, we can add it to any preparation, be it veg or non-veg. Bengalis even have posto bata (or paste) with nothing but green chilies and a tinge of mustard oil.

Food Historian Chitrita Bannerjee rightly says about posto, though the benefits of khus khus are accepted in other parts of India, “it’s single-minded utilisation is only to be seen in Bengal.” Undoubtedly, our easy dinner recipe of Posto Chicken takes a cue from her this particular observation.

So that’s the history, let’s concentrate now on the recipe:

Preparation of Posto Chicken:

For the Posto chicken recipe, you will require the following ingredients:

1. Chicken – 500 gms
2. Tomato – 1 small
3. Onion (fined sliced) – 1 large
4. Onion (finely chopped) – 1 large
5. Cashew Nuts – 5 gms (optional)
6. Green Chillies (slit) – 4-5
7. Ginger (1 inch) – sliced
8. Garlic (10 cloves) – chopped
9. Poppy Seeds (Posto) – ½ cup
10. Dried Melon Seeds (Charmagaj) – 1/4 cup

Make sure that the proportion of the charmagaj and posto is 2:1

1. Whole Garam Masala – 1 tsp
2. Bay leaves
3. Dried red chillies – 2
4. Garam Masala Powder – ½ tsp
5. Coriander Powder – ½ tsp
6. Cumin Powder – ½ tsp
7. Whole Cumin Seeds – ½ tsp
8.  Refined Oil – 2 tbsp
9. Ghee – 1/2 tbsp
10.  Curd – 200 gms
11. Salt – According to taste
12. Turmeric Powder – 1 small pinch

How to Prepare Ghee At Home

Posto chicken video

How to cook Posto Chicken

1. Heat 1 tbsp oil. Add the whole garam masala, a bay leaf, a bit of salt, sliced ginger, chopped garlic cloves, chopped onion, green chillies, chopped tomato and cashew nuts in the oil and sauté for 4-5 minutes.
2. Add in cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder. Mix in for 2 minutes
3. Turn off the flame and leave it too cool.
4. Blend the masala into a fine paste.
5. Marinate the chicken with 200 gms yoghurt, the cooked masala paste and a bit of oil. Keep in the refrigerator for half an hour.
6. In the meantime, make a paste with the charmagaj and poppy seeds.
7. Once the chicken is marinated, heat the pan.
8. Add the ghee and oil. As they heat up, add coriander seeds, a bay leaf, 2 dried red chillies and fine sliced onions. Fry for 2 minutes.
9. Add the marinated chicken. Cover and cook for a minute and turned the flame to medium.
10. After 10 – 15 minutes, add the poppy seed and charmagaj paste. Mix in well.
11. Cook on a medium flame for 15 more minutes.
12. You can optionally add a drop of keora water before serving the Posto chicken piping hot. But, if you are trying it for the first time, taste the posto preparation without adding it.

How to enjoy Posto chicken?

The Posto Chicken can be a perfect choice during summer dinner get-togethers or quick lunch parties in your homes. This easy chicken recipe goes absolutely fabulous with Rotis, Paranthas, Basanti Pulao, Luchi or Plain Sweet Pulao.

The post Posto Chicken Recipe appeared first on KolkataFusion.

With the abundance of coriander as well as mint plants in Bengal, typical North Indian dish like Chicken Hariyali is now a known name among us, Bengalis. For a long time, it had been prepared as a popular dinner recipe with chicken when there’s less time to serve surprise guests in our homes.

In the original version of Chicken Hariyali, Palak or Spinach is also used along with coriander and mint leaves. But since Spinach is just a winter affair in Bengal, we have furnished here the recipe with coriander and mint leaves leaving the Spinach. And we wanted to make it an all-season recipe!

The marinade prepared with curd, coriander and mint paste is well absorbed by the chicken. So, when you have a bite, you can taste a few layers of flavour that makes it a delicious main course dish to opt for.

Here’s our Chicken Hariyali recipe

Ingredients to prepare Chicken Hariyali

• Chicken: 1 Kg
• Onion (Fine sliced): 4 medium
• Tomato (Chopped): 1 ½
• Garlic (4-5 pods): roughly chopped
• Ginger (1 ½ inch): roughly chopped
• Coriander Leaves: 1 bunch
• Mint Leaves: 4-5 sprigs
• Lemon: Half
• Curd: 2 ½ tbsp
• Chicken Masala: 1 tbsp
• Garam Masala: 1 tbsp
• Turmeric Powder: 1 tbsp
• Coriander Powder: 1 tbsp
• Cumin Powder: 1tbsp
• Whole Garam Masala: 2 cloves, 1 green cardamom, ½ inch cinnamon stick
• Whole Cumin Seeds: 1 tsp
• Dried Red Chilli:
• Green Chillies: 4-5
• Refined Oil: 2 tbsp
• Ghee: 1tbsp
• Salt: According to taste
• Sugar: Can be opted out if you don’t want a tinge of sweet taste in your chicken

You may also like: Palak Paneer Recipe

Preparation of Chicken Hariyali

• Take a Kadhai, heat oil, add whole garam masala, whole cumin seeds and red chilli.
• Allow them to splutter and emit aroma.
• Add chopped ginger and garlic.
• Then slowly add sliced onions, slit green chillies, chopped tomatoes and stir in well.
• Add ½ tablespoons of turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, chicken masala and garam masala now in the kadhai and keep stirring till the chopped tomatoes melt and the masala starts getting a reddish tinge.
• Switch off the cooktop and allow the masala to cool down a bit.
• Add the masala, the remaining powder masalas, coriander and mint leaves to make a smooth paste in the grinder.
• Add the ground paste, salt, curd and lemon juice and marinate the chicken for half an hour.
• Heat the ghee in a kadhai.
• Add the marinated chicken.
• Cover and cook in low flame. Occasionally stir in.
• Cook for 20-25 minutes.
• Allow the chicken to become tender. Add salt if needed.
• Put the flame on high. Cook for 10-15 minutes. You can add sugar now if you feel like it.
• Reduce the gravy if you would like to have the chicken hariyali with Roti, Basanti Pulao. No need to reduce the gravy if you have it with piping hot rice.

The post Chicken Hariyali appeared first on KolkataFusion.

We launched our website, have started investing time, and brain in SEO, exploring new ways to make our digital presence felt and trying our hands-on photos and video editing. Moreover, we also got the support of two new members and it’s not just a dream of 2 school friends anymore. Amidst all the problems the Pandemic has brought along, we kept finding and devoting time for our dear child – our website. And why? This is because YOU ARE THERE!

KolkataFusion is incomplete without you readers and your support in our journey. Even when we were lost and down, you messaged us suggestions and edits that caught your eyes. You let us know you are waiting for us and though we weren’t writing, your trust in us was unmoved. For you, for all of you, we have decided to look back and list down a few posts that you enjoyed reading the most, the posts through which you kept our spirits high. Hope you enjoy reading them once more!

The Most Loved Posts of the Year 2020

Bonphool – The purest honey from the Sundarbans Forest Co-Operative Apiary

KolkataFusion virtually visited the remote jungles of Sundarbans in search of the purest honey made by the Co-operatives there. The organic honey has become the lifeline of the residents in the Sundarbans village because it reduced human lives’ loss due to human-wildlife conflict. Click here to know how Bonphool honey is beneficial for both you and the workers.

MY FIRST JUNGLE SAFARI EXPERIENCE

An 8-year-old guest blogger has narrated his first jungle safari experience through his vivid narrative. It has been a joy to present his writing to you. If you want to re-join him in his experience in the jungles of Madhya Pradesh, click here without further delay. And, if you haven’t read it yet … you must!

Shantiniketan Resorts and Food Joints

Shanti-r Niketan, Shantiniketan is indeed a peaceful place, where you can bond with nature, roam about freely without forced social-distancing and buckle up for 2021. Approximately four hours drive from Kolkata, it has some beautiful eco-resorts and restaurants serving homely food. With the COVID-19 restriction, it’s best to welcome the new year away from the crowd. So, plan a trip to Shantiniketan and we are there to help you.

Mangalorean Chicken Sukka Recipe in Bengali Style

Bengalis can bring their unique touch to any cuisine, starting from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. Though we often cook dishes like Palak Paneer and Biriyani at home, this was our first food-fusion post. It might be this fusion of Mangalore and Bengal that caught our readers’ attention and with New Year’s Eve coming, if you, too, want to try out this yummy recipe, click here.

Covid-19 Era: Our Journey towards the new normal

We have narrated our respective experiences of dealing with Covid-19 and our journeys towards the new normal. This was our first post while launching KolkataFusion’s website, and got a broad reach to different corners of the world. Would you like to retrospect those dark days again through this post? Here you go!

In 2021, stay tuned with us as we are planning to present more exciting stories on Bengal and Bengalis just for you, our esteemed readers.

The post Wrapping up the year 2020 appeared first on KolkataFusion.

As we know, Chicken Pakoda has been the all-time favourite of the Bengali households. And, without exaggerating, we can say it’s an all-time favorite in every Indian family – maybe because of its ability to adapt with different accompaniments at different times of the day. You can have the Chicken Pakoda as breakfast with a bit of salad and roll it inside your Ruti, Parota, Luchi. You can have Chicken Pakoda as a side dish with your Basanti Pulao, or with evening Muri and Cha, or with a glass of Vodka or Rum to bit down the chill outside.

Among all the recipes with chicken, the Chicken Mini Dynamites or Chicken Fritters recipe is the best one with the leftover chicken keema.

There are many recipes of Chicken fritters available online. However, the one that we are about to share today is made while juggling between weekend workloads and the sudden announcements of guests coming home. Yes! It’s that easy. With work-from-home being the new normal, many of us have to cook while working and work while taking care of kids! We don’t need elaborate meals, but quick-fixes and this recipe is just what we need! It is one of the easiest starters to serve to your guests after a hards day’s work or your kids if they demand to have some roadside fries, which we know is absolutely unhealthy.

Without further talks, let’s see how to make this easy fried chicken recipe.

Ingredients of Chicken Fritters

• Chicken Keema – 250 g
• Boiled Potato – 1 large
• Onion (finely chopped) – 1 small
• Ginger (finely chopped) – 1 tsp
• Garlic (finely chopped) – 1 tsp
• Coriander leaves (finely chopped) – 2 tsp
• Green Chillies (finely chopped) – according to taste
• Chicken Masala Powder – 1 tsp
• Chaat Masala Powder – 2 tsp
• Garam Masala Powder – 1 tsp
• Egg White of 1 egg
• Lemon Juice – ½ lemon
• Turmeric Powder – ½ tsp
• Salt – According to taste
• Cornflour – 2 tbsp
• Refined Oil – The quantity needed to deep fry the chicken balls

How To Prepare the Mini Dynamites

• Mix all the ingredients except the cornflour
• Add the cornflour. Keep aside.
• Heat the oil well.
• Make small balls and deep fry, as shown in the video.

Your Chicken Fritters are done and ready to serve.

It’s pretty simple – isn’t it? So, try it out and let us know how did the mini balls fare in your kitchen.

Click Here For More Videos on Indian Recipes.

The post Chicken Mini Dynamites Recipe – A Snack To Suit Any Mood appeared first on KolkataFusion.