Spice It Up! Behind the Scenes...

There was some serious spice going down at our apartment last weekend, since my roomate Nikita was cooking up an evening of north Indian cuisine.  Sometimes life calls for a party, and we are thankful for everyone who came to get their spice on!   For a glimpse behind the scenes, I assure you that it all starts with Nikita's spice box.  Let's take a look.

Party Menu:

Samosas-Fried potato and pea pockets

Palak Paneer- [Spinach Cheese]- Also known as Saag Paneer

Chicken Masala Curry

Aloo Gobi [Potato Cauliflower]

Pulao [Rice]

Tofu Capsicum [Tofu Bell Pepper]

Roti [Indian bread, whole wheat flour]

Naan [Indian bread, refined white flour]

11am.  Kitchen in full action.  

The Indian Diaries

I love living with Nikita.  Nope, I don't mind walking into the kitchen, sneezing as puffs of chile powder envelope me.  And where else can I wake up to the scent of cardamum and cinnamon, a whiff of homemade chai?  Thank you Nikita.  A year ago I started documenting her recipes on this blog through The Indian Diaries.  If interested, several recipes including the Pulao and the Aloo Gobi are already posted.
Dreamy Creamy Mango Pie

This dessert was the talk of the party, and by popular request, the lovely Utchima has shared her recipe.  I can't believe I neglected to snap a picture, so use that imagination to conjur up sweet images of tropical pie.

Ingredients for 3 pies

3 pre-made graham pie crust

3 cups mango pulp

3 cup cool whip

1 package cream cheese

15 Tbsp sugar

3 bags gelatin (dissolved in 3 cups boiling water

Directions:

1. In a blender, mix dissolved gelatin with mango pulp, cool whip, cream cheese, and sugar for 1 minutes, or until well combined.
2. Pour over crust.
3. Referigerate for 3 hours or until set.
4. Top with cool whip and refrigerate overnight.

Cheers,

The Spice Girls