Indian
Every month my three best friends and I have been hosting dinner parties with exotic themes. Last month Sharon did Thailand, and this month I decided India would be the theme for my dinner party. Though I like Indian food, I had never cooked it, so this would be a first.
I called up my three friends to tell them the theme and to ask them to wear saris (an Indian garment that is a long piece of material you wrap around your body sort of like a toga.) All of them were so excited about the party because they all had made their own and were thrilled to have an occasion to finally wear them.
I cleared the furniture out of my living room except for the coffee table which I covered with a beautiful Indian print remnant I picked up at the fabric shop. I took all the cushions off my sofa and put them on the floor around the table. I draped sheer material on the walls and over the windows to make it look less like a living room. I set the table with some beautiful flat, maroon plates I picked up at an import shop. As a bit of a joke, and to add a bit of a Bollywood feel, I inflated a giant elephant and hung a shimmer curtain in the doorway of the living room. Both of these items I'd found at a party shop. Finally, I lit some candles and incense scented with relaxing sandlewood, to enhance the feeling of the Far East.
The dinner menu was Tandori fish with fresh peach chutney and minted yogurt sauce, stir-fried green cabbage with fennel seeds, rose-cashew skillet naan and pears poached in saffron syrup. The recipes that I found on the internet were easier than I thought. To drink there was chilled water and white wine.
I put on CD of Indian music just before the other ladies arrived and took one last look around. Everything looked perfect. Before long everyone arrived and we sat down for a lovely dinner. No one could believe I had cooked everything myself.
After dinner, we watched the movie "Kama Sutra", which is both erotic and uplifting. Everyone wanted to learn more about the Kama Sutra and Indian dancing so I pulled out the video tape I had just picked up that day entitled 'an instructional video for Indian dance'. We tried to follow along, but it wasn't easy because none of us were in shape. Kelly took some pictures of us clowning around.
We danced a little, but mostly talked until late. It was 1:00 in the morning when my guests finally left. I managed to put the dishes into the sink before I flopped down on the mound of pillows on my living room floor and fell asleep.
The next day, one of my girlfriends called asking me for the recipes. She also told me she was going to re-create the evening for her boyfriend in a few weeks. When I asked her why she was waiting so long she answered said she needed time to learn some more dance steps from that tape, if I wouldn't mind letting her borrow it. She also borrowed the movie "Kama Sutra" !!!
