The dinner, and some of my thinking aloud on the subject

[badseed1980]

This Saturday's dinner with my father should be good. I have planned the menu. I need to buy some stuff (nowhere near as much, actually as I did for dinner with ravenstorm27 andvervain13). I think I'll walk to the Indian shop in Central today and see what they've got, on my way home.

The menu:

Starter: Probably storebought naan and chutneys, though I would love to find an alternative. Every goddamn Indian appetizer is FRIED. (Accompanied by a basil martini: fresh basil muddled with sugar, and Hendricks gin. Maybe a little vermouth.)

Edit: OMGWTFBBQ! This is with HENDRICKS. Put some ROSEWATER in that there martini too!!!

Soup: Mulligatawny, without chunks of meat to keep it light enough for a multi-course meal.

Main course: Tandoori chicken, seasoned basmati rice (saffron and cardamom, most likely), and bhaigan bhartha, a smoky charred eggplant dish with sliced tomatoes.

Dessert: Fresh mangoes topped with a rosewater-cardamom syrup.

Accompanying wine for soup, main course, and dessert: a nice, not-overly-sweet gewurztraminer

Notes to self: I can slice the mangoes and prepare the syrup for dessert in advance. The chicken will have to start marinating on Friday night and go into its second marinade on Saturday MORNING. Most of the chopping, measuring, etc. can be done in advance. Grocery shopping should be completed on Thursday night.

Comments

[pagandelight.livejournal.com]

Would you be willing to share the recipe for the syrup??? Ironically, I'm also cooking an Indian supper for my dad this Friday and I've been looking for a fun dessert! ;-)

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

I don't actually have a recipe for it. I'm planning on winging it. I'll use the proportions of water to sugar for a basic simple syrup, but replacing some of the water with rosewater. I will simmer it with whole cardamom seeds, which I will remove when the syrup cools.

My father has never been much of a dessert person, but I know he appreciates good fresh fruit, so I think this is a nice compromise between plain fruit and an all-out dessert.

[vervain13.livejournal.com]

Basil martinis?

Sounds sooooooooooo good. Not to mention the rest of the meal.

*pout*

I want some.

Glad to know you love your Dad so much this way.

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Hey, if the basil martinis work out well, I will have to make some for you and your hubby sometime! :)

Yeah, my father and I have a lot in common, and cooking is one of those things. I thought this would be a better present than buying him yet another cookbook or CD.