The other day my new friend Trang nominated me for the Liebster award. Thank you Trang.
You must be getting a sense that we love themed dinner parties. I love everything about it, researching the food, experimenting, cooking and decorating. We had the “King and Queen” 😉 of themed dinner parties over for dinner recently (remember Titanic Anniversary Dinner and Truman Capotes Black and White?) and as one of only two couples from our group who love Indian food as much as we do, we decided to have Indian night. All the food is home-made, of course, but don’t worry, I didn’t spend all day in the kitchen; what’s great about Indian food is that it’s down-to-earth home-cooking at its best and stews are often better tasting the second day, so I was able to prepare much of the feast in advance. This post will show the menu and the photos but the recipes will come one by one, so that I can find them in the future.
Hors D’œuvres:
- Baked Onion Bhajis — I’m excited about this recipe because I did a little experiment and figured out a way to bake them instead of deep frying them and they worked out GREAT!
- Appetizer: Mulligatawny Soup — I prepared this soup similarly to the link to my original recipe, except that I omitted the proteins as the rest of the meal is rather heavy and I didn’t want to be full after the first course! I also puréed about 1/4 of the soup so that the broth is thicker and creamier, but left the majority as chunks.
Mains:
- Paneer Makhani — this is a rich and delicious tomato gravy with home made unripened, pressed cheese. I used this Makhani recipe but I had to add about 2 tbsp Agave Nectar as the tomatoes were extremely acidic. I suspect that this acidity would be reduced if I had used full cream and butter of the original recipe, but then that wouldn’t be me, would it now?
- Beef Bhuna — a tasty beef stew with a deliciously flavourful gravy
- Basmiti Rice
- Aloo Papri Chaat — a very flavourful and texture filled cold side dish with a yogurt sauce and chick peas
Condiments:
- Carrot Pickle — a lightly spicy, crunchy pickle to cleans the palate
- Mango Chutney — I wanted a mango chutney that wasn’t full of sugar
Bread
- Naan — a delicious chewy Indian bread, baked on the outside of their tandoori ovens, stay tune for my experiment!
Dessert:
- Light Lemon Mousse — this is where I skipped Indian and went straight to light and satisfying. I checked with our guests and similar to our tastes they find Indian desserts a little too sweet so I improvised. Plus I wanted to use the gorgeous little cups we bought our yogurt in while in Paris.
I cannot wait for your naan Eva!
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Thanks Zsuzsa, I’ve made it twice since the post, it’s absolutely addictive.
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Eva, this is the butter chicken I made from this wonderful book I have mentioned http://www.withaglass.com/?p=9604. I have slightly modified the recipe (but not spices or method or ingredients, I just used skinless breasts instead of whole cut up chicken and adapted the dish to serve 3-4). I haven’t changed the fat content and it felt really light (in spite of the cream and butter: approx. 2 tablespoons of cream per person).
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Thank you Sissi, I will give your recipe a try I’m the new year.
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Love this idea of a dinner party….might have to copy it.
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Thank you kindly Jed, I would be very flattered!
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Hi Eva – I freaking love Indian food! Last birthday (not the one just gone) I went with some friends and my wife to the nearby Indian restaurant and almost went crazy in the ordering. Ordered WAY too much food and boy did I regret eating so much afterwards, but seriously… omnomnom. Indian cookery is something I really want to get more in to, and better at!
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Thanks Charles, Indian cooking is definitely an art but I think I have the taste and smell for it…it comes rather easy to me and it tastes pretty darn good. I know what you mean about eating too much…that’s why Indian buffets are always a bad idea for JT and I, we just eat too much. Self restraint is not an option.
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It is seriously a good thing they don’t have Indian buffets here (I never saw one at least). The only kind of buffet we usually see is Chinese ones which is nice once in a while but one soon tires of the food because it’s pretty sub-par in general.
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I know what you mean about Chinese Buffets, Charles. The Indian one’s are the only one’s we will treat ourselves to so that we can try everything they offer.
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Wow Eva,
This is so impressive. Just love the menu! I would love to get invited for one of these parties!
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That is very kind of you to say, Asmita. I would love to invite you too!
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Eva, it sounds like an excellent creative dinner! And very challenging too. I never make theme parties or dinners… Too lazy probably. I just cook whatever I feel like having, minus what my guests might not like.
I am glad to discover that you also like lemon desserts with Indian cuisine. I find lemon desserts (all kinds) perfect for both Thai and Indian food, which are rather on a saucier, rich in spices side. It cleans the palate and the lemon flavours don’t disappear even after a mixture of strongest spices.
I love Butter (Chicken) too, but I don’t think your recipe calls for a lot of butter. Does it call for a lot of cream? I still remember how surprised I was when I made the first real butter chicken and discovered that it wasn’t even half as greasy or heavy as the one I had in restaurants…
I practically always add sugar to tomato sauce. I think it also improves the sauce’s taste.
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Thank you kindly Sissi, the original recipe did call for lots of butter but I’m not prepared to add that much saturated fat into one dish so I improvised. JT, who is rather critical said that it was delicious in spite that it wasn’t exactly the same as the restaurant version, he said it was worth the sacrifice.
The lemon dessert was a refreshing end to the heavy meal; we always tend to eat too much of the Indian dishes, as the Aussi’s say, it’s so moreish.
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Eva, I got an excellent Indian cookery book (apparently the author is very famous in UK) and her butter chicken doesn’t call for a lot of butter. I think actually I never had to cut down fat in any of her recipes. I knew an Indian blogger, who sadly stopped blogging, who told me that Indian food does’t swim in fat like in Western restaurants, so you were right to cut down on butter! It was probably more genuine 🙂
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Thanks Sissi, I would love to see your recipe for butter chicken, it is one of our most favourite Indian dishes. Have you blogged about it already?
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You truly are a pro at dinner parties, Eva. This Indian feast looks delicious and fun!
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Thank you kindly Betsy, I do love throwing these themed dinner parties too.
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This is a dinner party I would have loved to attend. Well, why single this one out? You’ve yet to host or attend a dinner party that I would not have enjoyed attending. Creative themes and good food well-presented will always mean a successful evening. 🙂
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You are far too kind, John, thank you. We would absolutely enjoy having you as a dinner guest! Truth be told, we had about 3 additional servings after the dinner party as I may have made a little too much!
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As you may know, Eva, I love Indian food. I’m looking forward to seeing your recipes for low-sugar mango chutney and carrot pickles.
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Thank you kindly Sharyn, it’s also one of our favourite cuisines. I am happy to share the recipes with you.
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You are good at doing the theme party food!
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Thank you kindly Angie.
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Looks like you had a great Indian feast, Eva. The beef bhuna especially is something I’m not familiar with.
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I would urge you to try it, it’s generally not as saucy a curry but it is extremely flavourful. JT said it was one of the best he’s had!
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You and JT are just one of the most fun couples around! I’m continually in awe of your dinner parties Eva. They are so creative, organized and they look outright delicious! I’ve not eaten much Indian food. We should probably get around to cooking from that region soon. Time to explore something new. 🙂
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I am very flattered Kristy, thank you! We’d love to entertain you and Mike one day! You absolutely must try Indian, JT and I love it, we call it Happy Food because when we eat it, it just makes us happy!
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That’s quite a spread and for only 6 people? You are not only good at putting together great theme parties, but you also have the appropriate serving pieces and settings, how large are your cabinets and storage areas?
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Hi Norma, it was actually for four if us! I do have a lot of storage in our renovated kitchen which I’ve managed to fill up very nicely. Thank you for your kind words.
There is a great restaurant supply store on Spadina (south of College) called Tap Phong where I get most of my stuff, worth a visit next time you’re in TO. Do let me know so we can meet up!
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Would be fun to meet up when I visit next year, will drop you and Barb a note.
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Absolutely!
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What a delicious menu. And themed dinner parties are such a great idea. I would have loved to have been there, Eva. And Indian is such a good choice when the weather is cooler – it’s great comfort food! xx
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We would have loved to have you at our dinner party too, Charlie. It’s true about Indian food, we love it but only enjoy it during our colder months, which is quite odd, since India is quite a hot climate. I just find their foods are too heavy for our summer months.
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I wonder who the other couple is??? Good thing you enjoy these parties since you are SO good at them!
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Good guess! Thank you for your very kind words Barb, it’s always a pleasure cooking for people who love to eat!
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This dinner plan sounds like several pieces of Indian heaven put together my friend fantastic job 😀
Congrats on the award too!
Cheers
CCU
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That’s very lovely of you to say, CCU, thank you.
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