It Was a Fabulous Dinner

     The girls all had fun with the Indian themed dinner party. I had six wonderful guests, all old female friends with good appetites and even better senses of humor. The cold snacks were out when the last of the guests arrived. Besides the pepperoni, cheese and flat bread tray, I had put out a veggie tray with Baba Ghanouj (roasted eggplant dip). Wanda had made another dip, proper name unknown, but it was delicious as well. There were little flattened lentils all spiced up ... and an extruded and fried chickpea snack which also had quite a bite to it. Polly's hummus was a big hit and soon all our diets had gone straight out the window. Next course ... koftas with cucumber mint dip. Little Indian meatballs ... made with beef, but depending on what part of India, may be made with pork or lamb. The spicy black pepper poppadoms were enjoyed by everyone ... This was new to most of the guests so quite an adventure. There was much interest in the frying process. Meanwhile, I had a big pan of samosas, bahjis and another vegetable fritter type hors d'ouvres which I forget the name of.  That was to be served with tamarind sauce, but I had tasted it the night before and it nearly stopped my heart, so I warned everyone. There were a couple brave enough to try it, and Lu loved the stuff. The entree came next ... Chicken Biryani with sweet mango chutney and naan. That was really good and a big hit. There were lots of 'doggy bags'  packed up after the meal, mostly meant for significant others, but a couple for some special friends who couldn't make it. Polly's taboulleah was delicious and all fresh ingredients. Dessert wasn't forgotten either. Wanda made Kheer, and Indian dessert made with milk, eggs, rice noodles, raisins, and almonds. I can only describe it as something like a rice pudding. Very delicious ... can be eaten hot or cold and I enjoyed mine cold with a bit of cream. All in all it was a great gathering. We all stayed civilized and everyone made it home. A huge success. I'm not even going to get into what it took out of me ... it's two days later and I'm still worn out ... but it was all worth it.