Alu bhate, the Bengali style mashed potato

Since this whole lockdown thing started in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and cooks & maids stopped coming; Alu bhate has become my favorite side dish 😊😊. Me, as well as my whole family, realized how much we love alu bhate 😘…warm rice with ghee, masoor dal, and alu bhate… quick, easy, tasty, and healthy lunch.

In the pre-pandemic era, it was Baby S and my favorite breakfast before rushing out for school and office respectively 😊. I used to pressure cook everything together; Gobindo bhog rice, moong dal, grated potato, chopped onion, and salt and then serve hot with a dollop of ghee on top. It used to keep us full until our lunchtime. Daddy S also never said no to this healthy and tasty breakfast 😋.

Actually, to be very honest, it has always been our quintessential comfort food. After coming back from a vacation, we would always long for dal, alu bhate, bhat (Lentil soup, mashed potato, and rice) to give our stomach a break. While recovering from illness, we will have plain rice and mashed potato as it is easy to digest and tastes good.

Alu bhate simply means potatoes boiled with rice. Once the rice is fully cooked, potatoes were taken out and the extra water with starch is drained out from the rice. The boiled potatoes were then mashed and mixed with salt, little mustard oil, green chili, and fresh coriander leaves… and that is it, our side dish is ready. Also, if you have some leftover, you can use it for making Alu Parathas or sandwich 😊😊

Alu bhate, Bengali style mashed potato

Here is a simple recipe for classic Bengali comfort food, alu bhate or alu makha.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium-sized potatoes
• 1 tbsp mustard oil, you can use ghee also instead of mustard oil
• 4 tbsp chopped onion
• 2 tbsp freshly chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp finely chopped green chili (optional, you can add more as per your taste or completely omit it)
• Salt as per taste
• 1 tsp lemon juice (optional)

Method:

• Wash the potatoes very well to remove all the dirt from the skin
• Boil the potatoes with the skin on, you can either boil it with rice or you can pressure cook it till tender
• Let them cool down completely before peeling off the skin
• Mash them well
• Add all the other ingredients together and mash well again.
• Serve with warm rice topped with ghee or butter

This is perfect for bachelors also, easy to cook and goes well with plain rice and ghee 😃.

Please visit my post if you want to know how to make ghee at home, step by step process.

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