- [Beryl] I'm not scared, I'm brave.

Potatoes are a cheap staple.

You'll be hard-pressed to find a culture that doesn't take a shine to this vegetable.

- With Bengali food, we put potatoes in almost everything.

- [Beryl] But you might be surprised by how they've been interpreted around the world.

- I'm excited to explore how it's different.

- They're spicy.

(laughs) My name is Beryl.

I shouldn't have put my nose that close.

(coughs) I knew it.

And this show explores how our foods can bring our different cultures together.

And this is our potato episode.

Today, I've paired up Brishti and Vicken to swap potato dishes from their cultures.

Brishti will cook an Armenian potato dish called sini patates.

Have you ever had Armenian food?

While Vicken will make Bengali aloo posto for the first time.

- It kind of just tastes like the ocean to me.

- 'Cause it smells like that spiced air where you're like, "Ooh, something good is gonna be made."

- Who doesn't like meat and potatoes?

And I'm ready for some comfort food on this cloudy day.

- [Beryl] As a potato lover myself, I have been anxiously awaiting the filming for this episode.

So let's get started.

(light upbeat music) - Dear Brishti, my name is Vicken, and today you're gonna be making one of my favorite potato dishes.

It's called sini patates.

So in Armenian sini patates directly translates to pan potatoes.

- Okay.

- What are we making?

- Sini patates.

Great.

- My parents were actually born in Syria, but were raised in Beirut, Lebanon.

We identify as Armenian, and our heritage comes from Armenia.

- Oh no, this is getting real chaotic here.

(Brishti laughs quietly) - [Vicken] So I wanted to share this dish not only because it makes me feel good or reminds me of times of me growing up and begging my mom to make this because it's so delicious, but it's also super easy to make.

- It's going in.

- Sini patates is almost like a meat loaf mixture at the bottom, spiced ground beef, and then it's layered with stewed tomatoes, and it's got potatoes on top.

- [Beryl] So have you ever tried this spiced Baharat before?

- I have not.

Just looking at the ingredients, it sounds very close to garam masala.

- [Beryl] Okay, give it a smell.

How's it smell?

- Oh yeah, yeah.

It's garam masala, like garam masala.

(laughs) - [Vicken] Sini patates was something I grew up eating.

I remember my mom making it.

There's no measurements, everything by just like a splash of this, a pinch of that.

- [Brishti] I think that's good.

(Beryl laughing) Yeah, there you go.

- That's kind of how it comes together, and it's passed down through conversations and phone calls and through memory versus something written on paper.

- I struggle with can openers.

It's supposed to be the simplest science.

Yep, yep.

One of these days.

There we go.

Tomatoes spread out evenly.

- [Beryl] Nice, nice.

(Brishti laughing) - [Vicken] Potatoes are relatively a cheap food, and they're found in almost any Armenian dish.

- [Beryl] How important would you say potatoes are in Bengali cuisine?

- I would say critical.

We put potatoes in almost everything.

- [Vicken] Always cook your potatoes beforehand.

Just having a parboiled potato makes it go so much quicker in the oven.

It may sound something like you've had before, but the combination of the spices, and the crispy potatoes on top would really surprise and delight someone.

I mean, who doesn't love crispy potatoes?

- What we are making now, the side is a lot like raita at home, which is yogurt with cucumber primarily, but we also tend to put in like a bunch of other veggies.

We're all eating similar things by different name.

- Ooh, it does taste different than raita though.

- [Brishti] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

- That's good.

I like the mint.

- Brishti, I hope you find comfort in this dish as much as I do, and it's something I always look forward to when I've had a long day.

I hope it makes you feel the same.

Love, Vicken.

(plate clattering) (gentle music) - It smells amazing.

Oh, whoa, okay.

(Beryl laughing) Comfort is definitely kicking it.

This is great.

The flavors are so familiar.

It's the spice blend, it's the meat, the cucumber and the yogurt.

The crispiness of the potatoes and the onions.

It's the complete set.

I am very excited.

I wasn't quite sure before we started making it how the basting would work.

- [Beryl] Is there fat on the top?

Oh, there!

- Yeah.

The juice really rises to the top so you can really keep layering the potatoes and the onions and the top layer with the fat.

- [Beryl] So I guess we understood what he meant.

Just had to wait for it to happen.

- Now you can taste why what that does, so this is great.

Also, it's exciting to find out that different parts of the world, no matter kind of where you are, the idea of both blending spices, and what kind of spices go together kind of ties that in.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

It's garam masla, like garam masala.

(laughs) It's heartwarming.

- Ooh.

- Yeah, yeah.

- This is good.

- (laughs) Yeah.

- Honestly, this could be like a new comfort food.

- Yeah.

- Wow, the spice is good.

It's got like a little kick.

- Kick.

- Vicken, this is great.

(Brishti laughs) - Thank you.

- Thank you.

(laughs) (light upbeat music) - Dear Vicken, I am thrilled to be our pan pal, and to share one of my favorite Bengali dishes, aloo posto.

- Okay, aloo posto.

Potatoes, poppies, green chilies.

Soak the posto, poppy seeds for two hours.

- I live in New York City, but we are originally from India.

Aloo posto roughly translates to potatoes with poppy seeds in Bengali.

It's a simple, warm dish that packs a variety of textures.

- I've cooked Indian food before, half the time it turns out great, and half the time (laughs) it needs something and I don't know what it is.

- This is one of my go-to dishes when I create a simple, easy to make home cooked meal.

- I've tag teamed in for Vicken, it takes two people to do this.

(laughs) - [Brishti] And although it feels fancy, (drawer sliding) (drawer slamming) it comes together very quickly, and is a perfect fit for any weather or season.

Poppy seeds are used in a variety of different ways in India, but cooking it with potatoes really brings out the subtle nuttiness.

(blender whirring) - We just had a little cultural miscommunication that apparently in India, poppy seeds are white, and we bought black poppy seeds, but we texted Brishti, and she said that it's all gonna be okay.

(both laughing) - [Brishti] This dish is my way of building home wherever I go, the little touches I learn from my grandma and great-grandma helps me stay connected with my family, create new memories, and remember the old ones fondly.

- Nothing like adding wet to hot oil.

(laughs) - Not scary at all.

- [Beryl] I'm not scared, I'm brave.

(oil sizzling) (gentle music) - [Brishti] With the potatoes front and center, it's versatility is what helps poppy seeds flourish.

- It smells toasty, fragrant.

I think that's a perfect timing to add... - Time to add your paste.

- Yep.

- [Brishti] Instead of using potato as a base, it celebrates it.

My mom's number one trick is to add a pinch of sugar to really round out the flavors.

I think you'll really enjoy this dish, because of the surprise of flavors, because of how easy it is to make, and how absolutely delicious it is.

I hope this dish inspires you for the next time you are craving potatoes, and that you love it as much as I do.

Love, Brishti.

(light upbeat music) - Okay, that was really fun.

New ingredients and new techniques.

I'm excited to try this and see what it tastes like.

I think it's a really unique take on a potato, and I get the poppy seeds way at the end, but it adds a super earthy, almost like nutty flavor.

I love it.

I'd make this on a weekly basis, to be honest.

That poppy seed flavor is interesting.

It's not something I've ever really tried before or had, so to be able to take a poppy seed, and stretch it and really learn more about what its properties are in a dish, and what it gives to potatoes, I just gotta go find some white poppy seeds.

(laughs) (light upbeat music) - I hope you enjoyed this episode of "Pan Pals."

Let me know in the comments what your favorite potato dish is.

Mine is french fries, (laughs) and if you like home cooking, you should check out the latest season of "The Great American Recipe."

The show features eight talented home cooks in a competition that celebrates the diversity and flavors of foods across the US.

You can watch the first episode here on the PBS Food YouTube channel, and check out the rest of the season every week on the PBS app, and your local PBS station.

Check it out in the links that are in the description.

(light upbeat music)