White poppy seeds and zucchini - making it royal, curry by curry

Having a laptop finally after a month’s blogging hibernation is rewarding. The past few weeks got me to travel to my favorite places and people, and gave me the time that I needed for myself. I was away for so long that I might have lost my usual rhythm, of weekdays and weekends. My new job certainly helped me regain the rhythm on the weekdays, and we went by our usual Saturday strolling around to help me get back to my world today. We spent our afternoon walking around the lovely Den Haag, meeting friends, having wonderful lunches and watching art that made us dizzy. It was a good day for there was sun, good food, laughter and happiness.

We have been trying off late to eat healthy, and cutting down on the gigantic proportions of rice is our first step into that direction. Also, it gets me back to roti and paratha making, something that I have been thoroughly enjoying off late. A second step into healthy lifestyle is incorporating more vegetarian food, which can get into its own routine - the curry, the saute, and the steam. I decided to utilize the fresh batch of white poppy seeds I got from home this time, and break some routine. White poppy seeds, or posto, as they call it in my hometown, is usually prepared with potatoes and ridge gourd and its flavor is kept intact in preparations by staying away from additional spices. I used up the zucchini at hand and wasn’t disappointed. I might be also guilty of adding a tad bit of spice to my version, because I like it that way! 

We enjoyed the posto with a few chapatis, some salad, pickles, papads, and yogurt and while one doesn’t need the dinner to be that fancy, we fancy a feast-y weekend and it was just a start! Have a great one 😃

Time to prepare - 30 minutes

Time to cook - 30 minutes

Ingredients

1. 3 medium sized potatoes
2. 1 zucchini
3. 2 tbsp dry white poppy seeds
4. 1 tsp coriander powder
5. 1 tsp cumin powder
6. 1 tsp garam masala
7. 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
8. 1/2 tsp onion seeds
9. Salt to taste
10. 3 cups water
11. 1 tbsp cooking oil

Method

1. Soak the poppy seeds in 1 cup warm water for about 30 minutes. Once the seeds are soaked, blend them into a fine paste. I used a regular smoothie blender at high speed for this and it worked just about fine. At this point, add a chilly or your favorite spice and blend to make it personal.
2. In the meantime, peel the potatoes and roughly dice them. Chop the zucchini into cubes and set aside.
3. Heat some oil in a pan and crackle the onion seeds. Once they start sizzling, add the potatoes and saute for a few minutes. After the potatoes are almost done, add the zucchini to the pan, along with coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric, garam masala, and salt. Pour in the poppy seed paste along with 2 cups of water, cover and cook at high for 5 minutes. Take the lid out and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Make sure to not let the gravy dry out too much as the consistency should be sticky, but not too dry or watery. A confused state of a curry consistency maybe 😃
4. Get it off the heat, and serve with some hot rotis, salad, and pickle or yogurt and enjoy!