Independence Day special | British opium trade to Indian kitchens; the dark history of Bengal's comfort food

If you have ever had Bengali food, you must have tried Aloo posto. The dish made of boiled potatoes mixed with poppy seed paste, has been a staple in every Bengali household for years. It is one of the most preferred comfort foods for the community. Usually consumed with steaming hot rice and perhaps a dash of green chilies, Aloo posto is the go-to dish on a day when the heart craves for comfort food. While Bengali cuisine has distinct characteristics and styles of making, depending on where it originated, East or West Bengal, Posto, over the years, has been a unanimous favourite. The much-loved dish, however, has a dark past. Posto or poppy seeds came to India due to the opium trade by the British.

Opium trade and lack of options

Once used as a recreational drug in Emperor Akbar's court, opium was discovered by the British soon after the Battle of Plassey in 1757. The British realised opium had a huge illegal market in China and decided to grow in Bengal, known for its fertile soil. Farmers across the region were forced by the British to grow opium in large quantities, which was harvested and sold in the Chinese black market as a drug. China was a big consumer of opium, even though it was illegal to buy or consume it openly.The poppy seed-pods and their latex are the narcotic parts of the opium plant.

Journey from the black market to the kitchen

As the British found a way to double its income, it robbed scores of households in Bengal of their staple crop, which would also be consumed at home with rice. With many men landing in opium induced haze, the women of these farming communities had to make do with what was available. They scurried through forests, by the ponds, in the groves, desperately looking to supplement their families' meager meals. And then stumbled upon mountains of dried poppy seeds, discarded as waste by their colonial overlords.

What women used was the dried residual of the harvested crop- basically theseed pods and the latex in them, once it had completely dried out.

Posto, or poppy seeds, were typically ground to a thick paste and then mixed with salt and a dash of mustard oil, and mixed with whichever vegetable was available, not just the potatoes, and consumed with panta bhat (fermented rice). The popularity of the dish united villages on both sides of the Padma River, which divided East and West Bengal. Thus originated dishes like Aloo posto, posto bora(poppy fritters),postobata(raw paste of poppy seeds) jhingeposto(ridge gourd and poppy curry), and more.

Posto in Mughal Kitchen

Much before the Britishers made opium a cash crop, it was used in Emperor Akbar’s kitchen not just as a recreational drug but also as a key ingredient to thicken rich gravies. Akbar, who was known to have a keen interest in trade and aesthetics, understood the potential of the opium plant. It was cultivated under his regime, and its vibrant crimson flowers also inspired Mughal art. Not just that, the poppy seeds are also used as a medicine and for healing purposes. But its addictive characteristic made it a potent drug, the consumption of which was in later centuries, frowned upon.

While the British robbed India of resources, manpower, and money, they also unknowingly gave us one of the most treasured ingredients of all time. Posto or Khus Khus is now not only used in Bengali cuisines but also other parts of the country in some way or the other. When the British forced opium cultivation, no one could have foreseen its dominance and importance in Indian kitchens hundreds of years later. Its usage also highlights the resilience of Indians as a race, which has always managed to make do with whatever is available — sometimes out of desperation, and at other times out of curiosity.

Aloo Posto recipe

Now that you know the history, here the recipe of the humble, dependable aloo posto:

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp mustard oil
• 1 tbsp panch phoran or nigella seeds
• 2 large potatoes , peeled and cut into cubes
• 1 green chili, slit
• 1 tsp turmeric powder, optional
• Salt to taste

For the posto paste

• 3 tbsp white poppy seeds, khuskhus or posto dana, soaked in ½ cup water
• 1 green chili

Instructions

To make the posto or poppy seeds paste

• Sieve the soaked poppy seeds into the smallest blender jar. Add 1 chopped green chilli and some water to help the grinding.
• Grind to a fine paste

To make the aloo posto

• Heat mustard oil in a flat pan or wok. Bring it to a simmer at medium heat and then reduce the heat to low.
• Add panch phoran or nigella seeds to the hot oil
• When the seeds start to sputter, add the chopped potatoes. Mix well till all the potatoes are coated with oil and spices.
• Cover and cook on low heat for 5 minutes.
• Add the posto paste, turmeric, and slit green chillies. Add ½ cup of water and mix everything well. Cover and cook for another 8-10 mins on low heat. Occasionally stir in between to check if the water is sufficient and the potatoes are not sticking to the bottom of the pan. Cook until the potatoes are cooked through.
• Aloo posto gravy is supposed to be thick, and the potatoes are coated with the posto paste. If you want a thinner consistency, add more water in the previous step.
• Serve hot with rice.