What do you make when friends come for tea but stay back for dinner ?

Discussion in 'Recipe Central' started by hrastro, Sep 19, 2014.

  1. hrastro

    hrastro Platinum IL'ite

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    I'm sure this happens to each one of you !!!
    This happens regularly in our group!

    On weekends, none of us like to just go for malls or even movies will be very rare, if one of us is waiting for some movie to release, we will book for all of us and go together ....

    So on weekends, mornings, each will have some work or office or cleaning etc. One of the kids will start about lets go and play in the other's house... or some relative of the friend would have come and we'll go and say hello or some discussion about finance or about some project or some problem or to plan a trip together - could be anything

    We will go in the evening, after lunch and afternoon nap.

    We'll start with - no no, we just had tea - then have tea and some mixture or sweet and watch some movie and talk and talk and end up having dinner :)

    What happens to the lady of the family? She would have planned something special or she might have limited resources or she might be tired or ill !!

    Of course because we are all friends, we dont mind any food, we help out, we can cook there too !!!

    So what do you make at these times ??

    - situation is - an extra husband, wife and kid(s) are staying for dinner - unplanned - but because they are friends, they will also help and they wont mind any food!!! And you have an hour to prepare !! And there are lots of noisy kids underfoot :) and you really dont want to slog in the kitchen and you too want to chat with the friends :)


    I'll start with what we have done till now - out comes the disposable plates!!!

    1) There's some left over rice - mix curd and make curd rice, Make more rice and mix with til podi, groundnut podi, avakkai pickle and serve with chopped onions.
    - 4 rice items ready. And make maggi for the kids or make potato fry just for the kids and offer with the above rice varieties.

    2) Make a sabji, ask the guys to go out and get rotis and 1 extra sabji

    3) Order pizzas and make dosa for the elderly

    4) Dosas or pesarettu and allam pachadi and podi and curd rice

    5) Make rotis and have with any pachadi or pickle and curd

    6) Pooris and potato curry and curd rice

    7) Put whatever we have together into a mixed rice :)

    8) Tamarind rice ! Ask the guys to go out and buy some chips, samosa and jalebi
     
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  2. DKI

    DKI Platinum IL'ite

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    Has happened to me on more occasions than I care to remember. There is not much going to a friends place just for an hour or something. Most of our friends have a horrible time sense. "We'll be there at 5pm" means we should not expect them before 7pm.

    These are the things I have made when I had a very short notice about having guests:

    1) Jeera rice with dal / paneer sabji
    2) Baked pasta....always a hit if kids are present
    3) I always have pizza kits at home, and takes about 10 minutes to push it into the oven. If there are grown ups too, I may make some chili paneer and add it as a topping for us.
    4) Sandwiches. - with different fillings
    5) Pongal / Chutney
    6) Veg Upuma / Chutney

    I always avoid idli and dosa when guests come because idli is something everybody can eat in their own house and dosa is something that takes a long time especially when there are many people involved.
     
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  3. IndianLady009

    IndianLady009 Gold IL'ite

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    yeah..it happened to me many times..and these days I am prepared for that:)

    1)Kids I give nuggets or sandwich or pasta..

    2)poori.I love the chapathi I get in bulk in a store,i can makie poori or chapthi with it.All I have to do some potato or chana subji,which is super duper easy.Btw,I have the Chick peas cans stacked up:),if there is no enough time for soaking etc.

    3)Idli batter is always home,so make idli or vada types..and for chutney,I have the pickles back from india,all i have to do,just put the tampering and little bit of water/onions to it:)

    4)Other option is Veg friend which is again,i stack up the the frozen mixed veggies at home,so its done.

    5)pasta,and infact pani puri..i have the pani puri stacked up and so is the paste..only thing is mix it:)

    6)If nothing is available or no energy for me.order pizza or something from outside and be done with it..

    PS:Always use the disposable glasses,plates and spoons..so,not much of a cleaning..only thing is kids and their screaming..but I love it too..as long as they are having fun:)
     
    Last edited: Sep 19, 2014
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  4. EverydayBloom

    EverydayBloom Gold IL'ite

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    I prefer to make quick one pot dishes with a side dish.

    - If i have frozen veggies, i made vegetable puloa with onion/cucumber raita
    - pongal with chutney
    - Mostly on weekends we prefer dosa for breakfast, hence end up having dosa batter to which i add onions/carrot/coriander and make oothappams quickly
    - If the friends are close and will be helping, then make chapathis with any paneer or mix veg curries.
    - For kids mostly ordering pizza or will feed one of the above things :)
    - Default curd rice with tempering with above things and fruit salad for dessert topped with ice-cream(will have this anytime in the freezer)
     
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  5. Weasly

    Weasly Gold IL'ite

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    I get a panick attCk! Till now i hv just gained enuf experience ti cook for 2-4 ppl easily! More than that, panick attack !! My mom is a champ though in all this!! Jst like u op, she can whip out anything from thin air!! U ppl hv sm secret u arnt sharing??!! waitingsmiley
     
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  6. hrastro

    hrastro Platinum IL'ite

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    We ARE sharing the secrets, Weasly -- truly we are --- thats why I've started this thread!

    ha ha ha you made me giggle with your answer !

    I was also like you, but learnt with experience !!

    I just have to start with - the kids must be hungry, shall I make something and the lady will get up with me to help. Else, one of the guys will say - make this or do you need some veg to be cut or lets order that or I'll make the fruit salad!

    There have been times when I would be teaching one of the kids or discussing some project with one of the guys and one of their wives would go to my kitchen with my DH and Magick up something to eat !!!

    So some of my friends are so much more experienced than me that they can cook in my kitchen and create stuff !!! kneesmiley
     
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  7. Tavishi25

    Tavishi25 Gold IL'ite

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    samething for me too.( Panick attack). My mom also great cook and cooks in a jiffy. But i am very poooor at it.
     
  8. Priya4oct

    Priya4oct Gold IL'ite

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    It was a panick attack for me in my first year of marriage. A girl who never cooked food for herself, some how managed to cook for two (me and DH) and all of sudden a bunch of DH friends at home (all bachelors) for tea but stayed back till dinner . Out of courtesy, we were offering them to have dinner and they always agreed.

    Now after 6 years..it's not a panick attack ..per my DH, his friends trained me :)

    For me my menu is always -

    When I was in India -

    1 Paneer curry- very quick
    Plain Rice
    Mixed daal fried with onion and tomato
    Bundi Raita
    and chapathi (3 for each)
    Icecream

    Here in USA -
    Every thing is same except chapatti...my fridge is always stocked up with frozen paratha (in case I am tired from office). So when friends come - I make around 10 chapatti and rest frozen paratha.
     
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  9. DKI

    DKI Platinum IL'ite

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    When I read Priya's post I remembered my first year of marriage here in the US. We were the only married couple and every weekend, I would have to cook for atleast 5-6 extra guys. 4 batches of people would come and go (or stay on with the next batch). They were so free with me that they would call me up and ask if it was safe to come over for lunch / dinner....kind of giving me advance notice.

    Once we had invited them for Diwali dinner...but ofcourse I had to go to the temple that day. We came back only at 7pm!!!!! And the whole gang had gone together. So when we left the temple I told everybody to stay put in their houses till I called and said it was ok to come.

    I actually miss those days!
     
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  10. hrastro

    hrastro Platinum IL'ite

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    My my!!! DKI !!! That must've taken a lot out of you !!! You must've become an expert in keeping hungry stomachs full at short notice!!

    Please share your baked pasta recipe, DKI !!!



    Priya4oct, DH's friends trained you well :)

     

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