A simple mash prepared with homegrown Bottle gourd leaves and poppyseed paste or what we call in Bengali Posto diye Laushak Bhate calls for a recipe post!
We bongs are rather fond of different types of Makha, Bhate, Bhorta, etc. I am no exception. Whenever we plan to have a simple Bengali meal at home (especially on weekends); I prefer to add at least one typical Bengali-style mash to the menu.
Bottle Gourd leaves from our kitchen garden!
I have a small kitchen garden at home. In fact, I have utilized all the windows and also the minuscule balcony to give a needed touch of green to our home. The homegrown veggies though are of rare occurrence, are real treats. I need to wait for months to see a bunch of bottle gourd leaves or pumpkin greens or a few bitter gourd or tomatoes growing in my mini-gardens. Yet, when they come, they bring happiness and obviously a dish or two.
When I saw 2 bunches of bottle gourd leaves growing, I knew what was to be made on a lethargic Sunday. It was last week, I decided to cook a normal meal for dinner. For Lunch, I took Maa and Pasta to a nearby cafe. Mehebub went to my in-laws as we couldn't go for Eid this year. Baba decided to be at home with our doggos. My parents were at my place while I was recovering from Covid.
However, coming back to the bottle gourd leaves, I made the easiest of the lot; Posto diye Laushak Bhate. This is an extremely simple recipe and we love to pair it with Bhaja Moong er Daal aka Sona Muger Dal. I made some Gota Roshun diye Mangshor Jhol (Bengali Mutton Curry with Garlic Pod) as well.
Jump to:
- Bottle Gourd leaves from our kitchen garden!
- Ingredients
- Substitutions
- Variations
- Equipment
- Top tip
- Posto Diye Laushak Bhate | Bengali Bottle Gourd leaves Mash with Poppyseed Paste
- Food safety
- Related Bengali Vegan Recipes
- Bhate / Bhorta / Makha Recipes
- Have you tried the posto diye laushak bhate recipe from Debjanir Rannaghar!
- Here's the Perfect Bengali posto diye laushak bhate Recipe Pin for your Pinterest Board!
Ingredients
The recipe of Posto Diye Laushak Bhate aka Bengali Bottle Gourd leaves mashed with Poppyseed Paste calls for very few ingredients. Having said that, do try to use fresh bottle gourd leaves to get the ultimate result. Also, do try to make poppyseed paste aka Posto bata fresh. I do not prefer poppyseed powder.
- Bottle gourd leaves (also known as Laushak)
- Poppyseed aka Posto aka Khuskhus
- Green Chilies
- Onion
- Mustard Oil
- Salt
See the recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions
Well, Posto diye Laushak Bhate is for sure a vegan delicacy. The ingredients used not only make it a vegetarian delicacy but also vegan. This is gluten-free as well.
- Mustard Oil - instead of Mustard Oil, you can use olive oil or vegetable oil however, it will not give the needed strongness if you replace the oil.
Variations
As Posto diye Laushak bhate is a very basic Bengali dish, there is very little possibility of variations.
- Spicy - you can replace green chilies with fried or roasted dry chilies; however, I prefer the freshness of green chilies.
- Making it a no-onion dish - I prefer this particular bhate with chopped onion; however, my mother mostly skips onion and makes a true-blue Bengali Niramish Laushaker Bhate
- Potato- You can add a boiled potato to give the bhate a bit of body. My daughter prefers aloo sidhho if added to the laushak bhate.
Equipment
A good chopper; knife, a vessel to boil the leaves, and most importantly a grinder to make posto bata (if you are not using Shil-nora) and you are good to go! I am a knife person and I do love my sets of knives; Maa though prefers bonti (traditional cutter and chopper). Here I must mention, that we in general, boil the bottled gourd leaves along with rice while making Bhat.
Fancy purchasing a Shilnora or Bonti? You can purchase those through these links. Also, you can check the vessel and knife set as well.
Top tip
Try to wash greens properly before using and make posto bata fresh. Bhate is a delicate dish and calls for fresh produce.
Posto Diye Laushak Bhate | Bengali Bottle Gourd leaves Mash with Poppyseed Paste
Posto diye Laushak Bhate; a simple Bengali vegan and gluten-free mash prepared with bottle gourd leaves and poppyseed paste is worth having with steamed rice and Daal!
Ingredients
- 500g Bottle gourd leaves also known as Laushak, 2 bunch
- 50 g Poppyseed Posto aka Khuskhus
- 3 Green Chilies
- 1 Onion
- 2 Tbsp. Mustard Oil
- 1 Tsp. Salt
Instructions
- Thoroughly wash bottle gourd leaves.
- Remove all the impurities and yellow portions if any.
- Now cut those roughly. Use both stems as well as the leaves.
- Soak Poppyseed aka Posto in warm water for 15 minutes.
- Make a paste of the poppyseed aka posto after adding 1 green chili and ½ Tsp. Salt.
- Make the paste as smooth as possible.
- Boil the greens in a vessel along with a lot of water for around 15 minutes after coving with a lid.
- If you are a regular rice-eater, you can boil the leaves along with rice as well.
- Instead, you can boil those in the microwave (high; for 10 minutes).
- Once done discard the water.
- Meanwhile, chop one onion and 1-2 green chilies depending on how spicy you would prefer.
- When you think the greens can be managed by your hand; take those in a bowl.
- Using your fingers mash those a bit. They will release moisture.
- Now add chopped onion, slit green chilies, poppyseed paste, and also mustard oil and mix properly.
- If needed adjust the salt.
- You can use a masher to make the mash as well. However, keep the greens a bit chunky instead of mashing them completely.
- Serve Posto diye laushak bhate along with simple daal and rice.
Notes
Nutrition
Food safety
How about a few safety tips? At times we take food for granted and as a result, even green as harmless as bottle gourd greens can be harmful to us. Let us check a few things we must consider while cooking greens in general.
- Always wash greens 2-3 times under running water to clean them properly.
- Check and discard worms if attached to the greens.
- If needed you can wash greens in warm water and then discard the same.
Related Bengali Vegan Recipes
Bhate / Bhorta / Makha Recipes
- Potol Bata (also known as Potol Bhate)
- Batabi Lebu Makha (also known as Jambura Bhorta or Pomelo Salad)
- Maach Makha | Bengali Fish Salad | Maach-er Bhorta
- Masoor Dal Bhorta (also known as Masoor Daal Bhate)
- Begun Pora (also known as begun bhate)
- Nimki Makha
Have you tried the posto diye laushak bhate recipe from Debjanir Rannaghar!
I would love to see a picture if you are making it following my recipe. You can share here at dolonchttrj@gmail.com. You can use my hashtag #debjanirrannaghar and share it through Instagram as well. and in addition, you can tag me at @foodofdebjani.
Here's the Perfect Bengali posto diye laushak bhate Recipe Pin for your Pinterest Board!
About Debjani Chatterjee Alam
I am Debjani Chatterjee Alam. A CSR specialist by profession and a food writer, food blogger, and food photographer as well. I live in Kolkata along with my Husband Mehebub who is an architect by profession, my daughter Pasta, and also my dog daughters Coffee and Luchi.
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