Help in the party menu

[kritica]

Hi all,
wondering if u guys will help me with a party menu... there are going to be over 100ppl ... and i wanted to start making from today( its after two weeks) i want easy non messy recipes.... for so many ppl.....and one more thing.... i want only vegetarian recipes....
i want thinking of pulisadham but i dont know to make pulikachal.... does anyone know about ti.... send me the recipe....
thanks in advance for the help
kritica

[dev]

Hi Kritica,

100 ppl is a real crowd...Hmmm...If I were U,I would've ordered from a restaurant... Anyways,all the best...Hope U 've someone to help with the prep... For dessert,U can consider gulab jamuns...They r very easy to make & can be prepared ahead of time & stored...

Here's CI(Mysore hudugi)'s recipe for puliogare...This is one of her very famous recipe in Karnataka recipes thread...

puliyogare by CI

It has three stages.

First stage: Making masala powder (you can use any good rasam powder instead of this)
Ingredients:
Coriander seeds - 2 cups
Red Chillies - 2 cups
Fenugreek seeds - 2 Tbsp
Black pepper - 2 Tbsp
Cumin - 2 Tbsp
Mustard - 2 Tbsp
Chana dal - 2 Tbsp
Hing - 7 pinches
turmeric - 2 tsp
oil or ghee - 1 Tbsp
Method:
With little oil/ghee, roast all the above mentioned ingredients (except hing and turmeric) separately. After cooling, powder them finely and keep in an air-tight, dry container.

Stage 2:
Making Gojju:
Tamarind - How much ever you want to make gojju and store it.
Masala powder - Can be put depending on how hot you want. I usually put little less than equal quantity of tamarind.
Jaggery - equal quantity as in tamarind.
Oil - enough (like putting for upma all that stuff)
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp, Broken red chillies - 2, hing - 1 tsp or variable depending on how much u are making.
salt
Method:
Heat oil in a kadai, temper with mustard seeds, chillies (this is just to check for the optimum temperature of oil)
Take very thick extract of tamarind. Pour it to the kadai and stir well. If you make the extract watery, you'll have to boil for long.
After it thickens, add sambar powder, salt,jaggery and keep stirring. You can check for the taste after it has been boiled for 10 minutes and add the powder, salt or jaggery if desired. If you don't stir, it'll splatter everywhere and start sticking to the bottom. Make sure you cover the surrounding area with lots of paper towels.
Gojju is done when it stops spluttering. There should not be any sound from the gojju.
After it is cool, put in a clean glass bottle and store it in refrigerator or freezer (I keep in freezer. Don't worry you don't have to thaw it before using it from the freezer. It doesn't form ice since it has no water content in it).Make sure you don't put wet spoon in it. Do not use steel/metal container to store it. It will spoil the container. (tamarind - acid)

Final stage : Making puliyogare
Ingredients:
Rice - desired quantity. Cook with a pinch of turmeric. Each grain should be separate. Spread it on a plate to cool.
gojju - depending on how strong you want puliyogare to be.
salt,
masala powder you made for gojju - 1-2 tsp
Dry coconut - grated for garnishing
Peanuts
Broken red chillies
Curry leaves
Mustard - 1 tsp
hing - 2 pinches
Oil - 1 ladle for a cup of rice cooked
Method:

Spread the rice. Place the desired amount of gojju on the rice as a heap. Sprinkle salt, masala powder everywhere on rice. Heat oil and temper with all the given ingredients(except grated dry coconut). Pour the oil on the gojju heap. Mix with a spatula. Test for the salt. You can even add gojju if required. If you want hotter, add little more masala powder and mix well. Add grated dry coconut and mix well. Secret is to make it atleast 1 hour before it is served. Do not heat it while serving.

Additional taste increasing:
Dry roast black sesame seeds and an inch of cinnamon stick. Powder and mix to the puliyogare. Remember do not put too much of sesame seeds. It'll make the puliyogare bitter. Optimum would be for 1 cup of rice, 1 tsp of sesame and 1 inch stick of cinnamon.

Note: You might end up with left over masala powder if you use less tamarind to make gojju. You are free to scale the recipe to your requirement.

[MysoreHudugi]

Dev,
Thanks for posting the recipe.

CI.

[kritica]

Hi CI and dev,
thanks for all ur help.... well its too expensive to buy especially roti form outside...i could make them and freeze them....
so thats why all this question.. i have a 25 cubic feet chest freezer other than 2 refrigerator so i have ample of space so i have to just start working....
well i am still not very sure about the idlys yet.... CI ur menu is very helpful..... i will get back to u by the end of the day with my menu.....
kritica
i mite need some help with the recipes....

[dev]

If U r experienced in cooking for large groups,then U might not have much problems...generally, many find it diffi when a recipe is multiplied..

Though it's expensive,it's safe to buy atleast a few dishes from hotel & prepare a few easier ones at home ...I believe U too r planning for the same... Anyways,once done , let us know how u managed things & how the party turned out to be...

[kritica]

Hi dev and CI,
i have finalized my menu for the big day.... first of all let me inform u that there is going to be a ganapathi homam on that day
so i cannot use onion garlic stuf flike that...
my friends start comming for lunch - dinner... from 12:00 i guess.....
the menu is

Idly
chutney
Avial
Urulai poriyal(potato curry)
chapathi( thanks to god i am not making them i am buying 300 of them)
sundal
puliyodharai( pulikachal is going to be made by my aunt)
rasam( i am planning not to make rasam and rice.. just make the curd rice)
rice
vadia
payasam.
thyrsadham
Raita( for puliangam)
fruit salad

the problem only come with an appetizer... i looked for pastry puffs.... but there are not availbable in here( i live in canada).....
idly ---- i have got lots of thattu for idly.. about 50 per yedu....( like using 4 different plates at different timees....so the problem there is solved....if i make masal vadai.. i cannot use onions.. so i am not going with that....

guys please please let me know if u have any appetizers in mind with has no garlic or onion with them and is easy to make and sstore......

i have tandoor veggie.....
like potato, cauliflower, capsicum(bell peper), eggplant.. all marinated in curd with spices( dhaniya, ginger, karapodi, uppu) about 1/2 hour.. and then bake them in the oven.. just enough to get them cooked.....

this is just an idea.. do u have anything like this i want to know an exact recipe... this is going to be quick and fast.. i want to do them previous day... and store them and just put them in oven for about 15 minutes.... and then serve them....
please help me with this will be greatful....

[R]

Hello kritica,

We have celebrated many occasions like aayushya homam, navarathiri etc. and also used to make appetizers without onion or garlic like mysore bonda or urad vada or kala channa vada(that is all coming to my mind now).

Even for paruppu vada, if you grind ginger with dhal and add other veggies like carrot or cabbage & mint or coriander leaves, no one will find any difference and the taste will be very excellent which is my personal experience!!

good wishes!!

[dev]

Hi Kritica,

Sorry to say...I don't have much ideas abt starters... Neither me nor my husb is very interested in vada,bajji,bonda stuff(any deep fried stuff for that reason...only exception is jamun)... so never bothered to learn it or make it...I feel tandoori veg is a good option...wouldn't take much time to prepare & not very messy too...

[kritica]

Hi dev and R,
thanks for ur help.... i will let u know if i want a recipe.. my aunt is going to be there.. vadai is here department... i will come back after confirming with her....
R, i didnot know u can put carrot.. i have tried cabbage with the ulundhu vadia but never carrot... i will try this weekend and let u know...
thanks
kritica

[R]

Hi kritica,

Tiny pieces of carrot is for paruppu vada; for urud vada, incl. cabbage, tiny pieces of coconut or palak keerai can be added.

Rgds.