The Party Menu Series ~ Party Menu#2

Another party menu is here to delight you today. This time we had just one guest and we decided to keep it simple as the food was not as important as catching up on stories was 🙂 Well, whenever I host parties I usually keep the food preferences of my guests in mind. If they like to indulge in a variety of dishes or we are bitten by the bug to try out many dishes we do so, otherwise all our votes are in favour of a couple of starters followed by biryani and raitha. If the meal is elaborate, the dessert is a simple one and vice versa. 

Since my hubby takes his passion for cooking very seriously he generously helps me put together the party menu as well. Over the years it has become an understanding between us that we share the work load. While he sticks to making the starters, dips and red meat (if any) preparations, I make the breads (usually traditional Mangalorean rice breads like sanna, appams, neer dosa etc), curries, rice preparations and desserts. Culinary clashes (making a grab for the same utensils, chopping boards and knives and having a spat over it) are avoided as both of us decide our entry and exit timings from the kitchen. One of us is making ourselves useful around the house when the other is busy cooking. It really helps to have your significant other or kids to help around in the kitchen, even if it means to help keep the sink clear at all times. Trust me, this can be a big challenge and hamper your cooking speed if you have a pile of dirty dishes that threaten to take over precious counter space, especially if you have a small kitchen.

After some hits and several misses over the years I have concluded that it is best to have a few good dishes than a hundred mediocre ones. It is always best to present your tried and tested fare to new guests whether or not you are fishing for compliments. It saves you the stress of being worried whether the dish goes down well with your guests or not. Many years ago,
when I was still a novice cook I had tried out three new recipes on the day we had new friends over and all the three had flopped badly. I cringe when I think about how overconfident or naive I was that day! Another thing to remember is that unless you have guests with great appetites you should ideally stick to light snacks or starters served with beverages and then head straight to the main course (a one pot meal like a biryani for example) followed by a simple dessert rather than serving too many courses (like a bread and curry) and you end up having a ton of leftovers of everything!

And hey, I hope these tips help – they are out of my personal experience

So let’s head back to today’s menu

Party Menu #2
Number of Guests: 1 adults

Category#1 : Starters
Mutton Seekh Kebab (same recipe as the meatballs except that the minced meat was skewered and cooked in an air fryer)
Chicken Tikka (recipe to follow)

Category#2 : Mint & Yogurt Dip (recipe to follow)

Category#3 : Main course: Rice 
Mutton Methi Biryani ~ succulent pieces of mutton on the bone and basmati rice cooked along with fenugreek leaves, fresh coriander, mint leaves and basic spices

Category#4 : Accompaniment
Cucumber & Onion Raitha (no recipe)


Category#5: Dessert
Pressure Cooker Style Gajar Ka Halwa (carrot pudding) served with store bought vanilla ice cream

If you liked the Party Menu series do drop me an email at ruchikrandhap@gmail.com or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and GooglePlus and leave your comments!