How much do you guys budget for a dawat/ party? I am having a lunch party for 15 -20 ladies and 20 kids at my house soon and have calculated the cost to be about $300. This includes Store bought pizza for the kids. Is this budget good or do you guys go even lower (or higher)?
The menu is:
Crackers with goat’s cheese and pickles
Roasted Brie with sour dough bread bowl surrounded with green and black grapes
Shrimp bites in phyllo tarts
Chicken qorma
Beef qeema with potatoes
Muttar pilao (rice with peas)
Chicken casserole
Baked pasta ziti
Roquefort pear salad
beet and orange salad
Cheese Pizza (for kids)
store bought naan and soda
Dessert:
Tiramisu
Coconut berry tarts
Cake baked with cake mix (for the kids )
Some paper products, though I basically shall be serving on China I posses.
why make seperate stuff for kids, your menu is kid friendly without pizza and extra cake. $300 is reasonable considering you have 20 adults and 20 kids.
Lusi, thanks, however, my own kids esp my son will not have a dawat without pizza ! The cake mix cake will be cheap while if I make extra of the other desserts the costs shall go up considerably.
Whenever I make biryani/ pulao with chicken or red meat the meat is always left over, so I make plain rice with peas now. I saw this being done at other people’s houses too. I am making the rice with peas.
Its actually chicken pot pie
3 cups chopped cooked chicken
1pkg. (16 oz.) frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, corn, green beans, peas), thawed, drained
1/2lb. (8 oz.) velveeta cheese block , cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1can (10-3/4 oz.) reduced-sodium condensed cream of chicken soup (I actually substitute cream of mushroom soup for cream of chicken soup as I can’t find any halal ones where I live.)
1can (8 oz.) refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
make it
HEAT oven to 375ºF.
COMBINE first 4 ingredients in 13x9-inch baking dish.
UNROLL dough; place over chicken mixture.
BAKE 20 to 25 min. or until crust is golden brown.
Serves 8
Kids can eat the same food. Rather than crackers u could do ghol gappei - these r pretty cheap with imlee sauce on the side. Cut up small pieces of potatoes, tomatoes, a bowl of chickpeas straight from the can and perhaps a little coriander. Guests can fill the ghol gappei themselves, keeps em busy lol
The gol gappe idea is good. The kids here love pizza and eat it at most parties. My kids esp. want pizza at parties at our house. Its easier for me too. I give the kids pizza as they arrive. later if any kid wants they can have the other food I have prepared too.
I totally understand the pizza situation. We always have pizza at our parties too. Less wastage of food and the kids always eat it. I estimate 2 slices per child.
This pizza depends on where you live. When I lived in a different part of the country they would do macroni noodles with keema, pasta sauce and cheese. It was always a hit with the kids and cheap. Pizza is a little more costly but again it depends on what the expectation of the folks you entertain.
are you aiming for budget ( keeping the budget low) or for convenience?
Cake mix cake or cupcakes or always a hit and relatively inexpensive.
we have a few different circles we social with (family, friends, masjid acquaintance and professional friends, non-desi friends. I have learned to stick to the Norms of that group. For examples non-desi (Americans) are not big on having an enormous amount of food. Their parties are about fun and not so fussy. Some of the desi will be über insulted if there are not a dozen dishes. So again the budget reflects what you tend to accomplish and who you are entertaining.
Twinklestar, I agree, it depends upon the group. I have the seen the pasta with qeema too as some gatherings but other types of gatherings pizza is more common. I also estimate 2 slices per kid plus a little more. What I have noticed at some gatherings is that they slice the pizza in 16 slices instead of 8 so there is less waste. Some younger kids tend to eat less as well.
I am looking for convenience and keeping the budget low at the same time. This is an all desi gathering so yes number of dishes count. The party is next Saturday.
Look for sales at the grocery store. Depending on what is sale - and use coupons and plan your menu. Also keep in mind what that particular group likes. A few years back all of our friends were punjabi. So a saag or palak/spinach dish would always be present. So whenever it was out turn to host I would make palak gohst. Then were moved to place with a predominantly Bangladeshi crowd. So then I would make a fish dish or tuna kababs. Anyways after a few parties you know what you need to do for parties in a particular circle.
Get pizza from the store that gives you the best deal. I would definitely get a couple pizzas cut to 16 pieces. The older kids don’t like the cut up pieces though.
I am always looking out for sales and coupons. I mostly buy generic so coupons are not that useful for me unless the sale plus coupon price is getting me a better price than the generic. Walgreens has a sale on soda, 7 up to be specific right now so I am going to get some of that tommorow. This crowd here like desi food plus they shall appreciate some western style food as well, hence the menu.
wondering where you live?