Indian "Fusion" Dinner

[Mallet]

I've decided to do an Indian-themed dinner party. There's no sense trying to make authentic Indian food, since our Indian postdoc occasionally invites the lab over for supper and we load up on the good stuff there. We thought it might be fun to do a sort of 'fusion' meal, but are coming up a bit short on ideas (handicapped by my lack of knowledge of Indian food and his lack of knowledge of North American food). Everything must be vegetarian (dairy is ok, but not eggs). Here are some of the ideas we've come up with:

-onion badji 'wings' (blue cheese centre, spicy dipping sauce)

-sagoo soup (potatoes, carrots, and turnips with spices)

-frozen raita (frozen yogurt with mint and cucumbers, topped with crushed chilies)

-indian cheese platter (assorted cheeses, accompanied by indian pickles, chutneys and spice mixes, no clue on the specifics )

Notably lacking is some sort of main dish. Any help would be appreciated!

[toweringpine]

I have been toying with the idea of a 'Pulled Pork Vindaloo' for an upcoming family event.

[hummingbirdkiss]

I have been toying with the idea of a 'Pulled Pork Vindaloo' for an upcoming family event.

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YES do it!!! ..I make this all the time!!! .. and it is wonderful for a large event !! do two kinds of meat pork and chicken one hot one mild and some dahl ...put them all in warming trays...then put the condiments out in bowlsyou can serve it with warmed toasted tortillas and condiments like, chopped cilantro, limes, tarmarind chutney, mint chutney, yogurt with cucumber (riata) ...roasted veggies...for family dinner just the meat some warm tortillas and a tomato cucumber riata is all you need! . ....everyone loves it ...we jokingly refer to it as vindaloo vieja

you can do this completely veg with lentels instead of meat

I believe this will be what we are having this weekend thanks for the thread!

Edited June 1, 2007 by hummingbirdkiss (log)

[Dianne]

How about a "lasagna" style dish with Indian spiced eggplant and crumbled paneer and a tomato sauce with Indian spices?

Or a vegetable/lentil stew which is sort of a curry? With various breads for sopping.

[Peter Green]

It's a pity about the vegetarian thing. A lot of the Northern Indian recipes for lamb work really well with game, particularly venison and moose.

Something that could be fun, how about trying a palak paneer lasagna? That'll fit with the dietary restrictions if you avoid egg noodles.

Or a watermelon curry?

[JasonTrue]

I made these two paneer dishes a while back... the fried paneer was a bit fusiony, served with a peach chutney and dusted with katakuriko (basically potato starch).

[Mallet]

Great ideas so far! Dietary restrictions are never fun (using moose or caribou would be brilliant, and pulled pork vindaloo ), but I would like to conform to my friend's restrictions, especially since we will probably be cooking together. Some sort of paneer lasagna sounds like it could be fun, maybe alternating layers of palak and tomato?

Jason, would you mind posting your recipes for those paneer dishes? They look great.

[Bond Girl]

How's about spring vegetable ragout with delicate Indian spices if you happen to want a seasonal menu, or a Indian vegetable pot pie?

[toweringpine]

How about a "lasagna" style dish with Indian spiced eggplant and crumbled paneer and a tomato sauce with Indian spices?

Or a vegetable/lentil stew which is sort of a curry? With various breads for sopping.

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What a great idea! Perhaps a layers of eggplant, paneer and spinach with an Indian style tomato sauce.

I tried making onion bhadji for the first time a few weeks ago. A blue cheese dip for them sounds fantastic!!

[Dianne]

Oh yes, the spinach sounds like the very thing. I think I would season the eggplant slices and grill them before building the layers.

Do keep us informed as you go along.

[JasonTrue]

Recipes for the paneer dishes... well, it's been a long time, and I didn't use a recipe to begin with..

The fried paneer itself was simple, just dredged in slightly salted katakuriko (use potato starch if you don't have that). The chutney was made with toasted fenugreek seeds and cloves, and probably a few other spices that I've forgotten (maybe try using a little garam masala), plus fresh ginger. It was adjusted adjusted with lime juice and a little raw sugar during cooking.

The paneer in tomato cream sauce was probably basically garam masala, finely chopped onions, ghee, additional chili, turmeric, and paneer; the cream and tomato puree are added later and cooked until thick.

I tend to cook off the cuff so I'm not entirely sure what I did back then... but you can probably adjust the seasonings to your whims and come up with something decent.

Great ideas so far! Dietary restrictions are never fun (using moose or caribou would be brilliant, and pulled pork vindaloo  ), but I would like to conform to my friend's restrictions, especially since we will probably be cooking together. Some sort of paneer lasagna sounds like it could be fun, maybe alternating layers of palak and tomato?

Jason, would you mind posting your recipes for those paneer dishes? They look great.

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[Mallet]

Oh yes, the spinach sounds like the very thing. I think I would season the eggplant slices and grill them before building the layers.

Do keep us informed as you go along.

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Maybe this idea would lend itself more to a terrine-type dish? Layers of grilled eggplant, curried roasted tomates with spinach and paneer ....

[Dianne]

That sounds lovely.