Re: My first dinner party
I dont even own a Pressure Cooker 
I cook mine the regular style, soak overnight in water and then cook in a regular pot.
Takes around 2 hours to soften and cook properly.
In a Pressure Cooker it takes 15 minutes.
Re: My first dinner party
huh? then why would you recommend a pressure cooker for someone else?
Mash daal doesnt take 2 hours does it, really? the reason i love any daal is because its so easy to make :D
Re: My first dinner party
^^I think there are 2 kinds of Mash dal, the one I have used only takes 30 min max to soak and 15-20 mins to cook.
Re: My first dinner party
Daals are the easiest to make I agree but they take a very loooooooooooong time to cook/gal
I mentionedthe pressure cooker cause it reduces the time of cooking, get it over and done with in half an hour.
Re: My first dinner party
adra, have you tried soaking dals in warm water? dals are easier to cook when soaked in warm water for 20-30 min. It never took me 2 hours to cook any dal unless I'm making haleem.
Re: My first dinner party
Nope, havent tried that. I mainly cook Chanay or Mong/Masoor.
Maybe Mash takes less time.
Beetroot raita tastes great and looks pretty too!
Re: My first dinner party
Mash kee daal only takes 20-30 mins to cook. It is extremely easy to make. Actually almost ecery daal is easy to make...lol
I'm a big fan of daal, "mash" is my least fav though :S
Sara, if you're looking for a barbecue type item then why not do Tandoori chicken? It's super easy/fast and sooo yummy. I can send a recipe your way if you want.
Would I need a BBQ/grill for it? i know it sounds like a DAH!Q but i can only use stove.cant use the oven, no toaster-oven. =// but still...send it on over..
You can make kebabs a week in advance and freeze them, I make mine and freeze fortnightly and they go really fast.
Raita depends what kind of Raita you are making, If you are just whipping up yogurt with smoked zeera than you can smoke and crush zeera a day or week in advance and keep it in an air tight container and add it to the yogurt on the day.
For the Biryani, you can make the base a day before, just the salan part of it. Then on the day of actual dinner party boil fresh rice and add the base to it with all the garnishings.
Opt out of the Mash ki Daal unless you have a Pressure Cooker.
The Chicken salan you can make on the day since chicken doesnt take that long to cook.
So frozen kababs are only okay for a week?
The kind of raita i have in mind (that my mom makes for us) has boondi/choti pakoriyan in it with onions and tomatoes... come to think of it, my bhabhi makes it really well...
I want to swap the mash ki daal for alloo gobi. Is it okay to chop gobi and peel/chop potatoes and leave em in the fridge? If so, for how long? I'm assuming potatoes and gobi won't fare as well as chopped onions and tomatoes? I will make that one day in advance, as well as the chicken makhni.
It looks like the only fresh things will be the biryani and salad/raita.........
Re: My first dinner party
You can always chop and freeze gobi. Peel and chop potatoes when you have to cook or a day before. Frozen kababs are ok for more then a week.
Re: My first dinner party
oh shiznit.. i just remembered :(
they're coming the 13th (saturday), the Friday, thursday, wednesday and tuesday before i have classes and work all day...so that leaves the weekend and monday, which is a whole week before they come...so imma have to either cook the two salans and freeze em OR cook em all in one night/day OR..what?
Kabab's stay for a longtime Sara, that raita wudnt really go well with the biryani. Why dont u make a alu mattar paneer korma?
Re: My first dinner party
I would say just make a simple raita and you have salad on the side anyway...
Re: My first dinner party
okay cool...
so can i make the aloo gobi (whole salan) a week before and freeze it fr a few days? or no?
Would I need a BBQ/grill for it? i know it sounds like a DAH!Q but i can only use stove.cant use the oven, no toaster-oven. =// but still...send it on over..
no need to bake it, you make it on the stove.
okay cool...
so can i make the aloo gobi (whole salan) a week before and freeze it fr a few days? or no?
you can freeze any salan for atleast a week sara. SOmetime when i cook extra, i freeze what we dont eat to take out on days i am not feeling well. It tastes fine.
Re: My first dinner party
[QUOTE]
So frozen kababs are only okay for a week?
The kind of raita i have in mind (that my mom makes for us) has boondi/choti pakoriyan in it with onions and tomatoes... come to think of it, my bhabhi makes it really well...
[/QUOTE]
Lol not in that way, they go in a week cause they are yum and we have 'em all the time.
And they are the easiest to make esp if you are just using stove.
I duno about freezing vegies like gobi etc though, they tend to go soggy
kababs can be frozen for longer. also, like someone suggested, i'd recommend kulfi for dessert. the best recipe for that is on www.cookingwithbj.com. it's super easy and turns out yummy each time. there's no need to stir the mixture as stated in the recipe. feel free to use ice cube trays, if you don't have popsicel molds. also, it can be made days ahead.
Sara, if you're looking for a barbecue type item then why not do Tandoori chicken? It's super easy/fast and sooo yummy. I can send a recipe your way if you want.
plz post the recipe of tandoori chicken...