We are planning to celebrate our daughter’s first birthday and invite most everyone we know in the area (about 30 adults and 20 kids). The guests will all be desi. The usual fare for birthday parties so far has been mostly desi and sometimes asian (thai). I will be doing the cooking myself so i want to make sure the menu we decide on is doable for me. I also want something unique and different. Should i stick with desi too? I am also leaning towards mexican where we can offer taco shells with meat and the fixings, warm tortillas along with fajita fillings etc. Would that work? The party will not be at home but i will have access to a kitchen. I am also hoping for something that i can start preparing in advance.
well fajitas is a good idea…if you want any desi food just keep it simple with a simple salan like chicken jalfrezi, spicy matar pulao or naan, with raita…and alu channay? and maybe seekh kabob too. if you need another dish chow mein
why not sway away from desi? is ur esocial circle open to other kind of cuisine other than desi, oriental?
i woudl seriously not suggest thai, chinese or any other oriental menu.. its just wayy wayy too much cutting and chopping..
how bout rus bukhari (i can give u recipe .. its amazing.. and u wont have to make seperate for kids since they may not like spicy food) .. its not spicy but very delicous.. baked chicken with skin and rice..
hmm.. u can have finger food cuz ure main guests will be kids.. and its filling.. patties, curly fries, hotdogs,
oh aroudn what time is the bday?
make some kinda kebabs.. i know these awesome ones that require rice noodles to be added.. yum.. with potatoes and chicken
soup?
sheppards pie (even the old rigid desi men like having this at our dawats)
Guys your suggestions are all great but i need one theme and focus on one cuisine. Like i said in my original post, i am willing to do a non desi theme and thats what i need suggestions with. If i do a mexican fare, do you guys have any ideas that can be prepared in advance? LIke i said, i am so far thinking of tacos and fajitas. Would quesedillas work?
nida, you have some great ideas for kids. To the parties i have gone to so far, people usually offer pizza and juice and thats it for them. I think we can do something different like you suggested.
hubs has also suggested a meat and cheese platter. Would that be appropriate? I want a night dinner party but hubs wants a brunch/lunch.
erm…i would say go for a lunch kuz by the time you guys finish and all you will be heck of tired and you would want to go straight to bed…also kuz u r inviting kids and most of them (unless like my lil 6 years old bro whose bed time is after midnight) will start to feel sleepy etc and they proper annoy when they are sleepy and they will spoil the whole party…so i would say go for a lunch!!
and i am not sure about a particular party theme as she has mashallah only turned 1 and i doubt she is able to run around in the garden (reffering, to a garden themed party) anyways, i am not sure where you are if its nice weather then i would deffo suggest a garden party kinda thing…
…but you mentioned you are not having it your home (thank God for that, just think of all the cleaning you would have to do afterwards…phew…!!), so i am gonna assume it’s at a hotel or some community centre type place…i would still insist on finger food kinda brunch so then you can make many things in advance and just warm them up later…lot less hassle i would say…!!
if all your guests are desis then I’d say stick to desi food and also have some western food items like pasta, mini pizzas and sandwiches…
you should concentrate more on kids and make dishes that aren’t too messy…biryani is a good option…chicken on bamboo skewers/fried fish…grilled veggies…desi appetizers like keema patties and maybe gol gappay…
Just do Biryani, kababs and Raita for food.. and have cake, samosa, dahi baray, cookies for snacks… no matter how modernize the desis are, they would always complain if the food is non traditional.
if i were you, i would stay away from tacos. we had a bad experience last time when we had a mexican themed dinner party. even though it was all adults, filling the tacos with one hand while holding the plate with the other hand was too difficult and when there are too many options, there tend to be accidents ie. tomato sauce falling on my white cushions
I think tacos would also be great. My friend did a Mexican theme dinner party recently and everyone loved it. She served chicken quesedillas, fish fajitas, beef enchilatas, a Mexican salad, Mexican rice, and nachos with dip. All these things can be prepared beforehand and reheated when time to serve
I think a Mexican cuisine theme would be fun to do. It’s something different…a break from the usual desi food or pizza.
If you’re worried about people making a mess with assembling their tacos, then opt for Mexican dishes that are already assembled and therefore easier for people to serve in plates/eat. Ideas:
Appetizers:
Either Empanadas or Quesadillas: Empanadas are basically pastries that stuffed with meat or cheese. Here’s an example: Latina Magazine
Tortilla soup: This is a really lovely soup.
Main course:
Baked chicken enchilada casserole
Tortillas chips served with guacamole, salsa, sour cream, etc.
(So it’s like a main dish served with chips. Kind of like how people have fish and chips for a meal…or hamburger and chips/fries)
Desert
Apart from the birthday cake, you can have Mexican deserts/drinks to finish things off. Examples:
Hot Chocolate is very popular in Mexico and will make a nice finish since it’s winter. This can be served with:
**Flan or creme caramel: **http://farm1.static.flickr.com/36/112421234_bc0cb0fd0d.jpg
We attended a desi dinner where the host had made mini flans for all the guests. So each person had their own flan custard. It was a clever idea because they don’t take long to make. You just buy the mix and follow the instructions and set them to in small molds. You can serve with strawberries on the side. It’s simple but classy.
hot chocolate isnt popular in mexico - champurrado is. goes awesome with churros though.
i suspect the only thing that can please 30 desis is desi food. but you could do pita pizzas.. have the guests assemble their own from a selection of toppings, shredded cheese and sauces, have enough “desi” ones. pop em under the broiler or in the oven, and everyone gets their pizzas in 10 mins. and they are small enough to have a second round.
Even though you guys are all against a mexican themed dinner, i am still leaning towards it because
i want something different
and sitll keep it spicy ( i think its easy to have the spicy factor with mexican food).
and thank you for the suggestions red velvet. So far i have thought of doing
empanadas
mexican rice
some sort of chicken (maybe salsa chicken)
ground beef for tacos with all the fixings
chicken strips for burritos along with the fixings (salsa, guacomole, corn salsa, beans, cheese etc)
i cant do flan for the dessert since i cant possibly make it for 60-70 people (including kids). I need some other idea.
GTG, i will share recipes here inshaAllah when i do end up cooking.
One of the things to keep in mind about Mexican food is that several dishes come with a flat tortilla (which is like roti, to us). A burrito comes with a tortilla. Tacos also come in a tortilla…either a soft taco or a hard/crunchy taco. Fajitas and enchiladas, too, use tortilla.
^So…if you made several of these dishes…it looks like an OVERLOAD OF ROTI…if that makes sense. And bread in general makes one full.
To make the meal look balanced…I think you should use a variety of textures in your dishes. In other words, you can have a dish served in a soft tortialla (burrito or enchillada)…and then you can have tacos served in a crunchy tortilla as opposed to a soft one. So, it not only looks different…there’s a difference in texture when you’re eating. Or you can opt for burritos, which have a soft tortilla…and then have crunchy quesadilla.
This way…it won’t be like a sea of soft tacos. There’s visual and textural variety.
For the flan…hmmmmm…I’ve seen it served as mini flans. You’d basically use a set of small bowls as a mold. Usually people have a set of small bowls of the same size. Or you can get several small mold. Boil milk, stir in the mix from the package…fill the molds. Refrigerate. Remove from mold. Do the next batch. But it it’s too hard, then there are other delicious deserts to choose from as well.
I would go for different easy cakes for the dessert, really no need to go overboard with the whole theme organizing, not like our desi people really care that much ..
redvelvet, i was going to do hard shell tacos for tacos and the tortillas for burritos. I think it will be fine, no danger for soft taco overload, no? Flan is a great idea and people love it but making mini flans or even in bigger portions for 70 people is a overkill.
Amor Amor and sweetmoi there will already be birthday cake so i need to do something else for the dessert. What about firni or kheer?
