Iftar Menu for incredibly picky family!

Lifestyle Parenting, Household Affairs and Cuisine corner
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Salaam guys,

I have to invite family over for Iftar but I’m almost scared to cook for them.

  1. They cook Pakistani food incredibly well and are judgmental when it comes to others cooking… They don’t show appreciation and most of the time have no comments about the food…

  2. They don’t really enjoy any other cuisine.

  3. I have to invite them -I don’t have a choice.

Please help me come up with a menu and provide recipes.

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Re: Iftar Menu for incredibly picky family!

Don’t be scared. Do your best with recipes you’re comfortable with and can make very well. Don’t experiment with anything you’re unsure about.

Last year, I had a family over like this. The wife is an amazing cook so I was cooking for basically an expert.

I am good at nashta so I did that! :hehe:

I served nashta at dinnertime. :slight_smile: It was actually a hit and nothing was left.

I had poori, parathay, aloo ki sabzi, chanay, bhuna huwa qeema, halwa, raita, achaar and fruit.

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Re: Iftar Menu for incredibly picky family!

Is it a formal dawat? Are these close friends?

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Re: Iftar Menu for incredibly picky family!

It's an iftar - so a semi formal davaat with just them and they are family - relatives of mine.

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Re: Iftar Menu for incredibly picky family!

I would love to do nashta - its one of my favs and I'm really good at it.

Unfortunately, I know they ill talk about me if I do nashta... as in.. "she considers this iftaar" type of talk.

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Re: Iftar Menu for incredibly picky family!

Hmmm...well then cheat a little bit. Do you have someone around you that will cater? Have them make a couple of things if you really want to impress them.

If it has to be desi food only and that too formal...then butter chicken, qorma, kababs and biryani or yakhni pulao. And of course, salad, raita, naan or roti.

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Re: Iftar Menu for incredibly picky family!

Whenever my mom does a dawat/Iftar, the menu usually looks something like this (I am yet to be able to host a dawat alone given my limited cooking skills):

Iftar:

  • Samosas/Rolls and/or puff pastries
  • Fruit chart (can substitute this for channa chart)
  • Dates
  • Pakoras

Dinner:

  • Meat (lamb) Pulau
  • Crumbed chicken
  • Lahori fish
  • Chapli kebabs
  • usually one salaan (normally karele or okra to include one vege dish)
  • Dahi baraye
  • Home made naan/roti/salad

Desert:

  • Raas malai (home made) and sometimes trifle as well (if there are more people)

And of course chai.

My problem with this menu though is that usually there is loaaaads leftover but the plus is that each dish is yummy!

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Re: Iftar Menu for incredibly picky family!

Usually that's a good thing. Chances are if they didn't like something, they'd speak out.

Susra'eel?

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What Pakistani dishes have u mastered and KNOW u cook well? Pick those and build the rest of ur menu around that. U'll be comfortable knowing it's good food and they won't find any 'problems'.

I think the best basic menu for iftar is to open with dates + pakora + some type of chaat. For dinner, mutton/chicken pilao, aloo gosht, kababs, roti/raita/salad. In fact... i'd probably skip the pakoea stuff but if the ppl are picky and annoying then go ahead.

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Re: Iftar Menu for incredibly picky family!

LoL! that is where it gets tough.. I normally don't have time to cook Pakistani food, so my husband and I just do whatever we can. The issue really isn't what I've mastered but more so.. I need a good recipe. If I have a good recipe, I can cook great. Unfortunately, when it comes to Pakistani food - I don't have recipes that I can turn to.

The other thing is - i'm not planning on an extensive menu per say.. just a few items that are good - cause i'm pregnant and i'm only going to put up with so much right now with work and a 2 year old lol.

I'm thinking of doing the actual Iftar with a mix of desi/nondesi.

Iftar:

Stuffed Chicken Buns from Fauzias Kitchen.
Spanakopitas and Crab Wontons (cause I already have them premade and frozen)
Fruit Chaat

Dinner:
Sindhi Biryani
Raita
Salad

I think that's enough if I take everything out together? Unless anyone has a good different veggie dish they can suggest.

And a good tried and tested Sindhi Biryani recipe :D

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Re: Iftar Menu for incredibly picky family!

It's an iftar, every ones fasting so they will be hungry. Probably will eat anything tbh and not complain.

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Re: Iftar Menu for incredibly picky family!

I like the recipes I find here a lot:

Pakistani Recipes - Desi Cookbook

Their gobi qeema recipe was sooooo yummy its become a staple in my home.

If you’re preggo with a 2 year old…please don’t stress about this? What you have is fine and they should be gracious enough to eat McDonald’s with a smile if you served it.

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Re: Iftar Menu for incredibly picky family!

lol - thanks Reha. thats sweet!
You know i have been seeing that desi cookbook forever, but i had no idea what the recipes were like. I’ll try the gobi qeema!

Thanks!

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Re: Iftar Menu for incredibly picky family!

for good recipes you can go to Shireen Anwer Masala mornings Facebook page. Her recipes turn out great. pure desi, continental, fusion all types.

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Re: Iftar Menu for incredibly picky family!

Thanks Gudia! I've heard the name often. I'll try her recipes out too.

Has anyone tried Bajias recipes on youtube?

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Re: Iftar Menu for incredibly picky family!

you cook what you cook best and not what they eat best :)