Party Menu Series#1-Mother's Day Cauliflower-Potato Fry

A few of my friends have been suggesting I give them party menu ideas, complete with the time taken to cook everything, which I didn't think was a good idea for me to do-considering that the way I plan for a party is quite haphazard. I run menu ideas over and over in my head, only to change things at the last minute. I've never been scared to try out something new for a party though, so last-minute changes are always inevitable. I'd be the last person on earth you'd want to plan your party menu!

Today, I invited a friend of mine, Priya, and her kids over for a cozy lunch get-together. I will be posting about the dishes that were on the menu today. If it catches your fancy, you could plan your next party around the same menu! This was a very simple lunch, centering around a rice dish, a vegetarian side dish, a non-vegetarian side dish, and a dessert. It might be just right when you want to invite some close friends over for a simple lunch/dinner.

1. The rice recipe was a Parsee-style coconut and cashewnut rice-from the book "India's Vegetarian Cooking" by Monisha Bharadwaj (for recipe, click here)
2. The vegetarian side dish was "Mother's Day Aloo-Gobi Fry"-a cauliflower-potato dry fry, a recipe made up by my mom on one of the Mother's Days that we celebrated, so I fondly named it after that. 
3. The nonvegetarian side dish was Chicken Mixed Masala-again, my mom's own recipe that she makes often and which I love (for recipe, click here)
4. Dessert was Strawberry Cheesecake-recipe given by Priya herself (for recipe, click here)

All the dishes took approximately 1.5 hours, from start to finish, including chopping, washing, mixing, soaking, marinating, stirring, cooking. The dessert requires no cooking or baking, but about 3-4 hours of setting in the refrigerator-that time has not been included here, but time for its preparation has been taken into account. Please note that you could do this faster if you have a 3 or 4 burner stove. Due to space constraints in my kitchen, I have only a two-burner stove, so there's only so much I can do to speed things up! 

So here's the vegetarian dish first-

To serve 6

1. 2 cups cauliflower florets
2. 1 cup potato, cut into small cubes
3. 2 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
4. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
5. 1 to 2 teaspoons chilli powder
6. 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
7. 1 medium sized onion, sliced fine
8. 2 green chillies, slit
9. 1 tablespoon tomato sauce
10. 1 teaspoon soya sauce
11. 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)
12. Salt to taste
13. 2 to 3 tablespoons of oil

• In a mixing bowl, combine the ginger-garlic paste, turmeric, chilli powder, pepper and salt.
• Add the cauliflower florets and potato cubes and mix well. Let it marinate for at least 15 minutes.
• Heat the oil in a pan and when it is hot, add the vegetables.
• Stir for 1 minute on high heat.
• Then add the green chillies and onions and mix everything well.
• Sprinkle some water on top, cover with a lid, and simmer until cooked (will take about 15 minutes).
• Now add the tomato sauce and soya sauce. Check for salt and add more if needed (remember that the soya sauce will be salty).
• Stir for a few more minutes until it gets semi-dry.
• Garnish with the cilantro.

Serve hot. This tastes great with both rice and chapathi.

TIPS:
A friend, Renisha, says she tried out this recipe substituting the cauliflower and potatoes with mushrooms and capsicums instead....try out that combination too!