I threw a dinner party last night for my globe trotting friends (whom we went to Ibiza to see get married last year) and are finally back home in Perth.
One is a vegetarian and loves curries so I thought Indian with its lentils and spices would be a good cuisine to cook.
Mr P and I took turns in the kitchen on Saturday starting at lunchtime and 5 hours later we'd cooked up 7 tasty dishes and were enjoying a glass of wine by the time our guests arrived ...
Ok so maybe I was running around trying to find the matches to light the candles, Mr P was still in his cooking clothes covered in flour and I was trying to wash dishes for the millionth time that day! But I still managed to open the door with a smile on my face ... they don't call me Hostess with the Mostess for nothing!
Ok so maybe I was running around trying to find the matches to light the candles, Mr P was still in his cooking clothes covered in flour and I was trying to wash dishes for the millionth time that day! But I still managed to open the door with a smile on my face ... they don't call me Hostess with the Mostess for nothing!
Now for the Indian inspired menu we made .....
- Spiced Coriander, Lentil and Barley Soup topped with yogurt and mango chutney
- Garlic and Chili-Flavoured Potatoes with Cauliflower tinted golden with turmeric
- Garden Peas and Paneer in Chili-Tomato Sauce
- Kashmiri Chicken flavoured with spices, almonds, pistachios and slivered almonds
- Garlic Naan baked on a pizza stone
- Spiced Basmati Rice
- Cucumber Raita
The spices used in these dishes are heated first and then ground up and they release the most incredible aroma and flavour. None of the dishes were too hot either, we made them all quite mild (scraping out the chili seeds) and put a bowl of chopped chilies on the table for those that like it hot.
The soup is from this Women's Weekly cookbook and all the other dishes are from Best Ever Indian cookbook which I bought from Borders $10 stand but I can't find anywhere that stocks it now to refer you to.
If you'd like a recipe let me know I'm happy to email it to you.
Hi Michelle! the table looks stunning and the menu well, sounds sensational...your friends are very lucky
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you and Pete are a great team :)
Hope you had a great w/end
Claudia xo
Busy Saturday for you, you'll need a weekend now to get over your weekend!
ReplyDeleteI love cooking for people but hate that pressure of having everything organised to be ready at the same time. You did great to get 7 dishes all done!!
I had my Dad over for dinner tonight and cooked balsamic, herb and honey lamb rack, mashed potato and veggies with asparagus wrapped in proscuitto for entree and lemon meringue pie for dessert. Lots of work, but yummy!
Thanks guys, though I can't take credit for the table setting my camera wasn't charged so I couldn't take any shots unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteYum, that sounds totally divine!
ReplyDeleteHostess with the mostess alright. I'm positively drooling and starving with hunger right now.
ReplyDelete