Food Talk  Discussion Forum

HI,
Im new to cooking but fairly know the recipes for main dishes in indian cooking..
but i would like to know some easy made dishes for a dinner at home..some 5-6 ppl will be coming..how to have variety and taste in the menu??
any suggestions for menu plz??
as we r living alone in abroad i don have help also..
rekharaj replied. hi anusha,
this is rekha, from hyderabad, India, you can make bagara baingan 1 day before and tomato chutney also next day microwave it and serve hot. then make mysore bonda or onion pakodas. for desert, you can also make gulab jamoons 1 day before. make some curd chutney and veg biryani. this will take just 1/2 hr preparation. so, the bagara baingain will goes well with the biryani.tomato instant chutney will goes well with the pakodas.and you can roast or fry the papads. and if possible serve fresh fruits cut into small pieces and chilled. ok? try this. Carol replied. I live in India with kids, hubby, MIL and I m a working poerosn. I hv never been abraod but i v well know the lifestyles and other things.

Daily cooking and managing things in India for a woman like me is such a hassle. On the top of it when I know about guests arriving, phir to ho gaya. If they are coming for lunch, i know my day is going to be wasted. If dinner, my entire day evening will go.

I cant do without a maid normally, i have a 24 hr maid (basically for the kids when i m in office). and when guests are arriving, I hire an additional maid for some extra work for that day.

I always wonder, how do you people living abroad manage all that alone? You people have to do everything from buying grocery to the dishes and cleaning the kitchen! How do u make that possible? Dont u get tired?

Is it that things are different there? I mean, here if we make 15 dishes in total u make 10? Or Is it that u ppl dont need to do so much pre-cooking like in india, may be groceries are already clean and cut or half-prepared? Or is that that hubbies help there (here hubbies dont even serve water to guests) . Do the guests help? Here the guests dont even get up for a glass of water (i m talking abt north india, i hv travelled a lot in india and MY PERSONAL experience says Maharastra and down south people are more co-operative in terms of heling the host and in north the guests consider it as entirely hosts duty, i m in north right now, and i may b wrong)

how do u ppl manage? if u hv some tips that i can use, pls share.

if u say that its same like india and u guys are still able to manage, hats off to u. shree replied. You can prepare something in advance like before one day you can prepare gravy for any rich veg. like shahi paneer,or dahi vada.for dessert you can give fruit salad,prepare dal fry and refrigrate it,next day microwave dal,this will be more tasty & save your time.Try simple tomato soup or veg. soup
Do not forget good presentation of everything.you can add green salad,raita,papad etc. Rashmi replied. Hi !

i'm also staying in abroad. I understand your problem.
I would suggest you don't make lot of items. Try to make a simple menu
e.g
For Appetizers you can make some pokara, or puff patties or somasa
and put some chips with dipping sauce (salsa).
Main menu:
You can make Chola bhatura , Paw bhaji
or you can make idli sambhar and make 2-3 chutneys instead of one.
(chuneys you can make one day before)
and make some pulav ,salad and raita also

For Desserts:
You can make custard, kulfi ,Home made cake,Rasmali ( you can use Haldiram rasgulla instead of making it) or Carrot hulwa
it's up to you there are lots of ready made foods are also available.

This is the way i usually make dinner for my guests, so in this way i can have some time for chatting

Hope it will help you
AlL THE VERY BEST

Rashmi