Indian Potluck

I've always been skittish about hosting potlucks. The control freak in me has problems letting go. What if the dishes don't match! Potlucks with a theme may be the solution. At an Indian-themed potluck I attended, everyone chipped in. First up, Mango Lassi.

I brought some spicy snacks that I had picked up in Devon on a recent shopping trip. Hello friends with cars.

Homemade somosas with homemade dough. The dough was very hearty and probably took healthy for me, having been made with whole wheat flour. Still, it's always nice to eat food that has been prepared with care.

Chutney aka orange sauce for the somosas. I still think of chutney as something sticky and chunky, but I'm trying to let go.

Raita

Rice. I only just discovered at this dinner is that the trick to get the orange color is to drizzle some saffron infused water over the rice when it's done.

I brought this Eggplant Bhurtha dish - very spicy and fun to make.

This Mutter Paneer starts with a cashew puree, which was surprising but really lent a nice rich aromatic quality ot the dish.

Chicken prepared by our host, courtesy of his mother-in-law's recipe.

And a vegetarian dish from the same source. The image of mother-in-law and son-in-law bonding one weekend over old recipes is sweet. Our host is a bit of a precise fellow, and his mother-in-law has just made these dishes the way she has always made them. So he would consult an Indian cookbook that would call for a cup of a particular ingredient, and then she would proceed to pshaw him and say she just threw in eight spoonfuls. He couldn't take it, I suppose their love doesn't go that far, and measured our her eight spoonfuls, which equals exactly one cup.

And a homemade mango cheesecake. Everyone participating is incredibly busy, and it's such a treat to have people take time out of their packed schedules to make something delicious for you.