The Last Supper?
Since getting married, there has been little reason for me to go into the kitchen. I have on a fair few occasions, surprising even myself when I got the urge to flex my culinary muscles and churning out a few dishes that by fluke have turned out quite well.
I have even attempted to cook for people, hosting my very first dinner party back in January and nearly having a heart attack over trying to cook for a gathering of close friends.
I did well with my menu, despite ALWAYS struggling to know what dish compliments another and finally deciding on a mish-mash of North and South Indian style food with a bit of my Mum’s cooking thrown in as well.
People liked the food, even took seconds while I smiled worriedly and prayed that I had cooked the chicken through and not burnt the daal (Yes I served daal. I read somewhere that you never serve daal at a dinner party. Screw that.)
Now, I don’t know how it snuck up on me but it has.
We finally decided to have a housewarming party. Well…poker night with the housewarming bit added on for extra effect. We have been in our house for about 6 months now and still have a half-furnished house. We haven’t noticed it so much as we have everything we need to live by, but when people do come around we notice that things like, oh, a COFFEE TABLE, is nowhere to be found. And that our fridge cannot hold much more than our weekly quota of fruits and veggies.
It’s only Evs' uni mates coming over with their respective partners. That sounds ok doesn’t it? It’ll be approximately 15 people at the most.
We decided to sorta stagger the housewarming to break it down and make life a little bit easier for us. Plus we wouldn’t have to babysit the different friend circles. Which really wasn’t too much of an issue as they all seemed to get along at our wedding. Hmmm…but that COULD have been the rosy after-effects of too much alcohol and bhangra beats bringing them together.
Note to self: Stock up on the liquor and create a new playlist.
I’m still freaking out.
Due to our rather hectic lifestyle that doesn’t see me home some nights close to 9pm and Evs coming home late other nights, slaving over the stove has taken a back seat. Plus with my new healthy eating habits that I haveforced introduced to Evs, we eat lots of salads. And food that is easy to cook. Like salads. I make awesome salads.
I might make a chicken curry here and there, or some chickpea curry when I’m in the mood, but anything that requires thinking and tasting and waiting has been out of the picture for a while. Evs makes Lankan food in which he hasn’t quite gotten the point that I cannot handle as much chilli as him and so I eat my food with a pitcher of water near me.
So, I have less than a week to think of what to cook and actually cook for 15 people.
This is what I am planning so far:
- Chicken curry (haven’t decided what kind yet)
- Chole (I am a master at this)
- Palak Paneer (never made it before – possibly will try Mum’s recipe)
- Daal??
That’s where I am stuck.
I need at least 2-3 more dishes. I remember my mother cooking for dinner parties and having enough food to last a few great wars or famines. I don’t want to let her down. My nightmare is (besides killing everyone with my cooking) is not having enough food. It’s the Indian in me I know (I may even be forced to resort to stuffing samosas down people’s throat :P) but I really want this to go well.
PLEASE….any ideas would be great. Some good vegetarian dishes are a bit of a priority. Starters are a good idea too. Actually anything on your mind with links to simple recipes will be a godsend.
And I promise that next time anyone of you is in Melbourne, you can come to dinner.
Current music: Lady Sovereign - So Human
I have even attempted to cook for people, hosting my very first dinner party back in January and nearly having a heart attack over trying to cook for a gathering of close friends.
I did well with my menu, despite ALWAYS struggling to know what dish compliments another and finally deciding on a mish-mash of North and South Indian style food with a bit of my Mum’s cooking thrown in as well.
People liked the food, even took seconds while I smiled worriedly and prayed that I had cooked the chicken through and not burnt the daal (Yes I served daal. I read somewhere that you never serve daal at a dinner party. Screw that.)
Now, I don’t know how it snuck up on me but it has.
We finally decided to have a housewarming party. Well…poker night with the housewarming bit added on for extra effect. We have been in our house for about 6 months now and still have a half-furnished house. We haven’t noticed it so much as we have everything we need to live by, but when people do come around we notice that things like, oh, a COFFEE TABLE, is nowhere to be found. And that our fridge cannot hold much more than our weekly quota of fruits and veggies.
It’s only Evs' uni mates coming over with their respective partners. That sounds ok doesn’t it? It’ll be approximately 15 people at the most.
We decided to sorta stagger the housewarming to break it down and make life a little bit easier for us. Plus we wouldn’t have to babysit the different friend circles. Which really wasn’t too much of an issue as they all seemed to get along at our wedding. Hmmm…but that COULD have been the rosy after-effects of too much alcohol and bhangra beats bringing them together.
Note to self: Stock up on the liquor and create a new playlist.
I’m still freaking out.
Due to our rather hectic lifestyle that doesn’t see me home some nights close to 9pm and Evs coming home late other nights, slaving over the stove has taken a back seat. Plus with my new healthy eating habits that I have
I might make a chicken curry here and there, or some chickpea curry when I’m in the mood, but anything that requires thinking and tasting and waiting has been out of the picture for a while. Evs makes Lankan food in which he hasn’t quite gotten the point that I cannot handle as much chilli as him and so I eat my food with a pitcher of water near me.
So, I have less than a week to think of what to cook and actually cook for 15 people.
This is what I am planning so far:
- Chicken curry (haven’t decided what kind yet)
- Chole (I am a master at this)
- Palak Paneer (never made it before – possibly will try Mum’s recipe)
- Daal??
That’s where I am stuck.
I need at least 2-3 more dishes. I remember my mother cooking for dinner parties and having enough food to last a few great wars or famines. I don’t want to let her down. My nightmare is (besides killing everyone with my cooking) is not having enough food. It’s the Indian in me I know (I may even be forced to resort to stuffing samosas down people’s throat :P) but I really want this to go well.
PLEASE….any ideas would be great. Some good vegetarian dishes are a bit of a priority. Starters are a good idea too. Actually anything on your mind with links to simple recipes will be a godsend.
And I promise that next time anyone of you is in Melbourne, you can come to dinner.
Current music: Lady Sovereign - So Human
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
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27 comments:
All that goes w/ rice? chappati? roti? Maybe you could have a rice item w/ raita? Spring/Vietnamese rice rolls? Am so not the right person for this.
Hey silvara, take a look at www.veggiebelly.com - it's got some pretty good vegetarian recipes. The semolina cutlets are specially very good and will make good starters. BBC good food is another site that I vouch for....
I lovvvvvveeeee cooking, though I don't cook as much lately and I don't entertain quite as much as I would like, do you only want to serve Indian food? I'd give you a few ideas but there are none at the top of my head, will log back in a few hours and give you some ideas. you will have a great time I'm sure. Wish Evs from me, 30 is a big birthday.
P.S. you can never go wrong with having a lot of appetizers, cocktails and desserts.one of my favorite drinks - blend some frozen or cut pieces of pineapple with lots of freshly squeezed lemon juice, sugar, ice and rum or vodka. Pour into a bigjug and let guests serve themselves. It will be fabulous. You can grill some paneer (marinated in yogurt, garam masala, chilli powder, amchur powder, salt and pepper - an overnight marinate works really well) and serve them along with grilled onions, tomatoes and capsicium (can rub them with a dry spice mix for a kick).. my two bits for the day :P
@ lvl - yup will be serving both - maybe if i can't be bothered to make roti i might just have rice :)
hahah thanks for trying :P
@ anon - hey thanks for the sites - will def check them out :)
@ kochab - i really like cooking too - just don't get the opportunity much these days.
Yup - mainly indian really....
Oooh that cocktail sounds delish and the paneer idea is great too :)
Oh and btw - Evs is not quite 30 yet - turns 27 in October lol :D
Thank you!! :D :D
one raita would be good. 8 years of marriage and several parties later I've realized that the best thing to do is to serve a whole lot of exotic finger food with the alcohol. And keep the dinner simple. 3-4 really well made dishes do the trick, are easy to put together. Not too many people are hungry post the drinks and finger food anyway is the learning.
But do have fun at your own party. Don't tear your hair out. People remember the fun they had not really the food.
aha. that's a lot of advice...
You can always make cutlets!!
Veggie cutlets are real easy.. Choose the veggies u want lke potato, beans, carrot, peas, cauliflower etc and pressure cook them.. Once cooked, put the boiled veggies in a bowl, add the masalas u want like pepper, gram massala, salt and mash well.. make cutlet balls, soak them in a egg white, cover them with bread crumbs and deep fry.. It would be an excellent and easy to make starter..
Hope u have a gr8 party.. and post some pics of the house soon!! We hve been askin u for 6 months!! :D
Button mushrooms, take the stalks off, fill with grated cheese mixed with a little pepper, cover and cook stuffed sides up till cheese melts.
Also aloo tikkis-everyone loves aloo, just mix green chillies, chopped coriander and onions with mashed potato, add salt and pepper, make small flattened balls and fry with not too much oil till crisp on outside. Or just make french fries and sprinkle with salt, chillie powder and chaat masala/dry mango powder.
The trick is to do simple dry stuff-fried chicken/fried fish stuff. All the best!
:) Try fried Gobhi Aloo... You have to fry small pieces of gobhi, and potatoes (shaped like finger chips) and mix them to the same onion tomato masala that you'd make for chole.... then put them in a kadhai for a while to let the veggies soak the masala's flavour.... its a dry dish, so add the masala to just coat the veggies.... goes great with chole and rice....
you could also do jeera aloo... saute boiled cubed potatoes in cumin seeds and dry spices like coriander powder, amchoor etc... easy to make and yummy to eat...
and, all the best.... :)
Since you have to host a dinner for around 15 ppl which means have everything ready in proper quantity, I suggest stick to few things.
A big salad bowl, raita and a dessert is kind of must have for an indian dinner.
See if you can do a biryani.
A macaroni or pasta dish could be an option.
I have tried stuffed dish also like stuffed capsicum or baigan or even lady finger and they were liked.
I like masala papad too but not sure if that is doable at home. its simple though - finely chopped onion tomato coriander spread on plain roasted or fried papad with a spray of lemon juice.
Dahi vada? maybe.
n you will do a buffet right?
Veg kofta curry?
They are simple to make, and are quite filling and go well with rice / roti.
Cutlets as starters is a great idea.
I also do sausage and mushrooms grilled and stuck onto a tooth pick and topped with a cube of cheese! They taste yum!
I dunno why but I never serve daal at a party :)
Since I am a vegetarian,I always cook and serve just veggie dishes !! A favorite is thai red curry with a lot of veggies and tofu. Its very very simple to make and you need carrot, peas, colored capsicum, tofu, potatoes, zucchini and cocnut milk. you can buy the thai red cirry paste to go with it !!tastes amazing. http://www.mediterrasian.com/delicious_recipes_thai_curry.htm
replace the meat with the veggies :)
you can also make mixed vegetable with the parampara masala's thrown it !! it will make any curry taste heavenly :)
for starters, easy ones are pakodas with lots of onion and boiled potatoes if you wish :)
veg cutlet is pretty simple, as others have mentioned above...
not sure if you are looking to make any desserts, but if you are, then try making badam kulfi or something similar...that's pretty simple too, but a bit time consuming...
make masala boondi...jhatpat and finger licking...i mean spoon licking...!
buy boondi frm an indian store....add finely chopped onions...tomatoes...coriander...chat masala and squeeze a lemon...Voilaaa...!
..Shi
Mmmm....this comment section has my mouth watering to no end :D
I have handled upto 30 guests at dinner parties so far and my strength is the south Indian veggie dishes.I stick to my boundaries and avoid complex recipes ;)
Along with rotis and a couple of sabzis, a simple jeera/coriander rice with a raitha would be tasty/filling.
How about the dessert? A good ice cream served with slices of seasonal fruits works quite fine.
Yum...chicken curry! I can eat chicken curry all the time thruout the year. :D
Try sweet corn with mushrooms and tofu in tomato puree. Strange, but work for me.
Okay here goes a quick pulao recipe that's darn easy to make. Serve with plain curds/raita and it'll be a winner!
I'm not going to give you exact proportions since I dont know how much one needs for so many people... it shouldn't be too difficult to figure out though!
You need: Gree, chillies, coriander and ginger. Mustard seeds and zeera. Rice.
Cooks rice separately and keep aside. Blend chillies, coriander and ginger into a paste. Heat some oil and put in mustard seeds and zeera and when they start to crackle add in the paste and cook for a minute or two. Add garam masala and dhania powder to this and salt to taste. Mix well, cook for another minute and take off the heat. Mix this with the rice.
Done!
You could also try serving Som Tam as a starter salad... should be tantalising and set the mood and make your guests anticipate the other courses :D
Good luck babe!
@ all - thank yoi so so much for the different ideas and recipes and links.
Appreciate it all so much - I'm still deciding but will let you know of the final menu and how it all goes :D
Wish me luck!!
Hey,
What abt Baigan Bharta. Its the fool proof, easy to make, always yummy dish to make for dinners.
LMK if you want the recipe.:)
Just get something delivered, or hire a caterer - seriously, I haven't cooked in four years!
Either that, or deep-fry a lettuce :P
gosh Im getting hungry girl! :) ur becoming a great cook it seems like? WOW!
btw check out my 'Thank God!' post :)
Keshi.
As bad asyou are ,but sauteed mushrooms , mini shaami kababs , fishcakes ,tiny chocolate tarts ...let us know how it turned out :)
how'd it go?
OMG!! I was reading Chandu's blog (it was The Boy's 30th birthday) and was going to say Happy 30th in her blog and then switched over to yours and got all excited about a dinner party that I got both blogs mixed up!! Sorry (*looking sheepish*)..Hey you know what? Chips and salsa or Guacamole, great as appetizers and great with drinks!! two more cents from me :D
ailla - my round 1 of guests had almost the same menu heheh. minus the chole and add rajma. also the same apprehension.
okay now i shall do some blog pimping and introduce you to our combined blog for the culinary challenged, by the culinary challenged, of the culinary challenged. www.bhajifried.wordpress.com ( has easy recipes!)
Hmmm, well I just had a party my self as you could see on my blog where I made
Chicken gravy
Paneer Makhani
Chole
Onion Tomato Raayta
Jeera Rice
Bhature
and had made tooth pick appetizers ... using sausage, olives and different type of cheeses...
But since you're an expert at salads, you could ahve salads in appetizers .
I know exactly what you'er talking about. I was cooking for 15( have cooked for more ) and even though I KNEW I'd cooked a LOT, still worried if there was enough, or everything was perfect etc ...
Luckily all went well and people took food home so I didn't have to worry about what I'd do with all the left overs :))
What I'd suggest with Palak Paneer though is maybe Gobi Manchurian ( on the drier side )that would be nice with rice or roti, should anyone want to try that. Then you'd have good variety ....
Depends ow many people you are having over...
Do visit me at www.adiws3.blogspot.com
Cheers,
adisha
Late here but wanted to say one thing regarding the menu. The menu was delish - all things listed are my faves (well, except chicken - I eat chicken if I am dying of hunger and there is no other food to be found :P) But I see that all the dishes have gravy. You could balance it by maybe taking out the daal (you already have chholey) and adding one dry sabzi like aloo-gobhi or something like that.
How did the housewarming go?
Can't wait to hear how the dinner party went..update...update plsssss!!
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