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Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Amaranth Leaves Stir/Fry(Notey Posto Labra)



Green leafy vegetables play an important role in our overall diet. Amaranth or Amaranthus is one of them. It has many sub-species of red, green, pinkish, deep brown etc…
But popularly it’s the green small leaves that are eaten fondly in northern part and Andhra Pradesh as Thota Kura in India. In eastern UP, India; it is known as Chaulai in local/regional language.Amaranthus leaves are packed with goodness of nutritional component, but other than the leaves, it’s the seeds /grains that are also eaten.
More info about Amaranth, Visit Here

This is a very Traditional way of preparing Notey or Amaranthus leaves in Bengal an eastern region in India with poppy seeds paste. Bengalis love to eat it with warm cooked rice. Here is how we prepare Notey Posto Labra.






Posto diye Notey shaker Labra

Ingredients
1 bunch Amaranth
1 medium size potato
1 tsp of turmeric powder
1tsp of red pepper powder (add more for more hotness)
1 -2 tsp of panch phoron(or can add kalounji/nigella seeds)
1 tsp of sugar
2-3 tbs of mustard oil

Method


Prepare the Poppy seed Paste

In a grinder add the Poppy seeds, little bit of water and little bit of butter, to make a smooth paste. You may add liitle bit of roasted Peanuts with it also to make it even creamier.



Prepare the stir/Fry


Clean the green leaves of Amaranth, discard torn or wilted leaves. Clean the chopped leaves thoroughly in water 2-3 times to get rid of mud /sand if any.
Heat up kadhai or any heavy bottom Pan/Wok ,add mustard oil , add the panch phoron mix , let it splutter.
Now add diced, cubed potatoes .Fry it for 1-2 mints at high.
Add turmeric powder, red pepper powder, salt, sugar.
Add the cleaned leaves of green Amaranth.
Cook at high for 2-3 mints, lower the flames and cover the kadhai/Pan.
Cook the leaves till soft and deep-green in color. Now add the pre –prepared poppy seed paste. stir/fry and cover, cook another 4-5 mints.
Mash it well to evenly consistency to have the Labra Texture,or you can leave it that way.
Take out in a bowl and have it with rice or roti.


This is going to Ivy at ~ Kopiaste... ,visit here to see more ~Weekend Herb Blogging #161 / and do visit Halo at ~ Cook Almost Anything for further details .

Happy Cooking Friends

13 comments:

  1. Jaya thanks very much for participating in WHB. Amaranth is also very popular in Greece and we eat them boiled, with olive oil, lemon and garlic, as a salad. Your recipe sounds delicious.

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  2. Ami konodin notey posto khaini Jaya ... next time notey saag ei bhabe korbo. Thanks for the recipe. :-)

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  3. This looks yummy and healthy.

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  4. Ivy,
    thanks! and yeah I know people in Greece are so fond of eating Amaranth leaves.

    Sharmila,
    you are welcome!try korbe bhalo lagbe, you can prepare spinach also in this way...

    Happy,
    Thanks ! its very nutritious.

    hugs and smiles

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  5. Many many thanks to you Jaya for teaching authentic bangla ranna...shotti bolchhii aamar onek upokaar korchho tumi!! :-)

    Loved learning this recipe as I love posto!!

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  6. I have never had Amaranth leaves. Thanks for educating me! Your recipe sure looks tasty with the little pitas on the side as well.

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  7. We know it as Chinese Spinach over here, I think. ;p

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  8. Thanks Sagari!

    Thanks Joyeeta,Posto diye onek ranna Hoye ...

    Naz,
    ya sure I think the texture of this stir/fry is quite like a pesto , you can fill it in Pita Pockets and Yummmm...

    Tigerfish,
    warm welcome here and yes I googled about it and found out that Amaranth leaves are also called as Chinese Spinach...Its always good to know and I am still learning...
    Hugs and smiles

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  9. aachha Jaya, ekhaane posto kii kore baatbo? mixer e korle hobe?
    onek e bole mixer e sheirokom taste hoy naa jerom shile baatle hoy!!

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  10. Joyeeta,
    thats a good question,
    You can easily grind ,posto in mixer..in fact I do it in mixer itself...
    water shud be added slowly after rotating the grinder for few mintues,then add more water ...I have found that if I add some cshews or peanuts , the result is even more delicious.....
    Use the small one to grind posto ...
    and yes there is no subs for hard work ,I mean using sheel nora ...

    aamar ma and sashuri do jone eyirokom kore hi pisto mane using sheel nora , amaar dekhe ora O aajkaal Mixer/grinder use kore aar amaye dhonobaad daye LOL.....
    hugs and smiles

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  11. Thanks re Jaya...I will try doing that. It is so exciting to learn bangla ranna the authentic way but using modern tools!! :)

    And I dont want to forget to mention that the pictures of kalakand are very very inviting!! They look very delicious..very good job!!

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  12. I prepare amaranth leaves without anything by jeera so it is more of a salad. These look good. Posto is very popular in Bengali Cuisine, isn't it? Could you post on how to prepare an authentic panch phoran masala at home? I haven't come across it here and I do not want to prepare too much without tasting it. Thanks!

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