ASA, all.
a typical English roast dinner, as most of us know, is usually served with steamed veggies, mash, and sauces. my question is, for a very desi roast (chicken/mutton) dinner, what item(s) would be best served as accompaniments for the main?
I went to a dinner once and they had the roast veggies, except they were marinated and roasted in a tandoori/spicy masala. It was delicious. Idk if that’s something you’d think of…but yeah.
Re: sides for a desi roast dinner
actually, that was the very first thing i thought of – my only concern was that since the roast itself is to be done in a similar masala, it’d get repetitive and over-spiced as a combination, no?
True. The dinner i went to the meat was spicy but not as much as the veggies.
Make some sort of veggie rice and serve it alongside?
Re: sides for a desi roast dinner
I would serve chickpeas and rice or aloo ki tarhi, roasted potatos, and spouts salaan
Re: sides for a desi roast dinner
i was thinking rice and raaita, or perhaps an eggplant dip, yes.
cpa, how would you roast the potatoes? and i’ve never heard of sprout saalan; could you tell me how it’s made?
sides for a desi roast dinner
I would do mattar pulao and eggplant raita
Re: sides for a desi roast dinner
sounds perfect. i’ve never made mattar chawal before, though – would you please give me a recipe sketch?
Re: sides for a desi roast dinner
For the potatos, use idaho potatos, peel and cut in half. coat them with tikka masala, or the masala u are using with your roast.
sprinkle some olive oil on them and bottom of the roasting pan. cover with foil and bake in the oven, when they are about 3/4th way done, remove the foil, and use a brush to cover the potatos with oi from the bottom of th roasting pan. Put back in the oven for a few more minutes, until they get a nice hint of redish/brownish color
Brussel Sprouts. - buy like 1.5 -2 pounds of brussel sprouts, wash and cut in half. Try to buy the smaller ones, as they absorb more masala
2 onions, 1 teaspoon of garlic/ ginger. fry till golden, add red chilli powder, salt, halthi, keep stirring until its nicely mixed. add brussel sprouts, mix so that the masala is covering the brussel sprouts, cover pot, and change heat to medium low or less than medium heat. after about 8-15 minutes it should be ready. Be careful not to over cook.
Brussel sprouts is like bindi or gobi, in the sense that if you mix to much it will look like halva. so just move them around so that they dont burn.
I would also make coriander, mint chutneys. And roasted corn
Re: sides for a desi roast dinner
Thinly slice onion and sauté with a few cloves, black peppercorn and cinnamon stick. Don’t let the onion brown. Add peas (I use frozen) and bhoon. Add your soaked rice and stir well to coat. Add your water and salt. Let it come to a boil, lower heat, cover, and let it cook until all the water is absorbed and steam escapes.
Re: sides for a desi roast dinner
thank you very much; i’m quite intrigued by the desi Brussels sprouts. will try it out and let you know!
Re: sides for a desi roast dinner
got it, thank you! i think i’ve got some leftover chicken stock, i’ll try this with that subbed in for water. 
Re: sides for a desi roast dinner
Hmm…sides can include condiments/sauces such as raita and chutneys. You can do a savoury chutney such as the pudina one and you can also do a sweet one like aloo bukhara, etc. I like roasted veggies as opposed to steamed. You can season baby potatoes, french beans, asparagus, carrots with salt and pepper a d drizzle some olive oil and set them to roast. Other sides can include dishes with a gravy to them since the roast is a dry dish. Or even a veggie side like bhindi.
Re: sides for a desi roast dinner
All you need for a roast is some good natured ribbing.
Re: sides for a desi roast dinner
rv, i love the aalu bukhara chutney idea and there’s even a ready recipe i’ve been meaning to try for a while. thanks! also, bhindi is a good veg side. i need to menu this thing out; lots of viable options for the taking.
oh, that’s all sorted already!
Re: sides for a desi roast dinner
I think mint and sweet sauces compliment mutton/lamb in other ethnic cuisines as well.
Re: sides for a desi roast dinner
i usally just make it the english way. i serve veggies boiled/steamed, with roast potatoes, and i roast capsicum, sweet potato, carrots in the same masala with the chicken.
i also make a salad. with sweetcorn and potatoe in mayo.
and some french fries/wedges for those who dont like roast potatoes .
my husband prefers fries, and no vegg, so i will also have a bowl of baked beans or 3 bean salad.
Re: sides for a desi roast dinner
I would say raita or mint sauce, wth either butter naan or vegie rice
Re: sides for a desi roast dinner
I usually have these items at my parties, especially with pulao. Next time around I am thinking of grilling some shrimps on skewers too 
kachoomar salad (red onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, lime juice, coriander and very little mint)
Dahi boondi (home-made, don’t use store bought)
Masala aloo
Dont know if you will have kids amongst the guests, but in our home, some of the favorite sides are talay huai matar, boiled sweet corn with butter, and home made potatoe chips. I also like Uncle Ben’s style garlic butter rice as my side. We sometime do regular bread turned into garlic bread.
Basically, we like to have some carb (garlic bread or rice), and some sweetish side (peas, corn and/or home made chips) to mellow down the spices of the roast.