Ideas For Pot Luck

Hi Priya,

I also started cooking only a few years back...so don't worry, very soon you'll be a pro...and will be doing this while cooking

Since you are just starting out, I'll give some simple recipes only..if you are interested in any others, PM me and I'll send it across later.

Incidentally, Blondie and Meeta - all your recipes look amazing! Thanks for sharing..I'm definitely going to try them out...

ok..so here are the recipes...

Salad:

Mandarin Orange Salad

Romaine lettuce
some mandarin oranges (a can will also do)
grapes
feta cheese
poppy seed dressing (I like the "Naturally Fresh" brand)

• Mix all the ingredients together.

Appetizer:

Aloo pastry puffs
1 pastry puff sheet (this is found in the frozen foods section)
3-4 potatoes
1/4 teaspoon of garam masala
1 teaspoon of dhania powder
1/2 teaspoon of amchur powder
2 green chillies
salt to taste

• Boil the potatoes, peel the skin and mash them together with the spices and chillies.
• Take the pastry puff sheet and cut into 9 small squares. Use a rolling pin to roll out each square a little bit.
• Now take the square piece of the pastry puff sheet and put some of the potato mixture in the centre.
• Dip your finger in water and apply water on all the four sides of the sheet so that the sides can be stuck.
• Now fold the square piece diagonally, in the shape of a triangle. Make the remaining squares pieces in the similar way. (If you are finding it difficult to make a triangle, just go ahead and make a rectangle).
  
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Bake the pastries for approximately 20-30 minutes or until the puffs are golden in color.

Dessert:

Shahi Tukre
1 can of peaches – cut into small pieces
5 slices white bread
3/4 cup milk
3/4 tablespoon corn flour (mixed in 3-4 tbsps. of milk)
1 can of sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
For the Melba sauce-

225 g raspberry jam or strawberry jam
1/2 cup water

• · Mix the condensed milk and the milk.
• · Boil well, stirring continuously.
• · When it comes to a boil, add the corn flour paste and keep stirring till it thickens.
• · Remove from flame and keep aside.
• · Cut the bread into 4 pieces (diagonally)
• · Deep fry in hot ghee or oil until golden in color.
• · As soon as you remove the bread pieces from the oil, put it on a paper towel and try to soak as much of the oil as possible.
• · After the bread is cooled down, put it into the serving dish.
• · Spread 1 tbsp. of the condensed milk mixture on each bread piece.
• · Put the peach pieces all over the bread
• · Prepare the Melba sauce by boiling together the raspberry or strawberry jam with 1/2 cup of water and straining it after that.
• · Pour 1-2 tbsps. of the melba sauce over each bread piece
• · Chill

Millionaire Pie
20 oz can crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 cup lemon juice
14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
9 oz container of whipped topping
2 graham cracker pie shells

• Mix lemon juice and condensed milk together.
• Add drained pineapple and nuts.
• Fold in whipped topping.
• I butter and heat the pie shell, though the recipe does not call for that.
• Pour filling into two shells.
• Cover with whipped topping and sliced fruit.
• Chill.

I use more of the pineapple and whipped topping btw.

love,
Aarushi

Hi Priya,

here is one of my favorite recipes. Easy to make, quite nutritious and enjoyed by one and all. Hope you like it too....

RecipeDetail

If the above link does not work, please go to Kraft Foods - Great Recipes and Food Ideas and search for strawberry-peach crisp.

Hope it helps.

BTW when I have a mixed crowd, I follow quite a recipes from this magazine/website.

Hi Priya,


Nice to hear the above receipes. I would like to give my opinios.
Pokora is a nice small snack. Side dish is not needed, However goes well with Mint-Tomoto Sauce. Pesto ( pasta) is a nice receipe. You can subtitute pesto of your choice like for pine nuts walnut is agood subtitute. For Basil, Mix of Mint and Coriander is good choice. Other wise you substitute with mix of nuts with onion, garlic, tomoto , redchilli with coainder leaves. Hope i have helped a bit.
Bye for now,

Aarushi,

for the shahi tukre have you tried substituting tea rusks instead of deep frying the bread pieces in ghee/oil ??
I did and there is really no difference in the taste at all and even overnight (left overs) retained the same amount of crispiness (deep fried leftovers turned mushy after a day in the fridge). It cuts the prep time down drastically. I brush each piece both sides with melted butter with a pastry brush and arrange them in a bake pan, and warm them in the oven top rack for 5 to 7 minutes at 175.


I loved the idea of putting a piece of fruit & spreading melba sauce on the top. I will try this next time and will use different fruits/flavors/ colors on the same batch. I am sure it will be treat to the eye as well as yummy...(but the die hard double ka meetha fans will have trouble recognising it ) :)

Wow Blondie,

Tea rusks is a wonderful idea!! I'm definitely trying that out this week.

Thanks for the tip!!

And yeah, do try the fruits with this dish...I had tried strawberries also once, but somehow the peaches go extremely well with it...

love,
Aarushi

Hi Pushpa/blondie,


Can the shahi tukre with the tea rusks be made say a day ahead?? I loved your idea of substituting. So much more healthier. Wanted to make this for hubby's surprise party, but i need some dishes that can be made ahead. So wonderinghow this will hold up.
Please do let me know

Vandhana

Yes Vandana they can be made ahead of time.

my version is as follows:

1 packet tea rusks will be enough to serve 10 people with plenty left for seconds. So you might want to plan accordingly.

prep the milk ( i boil 2 cups whole milk and after removing from mw / stove add coarsely powdered nuts (almonds,pista,cashews & cardamom ) and also sugar according to taste. Add quarter packet of pudding mix (vegan one with out any animal fat) and allow to set.

brush both sides of the tea rusk with melted butter and arrange them in a baking pan (which can also be used for serving) and warm in the oven. Remove and pour the set milk over the pieces. I use left over kalakand or khoya pedas that I store in the freezer crumble them and sprinkle over the top along with a pinch of crushed saffron.

the whole prep time should not take more than 15 minutes once you have all the dry ingredients ready.

Just before serving warm again in the oven( 5 min.), serve with a dollop of cool whip/ reddi whip on top. OR it tastes equally good served cold.

Great Pushpa,

Love your recipe. I will try it out and give you feedback.

Thanks once again.

Vandhana

Dear Priya

Some more suggestions -
* Kulfi
* Rice pudding (kheer)
* Cut fruits
* poppadums with mango chutney
* Fried rice

Charu..

There is one recipe that never flops! masala vada. Grinding is easy as the dough needs of coarse anyway. It always came well even in my Black & Decker. I'm making that for potluck at my colleague's place. let me know if you need the recipe.

rithi