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Menu for an Indian Wedding Reception

Nothing can be more fancy and extravagant than an Indian wedding followed by a   reception. Choosing the menu for an Indian wedding reception is not an easy task. You have to keep in mind the favorites and preferences of your guests. Not only that, you also need to remember that there should not be a dearth of the food that you provide. Everyone should get enough and food should be there in plentiful. Not only food but there should also be options of drinks made available.

To begin with, the organizers of the reception should take special care in selecting what they will be serving as appetizers. This is a thumb rule because what you offer as appetizers will serve as the first impression on your guests and you would inevitably want this first impression to be the best one.

If you plan to serve your guests in a cocktail manner, then finger food or canapé would probably be the best option. You could serve them a wide range of dishes starting from Samosas, Aloo Tikki, Chicken Tikka, Seekh Kebab, Spring rolls, Paneer Tikka, Tandoori Shrimp with a dip and a lot more. Now, if you plan to go in for a buffet style since that seems to be more of the trend nowadays, you could have a number of options like the Malai Chicken, Chicken Tikka, Reshmi Kebab, and Haryali Tikka. You could also serve up some savory vegetarian dishes like aloo tikki chaat, paapdi chaat, fish pakora, cheese pakora, chicken pakora, lamb and shrimp cutlets. Since, Indians love a whole lot of variety when it comes to food; it is no harm to serve as many appetizers as you want. The more there is the better it gets and the merrier the wedding reception turns out to be.

It is important to remember that Indians can fill their stomachs and relish their palates only with the help of appetizers. So to serve a scrumptious meal of delicacies is the foremost thing a wedding planner must remember while sketching the menu for appetizers.

If dinner is going to be served late, then you must be able to offer a wide range of appetizers to your guests and they should be filling because you surely would not want your guests to go hungry on such a celebrative occasion. The best and most viable option will be to serve a buffet style dinner than the traditional way where all guests are made to sit and then the waiters come serving the different dishes one by one.

If you do go in for the buffet style, try out something a little different. Maybe if you spread an assortment of salads- chicken Hawaiian, Russian, green, fruit, crab and asparagus, Caesar salad, Greek salad, Macaroni, Panzanella etc. a salad bar could also serve your purpose as there may be many diabetic, health conscious or plain salad lovers who will be attending the wedding.

For the main course, you should definitely have a mix of sweet and sour, meat and vegetables. If you want more meat in your menu, you could opt for something like a Fish curry, Butter Chicken, Chicken Tikka Masala, Goat Curry, Lamb curry, Mutton Rogan josh, Kadai Chicken and Chicken Lababdar. If you want to include vegetarian dishes in your main course, you could choose from preparations like Palak Paneer, Kadai Paneer, or some Paneer tikka masala. You could also include sweet dishes like the Shahi Paneer, Malai Kofta and savory dishes like Daal Makhani, Tawa vegetables, Channa Masala, Aloo Jeera and Baigan Patiala.

Whatever be the case, the menu should be well planned and appropriately served so that your guests can have a wonderful time during the reception and always cherish the moment and the food for years to come.

Butter Chicken

After my first post recently, I thought it would be nice to share a butter chicken recipe with you. Because Butter Chicken is the one of the must have items in Indian Weddings. The delectable taste of butter chicken is sure to bowl you over. The fresh yoghurt or whipped cream and the aroma of butter make it a dish worth relishing.

I can’t tell you the number of times I have gone to an Indian restaurants & Parties where my other half ordered a butter chicken and begged,”Can you make this at home?’ I had no choice but to learn how to make this. So I turned to the best chef I know when it comes to Indian cooking- Mr.Sabbi from Dreams Convention Centre. I slightly modified his recipe by adding a few more spices…

I once read somewhere that butter chicken was created when a hungry man walked into an Indian restaurant and they had no curry left. The chef decided to whip up a quick meal by throwing a chicken Tikka into simple gravy of butter, tomatoes and a few spices. And thus, butter chicken was born. Originating from Mughlai cuisine, it has lashings of butter (duh!) and cream to give it that dreamy, creamy texture. The gravy is mild but strong in flavours and uses rich ingredients such as cashew nuts and lots of butter, thereby the name ‘Butter Chicken’. What I love about this recipe is that it doesn’t contain any food coloring to give it that gleaming red color.

Recipe-

To prepare the gravy, heat and melt the butter in a deep pan.  Add to it the cardamoms, cinnamon sticks and Fennel Seeds, stirring frequently and gently till they become darkened slightly. Stir in butter, ginger-garlic paste, kasuri methi, 1 teaspoon garam masala, cook for 2-3 mins. Add salt & pepper to taste. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add fresh tomato sauce (you can use canned tomato sauce too), and cook for few minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in whipped cream and yogurt. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add chicken Tikka (white Meat) to sauce. Stir chicken into sauce. Stir in a few spoons of honey, and simmer until liquid has reduced, and make sure to cook the chicken until it becomes tender and the gravy is reduced to about its half of the original amount. Garnish with butter or kasuri methi.

Ingredients:

500 grams of  Chicken Tikka ( Cooked Separately)
1 cup yogurt
2 tsp ginger
2 tsp garlic
1 garam masala
3 tbs butter
2 cardamoms
1 cinnamon stick
1 tbs fennel seeds
4 medium ripe tomatoes, blended
1 tbs tomato paste
1 tsp garam masala
1 tbs honey
1 tbs kasuri methi
250 ml whipped cream
extra butter to garnish

Martini Bars  - Make big Impression on your Guests 

Martini Bars are in. So let your senses go wild and plan a martini bar wedding theme if you are planning to tie a knot in 2012. This would help you create a big impression on your guests. Martinis are never out of fashion and in 2012 they will more in demand. Therefore, having a martini bat at your wedding will set your guests in the perfect mood and make your wedding the most fascinating one.

Martinis are available in a wide range of colors and flavors. Although the most common and favorite ones still remain gin, olive and vermouth. It’s a great idea to go for a flavor or color that matches with the theme of your wedding. In this way you can add that extra glamour to your reception venue and make every guest remember this special occasion for life long.

To enjoy your signature martini experience to the fullest, have the venue or caterer set up a separate “martini bar”. Having a martini bar at your wedding will set your standards high among your guests. If you want to think in a little nontraditional way then hire a wedding planner who can design a swanky bar at your wedding venue. Choose a proper corner of the venue where your guests can gather easily for a drink. Make low lighting around that area to arouse the perfect mood in people. Use only quality “glass” … not plastic … martini glasses. Elegance is allergic to plastic!

If you have planned your reception party to run between 6 p.m. and 10 p. m. then a martini bar is a must at the venue. Make low sitting arrangements and play some slow music. Also ask your guests to dress accordingly. You can choose a color theme and decorate the venue in a subtle way. Or maybe since it’s an evening party, you can ask your guests to be dressed up either in black, blue, maroon or brown.

Prepare a lounge area around the martini bar. Your venue could have bright lighting, mostly in the reception and dining area. But make sure you bar area has low lighting. This would give a jazz club feeling to the place. You can ask your wedding decorator to arrange for stylish glassware lighting. It would add an extra glamour to the venue. Many might suggest you candles. But what you need is neon lights to make your venue look elegant.

Your wedding planners can also suggest you live music instead of recorded ones. So hire a band. And if you have a tight budget, hire a DJ. Give an extra attention to the bar counter. Give it a retro look with cut glasses on the table and cocktail napkins. Olives in cheese cubes will just be an icing on the cake. Choosing a bar tender is a tricky job. Some are natural showmen; some have learned the art to the glory of being real. Avoid acrylic or plastic plates. Instead you must go for glassware bar counter. A pyramid shape martini bar counter is the hottest trend of 2012.  But you can go for other shapes in assistance with your wedding planner.

For More ideas : www.gpsdecors.com & www.lgms.ca