Indian Dinner Party Menu

We hosted an Indian classical music party over the weekend. The artist was Kankana Banerjee. If like me, you know nothing about Indian classical music, Ms. Banerjee is "one of the leading exponents of classical music in India". She is the recipient of the Kala Saraswati, Andhra Ratna Award which is one of the most prestigious awards from the Government of Andhra Pradesh (from smashits.com). My father-in-law admires her music very much, and we had the honor of listening to her perform. As I mentioned, I haven’t heard any Indian classical music before, so this was quite an experience for me. My little munchkin (my 5-year-old sister-in-law) on the other hand is an old pro; she is very fond of it and has been singing with her Daddy every evening in anticipation of the concert. I do however know food, and I thought it would be fun to share with you all the dishes that were served. You may not be hosting a music party at your home any time soon, but that doesn’t mean that these dishes can’t make a guest appearance at your dinner table!

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9.2.10

South Indian Spicy Nut and Puffed Rice Snack (Chudwa)

Chudwa, sometimes called chevda, is for South Indians what trail-mix is for us. It's a blend of nuts, dried fruit, puffed rice and various typical Indian spices.

It's very easy to make, but like eggrolls, it's time-consuming. It's a big production. One of my sisters-in-law is in charge of assembling the ingredients. My mother-in-law is the one frying the puffed rice flakes. One other sister's job is to sprinkle the spices as soon as the ingredients are out of the oil. My job is to toss the whole thing and, last but not least, the other 2 younger sisters' job is to taste.  It's a tough job, but somebody has to do it.

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