Hi everyone, we have roughly 10 families coming over , would be roughly 22 adults and 10 kids. I need some super easy desi style menu. Following is the reason why I am not able to think up on my own:
I am the host, cooking it all alone with no help so need recipes to be less complicated.
Fewer ingredients and no oven use , coz my oven has ditched me for now!
I want to keep fewer dishes so I can make them in larger quantities.
What do you guys suggest? also I want to stay away from ready made stuff like samosa and what not , coz they are not into it all. and I dont have the time to make them at home ..
The meal time is kind of confusing because they are coming after having attended an event early afternoon. I want to be able to serve something around 5pm .. so its not tea time nor dinner time , I am keen to think up a menu that will serve both in the same meal ..
Re: Preparing desi chai/dinner party for 25 people ..
marinate chicken drumsticks the night prior; chuck them into a pot or a slow cooker to steam the day of.
make and freeze kebabs or skewers so all you have to do is fry them up to serve as is or in wraps.
make ahead and freeze a qeema sauce and a white sauce so you can reheat them and serve up a kid-friendly pasta dish.
make a veg raaita or dahi phulki (if you want fancy, do the baghaar waala sort) and a garden salad to go with the mains.
for dessert, there’s nothing easier or more appropriate to serve a crowd than layered desserts. rather than the traditional trifle, try bakery-bought brownies, cubed; instant chocolate or vanilla pudding, and whipped cream with a topping of grated chocolate or a smashed up candy bar, cocoa powder or chocolate chips.
Re: Preparing desi chai/dinner party for 25 people ..
I know people here usually eat dinner around 6 so I suggest stick to dinner menu.
I plan to host eid dinner party for 20 families and here is my menu
Nihari
Chicken tikka
Channa masala
matar palao
Salad
Raita
Most likely pasta for kids
Dessert
Sheer Khorma
Simple and easy inshallah… I plan to cook everything at home iA and trajectory it to the community hall where we are hosting the party… That’s the tricky part now!
Re: Preparing desi chai/dinner party for 25 people ..
GTG , I have already made Nihari and channa a good few times before .. for the same set of people ..
Plus my issue right now is that they will have had a brunch and light lunch at the event , so by the time they arrive they will be not so hungry but hungry too , if you know what i mean.
they will be leaving around 8:30pm to go on to the people they are staying with. So I have to think of something that is between dinner and tea time ..
Re: Preparing desi chai/dinner party for 25 people ..
Aaalo Qeema
Tandoori Chicken
Bean Salad (its a really good filler, healthy and people love it…well in our circle they do)
Daal (I am not sure if you want it on menu coz some people go when they see daal in “dawat” but we normally have dry/soup daal in small quantity in each dawat)
Veggie pulao
Pizza for kids
For chai just get percolator. Thats the easy and quick way to serve chai to this many people without mess
Chicken wings (that I’d steam cook) or kebabs
Haleem (started on the hoband transferred to slow cooker)
Pasta dish
Channa chat or paprika chaat
Fruit salad
Cakes and pastries
Re: Preparing desi chai/dinner party for 25 people ..
If I had that odd timing, I’d stick with a menu that was more finger-foody if you know what I mean:
Chanay ki chaat
Bun kabab sandwiches
Tikkay paired with veggie/mattar pulao of some sort
Chicken wings or Tandoori Chicken
Cut up raw veggie tray with dressings
That’s all I can think of for now
Re: Preparing desi chai/dinner party for 25 people ..
keeping your details in view, i can think of
Fried chicken
Kebab paratha rolls
pasta ( would go for both kids and adults)
Fish( either grilled or fried) you can do lahori fish since you want something desi
Haleem
desserts
sheer kurma or kheer ( both are perfect desi desserts that can be made in larger quantities with ease)
Re: Preparing desi chai/dinner party for 25 people ..
Hmmm, okay how does this sound, CB?
Lighter Fare:
Channa Chaat
Fry up a stuffed pastry like samosay or spring rolls
Finger sandwiches…with simple shredded chicken with mayo filling.
Heartier Fare:
A simple rice dish like pulaao, nothing labor intensive.
Haleem with all the toppings if you have the time.
Kababs…it can be chapli or shaami…whichever is easiest for you
A nice garden salad
A chutney/ raita
Rotiyan
Kababs pair beautifully with pulaao and haleem. Haleem is one of those filling stand-alone dishes…it’s so sufficient on its own that you don’t need to make any other salan. So, the guests have an option for both rice (pulao) and roti, and they can even enjoy both.
For guests who prefer lighter foods, they can enjoy the chaat, sandwiches and samosas. For those who want more heartier dishes can dive into the pulaao, haleem and kabab. And for those who want to experience both the light and heavy end…well they have 3 light dishes to choose from and 3 heartier dishes to choose from. So, you’ll have combined both tea time and dinner. If you don’t want to do haleem, replace with another dish.
Also, if you don’t have time to fry up samosay or spring rolls…maybe you can replace that with another appetizer such as fruit salad or cut fruit…or aloo ki tikkiyan…or a store bought frozen item like shrimp or something . It could even be a sweet item.
Re: Preparing desi chai/dinner party for 25 people ..
Another thought that came to mind is that you can simplify things for yourself by just making a light dinner menu. After all, the guests will be arriving at dinner time. And us Desis tend not to be punctual. That said, the guests might arrive late and leave your place later than 8:30 and return to their hosts around 9’ish or even 10ish. So, you can just do a dinner menu…where you have a rice component, kababs, a meat salan, a veggie salan. In stead of 2 salans you can do 3 salans if you have time. You can do something different than nihari and chanay if you’ve already done them before. Toss in a salad, basket of roti, chutney/raita and you’re good to go.
when they see daal in “dawat” but we normally have dry/soup daal in small quantity in each dawat)