An Indian Vegetarian Menu for Many

My friend Jon offered to host our book club last year. It didn't happen but at the time I thought I'd cook for it. Whilst there are no recipes here, this is the menu I had planned. Will post the recipes over the coming months.

Indian Vegetarian Menu

Green Lentils with Spinach & Ginger - Masoor Dal

Moderate heat, nutty lentils flavoured with ginger and fresh coriander

Black Eyed Beans with Mushrooms -  Lobbia aur Khumbi

Mild, flavoured with cinnamon and cumin

Sour Potatoes – Khatte Aloo

Cubed potatoes with fenugreek and dried green mango. Mild and served in a slightly sour gravy

Piquant Cauliflower- Chatpatti Gobi

A hot cauliflower dish in a spicy sauce. This has a fair amount of chilli heat. (It will be too hot for Jon!)

Stir fried Cabbage & Carrots – Muttakose Kilangu

A mild dry stir fry flavoured with mustard seeds and coconut.

Fried Green Peas – Chunke Matar

Peas with black cardamom, cumin, coriander and lemon juice, garnished with onion.

Green Pepper Curry – Bhopali Mirchi Peeth

Peppers fried with turmeric and mustard seeds , thickened with chickpea flour

Sweet & Tangy Yellow Dhal – Aamati

A soupy yellow lentil dish with Garam Masala and fresh coriander

Leeks with Lime – Subzi Nimboo

Tangy and refreshing, marinated leeks served at room temperature. (Not so different from leeks with vinaigrette)

Steamed Basmati Rice

Perfumed with delicate saffron,  cardamom, cloves and cinnamon. (For this volume it has to be a rice cooker so you can "wet it and forget it" as we used to say in the 80s.)

Coconut Chutney – Nariyal Ki Chutney

A fresh chutney –hot and sweet, flavoured with coriander and cumin

Tomato Chutney – Tonk

A hot thick chutney with ginger

Salad – Chacumber

A classic cucumber, onion and tomato salad spiced up a little with chilli, lime and cumin seeds

Bananas in Yoghurt - Kela ka Raita

Flavoured with coconut, for cooling the heat. (Don't think this is authentically Indian but hey!)

Herb Plate

A selection of fresh herbs for guests to garnish their own dishes with – fresh coriander, flat leaf parsley, mint and fenugreek. Sliced chillies dressed in oil for those who want to crank up the heat. (Got this idea from Georgia- the Russian one not the American one, where a herb plate is typical. Just changed the selection of herbs)

Garlic Pickle, Mango Pickle, Lime Pickle

A trio of pickles , all of which add sharpness as well as their own flavour. Garlic pickle will pair with the Dhal dishes, mango with the cabbage & carrot stir fry and the lime will match the green peppers. (Shop bought. Garlic pickle is harder to find but well worth the hunt.)