Indian Party Menus ~ Birthday Party Menu

Some delicious options for different occasions, that’s “Indian Party Menus”.
Hope you would find this series helpful when planning your party food menu.

Birthday Party at a Friend’s Home

Theme: Friend’s 41-year birthday celebration
Guests Number: 8
Time: Dinner
Venue: Home
Preparation: Homemade

Party Menu:
Brown Rice and White Rice
Tomato Pappu (Tomato Dal)
Broccoli-Sweet Potato Stir-fry
Plantain Curry
Eggs Vepudu
Coconut Pacchadi
Tindora Pacchadi
Majjiga Pulusu (Tadka buttermilk)

Dessert:
Birthday Cake with Pound Cake
Ravva Kesari

Gifts from Guests:
Coconut-Pecan Burfi (prepared by us)
German Chocolate Fudge Cake

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Broad Beans with Baby Green Brinjals (Vankaya Chikkudu)

This is another dish I prepared with my winter broad bean harvest. In this recipe, I have paired the plump, proteinaceous broad beans with delicious baby green brinjals. Green brinjals should be small, with firm texture and barely-there white seeds. Recognizing these qualities in green brinjals will make this a tasty, successful dish.

Baby Green Brinjals and Broad Beans
Baby Green Brinjals and Broad Beans

Broadbeans with Baby Brinjals (Vankaya Chikkudu Kura)
(for four, for one meal)

Prepare the Ingredients:

    Take 10 small green brinjals. Wash and trim the ends off and cut lengthwise into thin slices. Add them to salted water to prevent the onset of bitterness. Shell broad beans from plump pods. We need a cup of broad beans (Chikkudu Vittanaalu or Papdi Lilva).
    Ginger-green chilli paste: Take 1×1 inch piece of fresh ginger. Peel the skin. Take it in a mortar or mixer. Add 4 green chillies and pinch of salt. Pound or grind to smooth paste.

Prepare the Kura:

    Heat a tablespoon of peanut oil in a cast-iron pan over moderate heat.
    When the oil is hot, do the hing tadka: Add a pinch each – cumin, mustard seeds and hing (asafetida) and toast for couple of seconds.
    Add brinjal pieces and broad beans. Saute until two-thirds cooked, for about ten minutes.
    Stir in the ginger-green chilli paste, quarter teaspoon of turmeric and salt to taste. Mix well and continue to cook for another five minutes. If desired, sprinkle a tablespoon of sesame powder or fresh grated coconut for some extra taste.
    Serve hot over rice or with chapati.

Broad Beans with Baby Brinjals
Vankaya Chikkudu Kura ~ for Meal Today

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Indian Party Menus ~ Birthday Party Menu

Some delicious options for different occasions, that’s Indian Party Menus.
Hope you would find this new series helpful when planning your party food menu.

Birthday Party at a Friend’s Home

Theme: 3-year old baby boy birthday celebration
Guest number: 70 (50 adults+20 children)
Time: for lunch
Venue: Home
Preparation: Restaurant food from Mayuri, Houston & Pizza Hut Pizzas

Party Menu:
Masala Vada
Vegetable Manchurian
Coconut Chutney

Vegetable Salad
Vegetable Biryani
Tandoori Roti
Poori
Paneer Tikka Masala
Navaratan Kurma
Stuffed Brinjal Curry
Boondi Raita
Daddhojanam (Curd Rice)
Mango Aavakaaya and Ginger Pickle

Vegetable, Pineapple and Cheese Pizzas for Kids

Dessert:
Carrot Halwa
Peechu Mithai (Cotton Candy)

Party Favors:
Gifts for Children

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Chikkudu Vittanaala Kura for Sankranthi

Chikkudu (Telugu) also known as papdi lilva (Hindi) is a type of broad bean from India. The tasty pods and plump seeds are culinary delight and part of the menu on Sankrathi festival in our part of Andhra.

The photographed chikkudu are from my garden. I shelled those seeds last month just before the onset of freezing temperatures. With that hearty harvest, it was a glorious goodbye to plentiful 2010-growing season.

Broadbeans, Chikkudu Vittanaalu
Indian Broadbean Seeds (Chikkudu Vittanaalu, Papdi Lilva)

Chikkudu Vittanaala Kura (Chikkudu Seeds Kurma)
(for 2 to 4, for 2 to 1 meal)

Chikkudu Seeds: 3 cups. Bring 2 cups of water to boil. Add half teaspoon of salt to water. To the boiling water, add the chikkudu seeds. Partially cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain the water and set aside the seeds.

Masala Paste: In a skillet, toast a cup of unsalted peanuts. Cool and remove the peanut skins.
In the same skillet, add 1/4 teaspoon each – cumin seeds and black peppercorn, a tablespoon of coriander seeds, 4 cloves and one inch piece of cinnamon stick. Toast to fragrance on low heat constantly stirring. Cool.
Take roasted peanuts in a mixer. Add the toasted spices and also 1×1-inch piece of fresh ginger, 2 peeled garlic cloves, 2 tablespoons of tamarind pulp and 2 tablespoons of crushed jaggery. Add quarter teaspoon of salt. Blend everything together into fine paste. Add half cup of water for easy blending.

Chikkudu Seeds Kura: In a skillet, heat a tablespoon of peanut oil. Do the cumin tadka.
Add the chikkudu seeds and masala paste. Add about a cup of water. Season with quarter teaspoon each – turmeric, chili powder and salt. Mix well. Taste for salt, spice and sweetness, and adjust to your liking. Cover and simmer the kura on medium heat for at least ten minutes, until the seeds have reached buttery texture.

Serve warm with rice or roti. For Sankrathi festive meal experience, serve the kura with pongali or sajje rotte with some ghee and pickle on the side.

Chikkudu Seeds Kura
Chikkudu Seeds Kura with Chapati and Lemon Pickle ~ Meal on a Cold Day

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Indian Party Menus ~ Sankranthi Menu

Tiyya Pongali (Sweet Pongal with Jaggery)
Pulagam
Chikkudu Vittanaalu Kurma (Indian Broadbeans Kurma)
Peanut-Jaggery Pachhadi
Peanut Pacchi Pulusu
Mirchi Bajji
Ghee
Dahi

Happy Sankranthi, dear friends. What’s on the menu for Sankranthi?

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Fresh Orange Juice

We went through a severe case of winter sniffles last week. Fever and cold, loss of taste and low appetite, it was fighting time for the immune system. I couldn’t prepare anything at home and whatever we brought from outside tasted so unappetizingly bitter. The only thing we found palatable are the fresh fruits mainly adorable oranges. Both fresh oranges and freshly squeezed orange juice became our mini meals, filling enough to put the body on the road to fast recovery.

Orange Juice
A Cup of Comfort ~ Fresh Orange Juice

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Almond Burfi (Badam Burfi)

Special occasions need something sweet that is simply wonderful. Almond burfi is one such simply wonderful, quick and easy sweet that is nutritious as well. This classic Bharath mithai is a favorite of mine and one of the sweets I made and took to London. Almond burfis are the perfect dessert for the holiday indulgent mood, my sister and family enjoyed them.

Almond Meal
Fresh Almond Meal

Almond Burfi (Badam Burfi)
(for about 40, 1×1-inch square sized burfis)

Ingredients:
6 cups, whole almonds
6 cups, cane sugar
1/2 teaspoon, finely crushed cardamom seeds

Equipment:
food processor
a big, sturdy pan and ladle
a flat tray to pour the burfi mixture

Method:
1. Prepare the Almond Meal:
In a big bowl, cover the almonds with water and soak for at least 4 hours. The soaking process helps loosen up almond skin and the skin peels off easily.
One by one, peel the almond skins. When you are done with peeling, gently pat and dry the now skinless, white almonds with a clean kitchen towel.
Take almonds in one to two cup batches in a food processor. Pulse and grind to fine meal.
From 6 cups whole almonds, you will get about 8 cups of almond meal.

2. Prepare the Sugar Syrup:
Combine two cups of water and sugar in a heavy-bottomed, big vessel and place over low heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves completely and then raise the heat to medium and gently boil until sugar reaches softball consistency. To know the right consistency – do the cold water candy test. Take quarter cup of water in a small bowl, add a drop of sugar syrup to water. When the syrup holds its shape and doesn’t dissolve in the water (softball), then it is at the right consistency.

3. Prepare the Almond Burfi:
Add the almond meal and cardamom powder to sugar syrup when the syrup is ready. Keep the heat on medium and cook, stirring continuously to prevent the mixture from sticking to the pan.
In about 10 to 15 minutes, the mixture will start to come away from the sides of pan easily – this is the signal to turnoff the heat. Immediately pour the mixture on a flat, ghee applied tray. Level it evenly with a spatula, and cut into squares. Let cool.

When the burfi is thoroughly cool, cover the tray with another tray. Reverse and gently tap to loosen the pieces. Separate the squares and store them in an airtight container. Because the burfi doesn’t have any milk products, almond burfi will stay fresh for up to a month.

Almond Burfi
Simply Wonderful ~ Almond Burfis (Badam Burfis)

To decorate the burfis, place edible silver or gold foil over cooled almond burfi, and gently press slivered almonds into each square for the festive feel.

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Holidays in London

Vijay and I went to London to visit my sister for the holidays. We had a wonderful and memorable time sightseeing and spending time with family and friends. Here are some pictures from the trip.

The Tower Bridge
The Tower Bridge

London Tower
The Tower of London

London Eye
London Eye

Parliament and Big Ben
The Palace of Westminster and the Big Ben

Greenwich Time
Greenwich Time and Prime Meridian Line

Beautiful Bournemouth Beach
Beautiful Bournemouth Beach

Swamy Narayan Mandir, London
Spectacular Swaminarayan Mandir, London

Balaji Temple, Birmingham
Peaceful Balaji Temple, Birmingham

Snow Girl with Rosemary Hat
Snow Girl with Rosemary Hat ~ Made by My Sister’s Daughter

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