The Pantry / White poppy seed
White poppy seed
Papaver somniferum · posto · khus khus
The pale seed Bengal grinds into comfort.
What it is
These are the small, pale, cream-white seeds of the poppy — the white variety used across South Asia, not the slate-grey European kind. Ground with a little water they make a thick, nutty, faintly sweet paste; whole and toasted they add crunch and a mild richness.
Where it comes from
White poppy seed is used across the northern and eastern subcontinent, but nowhere more lovingly than Bengal, where posto — the seed ground to paste — is a cuisine of its own: aloo posto, posto bora, and more.
What it's called
Poppy seed · posto (Bengali) · khus khus (Hindi). From Papaver somniferum, the white-seeded type.
In the kitchen
In Bengal the seeds are soaked and ground to a paste that thickens and enriches a dish — potatoes, vegetables, fish — with a gentle, nutty body rather than a strong flavour. In Mughal cooking the paste also thickens gravies. Whole seeds toast into breads and sweets.
What we know about the claims
The seeds carry only trace opiate residue and are not intoxicating — but that residue is real enough that heavy consumption has been known to affect drug tests, an honest and occasionally useful thing to know. As food, they are simply a seed; nutritionally they bring some minerals and fat.
Choosing and buying
White poppy seeds are in every South Asian grocer (UK and US); buy the white type for authenticity. Grind fresh for paste; they can turn rancid, so store cool.