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11.10.2008

Franco Indian Dinner Party




A few months ago, after our trip to London, I volunteered to cook an Indian dinner for my Auntie Mame's friends. They had recently gotten married in the UK and this was a little thank you for their generous hospitality to us when travelling. I freely admit I am an novice when it comes to Indian food. And I chose a Franco /Indian cuisine based on a incredible dinner I had in London at La Porte des Indes,a more upscale restaurant. Their cuisine was inspired by the French Creole cuisine of Pondichery. I went up to the Devon area and gathered most of my ingredients. I settled on these dishes for the menu:

Lamb Samosas with Sauce Creole
Minced lamb cooked with garlic, ginger, onion,paprika, coriander, turmeric, garam masala bay leaf and cinnamon stick. Add peas and stuff into ready made puff pastry. Serve up with a Sauce Creole of tomatoes, radish, red chilies, red bell pepper cooked down to pulp and strained. Onion seeds, garam masala, paprika,sugar, sultanas and vinegar are added reduced to a sauce.


Roasted Garlic and Pumpkin soup ( I used Butternut Squash)
Pumpkin or squash is chopped,softened and cooked in butter. Chili powder, turmeric, Fresh cilantro, 9-10 garlic cloves are added . Mixture pureed and topped with cream and chives. I doubled the recipe and added some sugar to bring out some flavor.


Lime and Garlic Pickle ( store bought)


Poulet Rouge
I took chicken thighs and made a tandoori paste of lemon, chili powder, garlic, ginger, Red chilies( couldn't find Kashmiri), cumin, coriander, garam masala, and Greek Yogurt. Marinated it overnight. Grilled at home and shredded( did not have clay oven for tandoori). Fried up garlic paste in butter,tandorri masala powder, onion sauce( a reduced pulp of onions and cloves, cinnamon , and bay leaf) and add yogurt and heavy cream. Add chicken et voila! Very rich and spicy.


Spinach and Paneer
Sauteed spinach and fried paneer cubes with fenugreek, tomatoes,green chilies, cumin, onion, garlic and cream.

Belgian Chocolate and Praline Kulfi
An Indian ice cream made with reduced whole milk , sugar, cream, white and dark chocolates with a homemade cashew praline.
It took about 2 days Of prep as I wanted to cook most in my place and Kitchen, then transport over to my aunts place. Indian cooking is very laboured , but I love it I love the scent and sound of all the various spices popping and infusing in the hot oil. Certain Someone and my aunt were very impressed. Certain Someone went to this restaurants branch in Brussels recently and was not impressed,so I'm glad the dinner turned out. One of our guests was the husband of Jeanne from Cooksister. It was a little weird cooking for a fellow bloggers husband. But while he's in Chicago we all have hit it off very well .He brought some incredible Naan bread for us. Certain Someone did the honors with most of the photos you see here. He's getting really good! I especially like the last shot of the Kulfi.Great conversation and food.The Moet and Kingfisher beer flowed. And everyone went home with leftovers! That's a great sign and accolade for me. If you want more detailed recipe email me. I used the La Porte Des Indes cookbook and there are recipes within recipes. To much to post. But I hope the general descriptions and processes help.

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32 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for making my mouth water. I'm starved now. *sigh*

Your menu looks and sounds delicious. Great photos, too. Good food, good company, what more can anyone ask for? Glad y'all had a good time.

Paz

Anonymous said...

What a feast I love doing big spreads like this you really understand the food. And what better way to say I love you.

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

What a wonderful dinner party! All those dishes look scrumptious and really flavorful!

Cheers,

Rosa

Anonymous said...

Wow, what a wonderful dinner party that was, I wish I was there!

TeachMom said...

This looks almost too good! Esp the ice cream and the samosas. Nice touch with the Moet as well... :) Extra cred to CS, nice looking pictures.

Peter M said...

Courtney, you've outdone yourself! Now you got me wanting to visit Chi-town and invite myself for dinner.

You are wonderous with fusion cuisine.

The Caked Crusader said...

Now that's what I call a BANQUET!

Núria said...

Awesome menu, Courtney!!!! And a Moët Bottle!!! This is a party ;D

Mary said...

Whoa everything looks delicious! Indian food is my favorite and I'm curious about the French connection. You are so lucky to have Devon avenue as a resource too. I used to live 4 blocks north of it.

Darius T. Williams said...

Hey - check your e-mail - the one at cococooks@hotmail.com.

Proud Italian Cook said...

Wow, Coco Cooks... Up a storm!!!!
I agree with Peter, you are in your element here! Nice job, great photo's CS!!

Jen said...

This all looks amazing!

Heather said...

Wow, that's a lot of dishes! I've been craving curry a lot lately, and gulab jamuns. Mmm... gulab jamuns...

So when are you gonna cook my next dinner party? :D

Luca and Sabrina said...

We wish we were there!!! Dear Glamah, I love Indian cooking, I love Indian stuff, I love Indian writers and Luca is so jealous sometimes! Great party!
Kisses
Sabrina&Luca

giz said...

I've had such little exposure to Indian cuisine. I gotta tell you -pretty darned amazing. The lamb samosas - omg.

Chou said...

Courtney, I'm dancing in my seat with joy at this dinner. It looks so good! And I just ate!!!!! Awesome. :) (Oh, I can practically smell the spices in the oil)

Toni said...

Honey, you had me at the samosas! And then I got to the soup. Oh, drool! Oddly enough, I just came across some recipes for Indian food which I ripped out of an in-flight magazine when I was in India this summer. Now I want to make them!

angelinjones said...

You menu makes very very hungry. Hope you enjoyed the party. The most streamlined dishes are the most appealing, such as a trio of chilled fruit soups or steamed barramundi in lemon grass beurre blanc. A lunch buffet and a late-night tasting menu, meanwhile, now forego the fusion to offer more straightforward, but no less elegant, Indian fare.
------------------------
Angelinjones
Interactive Marketing

Laura Paterson said...

What a phenomenal meal - I'm starving just looking at it!

I also love preparing Indian food - the smells are just so amazing!

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

I can't believe you are able to prepare a menu like this and work full time.

Amazing.

aforkfulofspaghetti said...

Wowee. I wish I'd been there. Every dish appeals, big time! That kulfi looks especially naughty, in a good way, of course....

Laurie said...

What a fabulous job you did! Those lamb samosas are calling to me! :)

Deborah said...

I have never cooked Indian food before, but I want to after seeing all of this food!

Emily said...

What a feast! I am so impressed with everything you made.

Nina Timm said...

The roasted garlic and pumpkin soup makes me drool. Yummee!!!

Thistlemoon said...

Wow that is some meal Courtney! I love it!!! I would love each and everyone of those dishes!

Anonymous said...

this post is leaving me really wanting your food. i LOVE the idea of the samosa's with the creole sauce... it's like a perfect blending of cultures!

Jeanne said...

Oh Courtney!! Nick said it was a feast, and now I know he wasn't exaggerating! That Belgian chocolate kulfi is just inspired. Everything looks totally scrumptious and I am once again wildly envious that Nick is having so much fun with you guys in Chicago while I'm stuck across the Atlantic :(

Gabi said...

Wow- I love this food!!!
I adore good Indian food- this looks fantastic. Oh I do wish you were in my neighborhood....
xo

Lori Lynn said...

What a feast! All those flavors. That is really impressive. I have a hankering for those lamb samosas now.

G said...

Blimey, I should have attached my drool cup before reading this post. Well done!

Nikki @ NikSnacks said...

Wow. I'm impressed. Inspired, even. You worked so hard & long on this meal & it shows. Wow. I'm speechless. Which is rare because I talk all of the time. LOL

Wow.