Monday, June 9, 2008

mango kulfi and rose watermelon slushie


my cousin, his wife, the baby and her parents came over this weekend. it's so hard to decide what to feed out of guests isn't it? first i wanted to keep it simple, but then i start to second guess myself and ended up talking myself out of it. and then i decided on north indian.

this is what i made:

watermelon & rose slushie
stuffed bell peppers in makhni sauce
from swati's delicious blog, chatkhor (i baked the stuffed bell peppers instead of shallow frying and added kasuri methi and yogurt to the gravy)
sauteed gingered cauliflower with peas
onion kulcha & chilli naan
jeera rice
vegetable puffs
kadhi
gajar halwa
mango kulfi

mango kulfi: mix some cream cheese until smooth, add a few fresh pureed mangoes and some whipping cream & freeze in popsicle or kulfi molds.

rose watermelon slushie: puree some watermelon, add a few tablespoons rose syrup & takmaria or sabja seeds. serve over crushed ice.

i don't have exact recipes because i just winged it.

so what do you guys think of the menu? what do you make when entertaining? do you go all out or try to keep it simple?

14 comments:

Uma said...

Mango kulfi and the rose watermelon slushie look so colorful. The menu is mouth-watering. I would do just like you when I invite some guests. I don't like to go out when we invite them to our home!

Hetal said...

lovely recipes....these are so colorful and refreshing.

J said...

Thats a lot you've cooked. We keep it simple at home.

Sagari said...

yummyyyy and perfect for this summer

LageRaho said...

haha.. the food was really good.. great job.. :)

Tif said...

What a great looking menu! I love that you incorporated rose water in the slushie. I'm always surprised how much a little dash changes the flavor of drinks.

We do a fair amount of entertaining, and I guess sometimes we go all out and other times we keep it simple, it mostly depends on who we've invited. I have to admit though, I love a simple dinner party when you can really enjoy the food and the guests.

Alpa said...

lage raho - Thanks Dharmesh!

Tif - Thanks for visiting, you have an awesome blog! You are so right - it is usually better to keep it simple, but for some reason, I get so excited I always go overboard, LOL!

Swati Raman Garg said...

hey alpa i did comment here when i saw this post but mine has vanished..... urs was a perfectttt menu and hats off to u ...

ayumills said...

You are such a great host! I would love to be invited for awesome food that you make. I love Indian food so much that I try different food every time I go to Indian restaurants and I am learning some cooking too. Your blog helps!
When I have friends over, I end up providing Japanese food. Boring to me a little, but I am the most confident that way.

Cynthia said...

The menu sounds delicious and like a lot of work!

I often have to make a conscious to hold myself back because I tend to want to go all out :)

Prixie said...

appetising menu...love the veg variety!

Alpa said...

Swati - thanks so much, the bell pepper in makhni was a hit!

ayumills - You're so sweet!!! I know indian food requires so many different spices and ingredients, so that makes it seem harder than it really is!

Cynthia - Thanks!! I always end up going overboard when someone's coming over for the first time, lol!

Prixie - You're too kind! Thanks for dropping by!

Aditi..............:) said...

I lovvvveeed your blog dear!!!
It has lovely pictures, i literally longed for you gujurathi thali!!
First time here.......will keep coming!

sheryl said...

I love the color of the watermelon slushie! Will have to try to do it, now that we have some warm weather. :)