Tickled Palates And Gastronomical Delights!!!

Reiterating the fact that I'm a diehard foodie who loves to cook and also appreciates relishing good food,my culinary skills were put to the test yesterday when my husband's colleagues came over for a dinner party. This had been a long pending invitation that coincided with my husband's birthday weekend, and so there I was, stepping up to the plate and debating how on earth I was going to cook South Indian food for 10 international guests.My mettle was sorely tested in this regard because I had to lay off the chilli powder one hundred percent, yet compensate for it by improvising with the spices - a daunting task indeed!

The next challenge was to cater to both the vegetarians and the non-vegetarians, and spread out the dishes to tickle their palates equally. I just couldn't delight the non-vegetarians alone(non-veg food being my specialty) and ignore the vegetarians altogether. Keeping everyone sated and deliriously happy was my goal for the evening. I also had to keep in mind that this was not merely a casual get-together, but rather more of a formal, multiple course dinner for guests who were expecting home-cooked food and nothing of the store-bought kind. This being a South Indian meal, it was only right for the hosts to serve the food to each guest, and not just let the guests help themselves from a buffet spread. And true to tradition, we had to extend the hospitality to clearing the plates and assorted dishes ourselves as well!

Let it be said that the dinner was a resounding success! I kind of surprised myself by improvising on the use of spices to make the dishes flavorful and delicious, and to my luck, all the twelve items I made turned out to be heavenly bites and were well-appreciated by one and all.The coconut rice was a big hit, as were the lemon rice and curd rice. The butter chicken was finished in no time since they went well with the chapathis and naan. The tandoori chicken and lemon fish were requested to be taken home by some, while the vegetarians loved the channa masala, mushroom gravy, and the pan roasted potatoes cooked with red onions in olive oil...all these to name a few. With the aperitifs, appetizers, and desserts, I was able to pull off a magnificent meal single-handedly!

While I patted myself on the back for having pleased the guests and the husband as well, I couldn't help but think of how much I missed India, where I wouldn't have had to so much as lift even my little finger to pull off such a thing! What with the cook and the maids and sundry help, I could've hosted a hundred such dinners with absolute ease! Sigh!!! That's the story of my life...I can't have the cake and eat it too!