Namaste!

Attendees: Mountie, Eliza, Cliff, George...



Attendees (continued): Bette, Peanut, and Van
Cocktails: Lychee Martinis
Appetizers: Spice mix and Vegetable Samosas (store bought)
Main Course: Nepali Grilled Chicken with fresh jalapeno chutney
Sides: Cucumber salad with hot spiced mustard dressing, naan, basmati rice, and raita
Dessert: Metai (Store bought Indian sweets)

Peanut surprised me on Thursday: he woke up 30 minutes before me (a weekday first!) and by the time I had risen from bed, he had our Saturday menu all picked out! He had picked out 4 dishes from Mangoes and Curry Leaves. I'm not going to lie- I was a bit frightened. I grew up on South Asian cuisine, and I knew that there was something of a magical touch in making it work. But I was willing to give it a shot.

First things first: Indian is all about the right spices, so I made Peanut walk with me after work on Friday to Georgetown, where we went to Dean and Deluca to buy two staple Indian spices:





Indian food is NOT about skipping steps. I got down and dirty with a mortar and pestle, grinding some cumin seeds.



After yoga on Saturday, Peanut and I also drove to Langley Park, where we stopped at Jasmine Bazaar and Udupi Palace, where we procured not only the mustard oil, naan, and metai, but also the vegetable samosas we served as an appetizer.



While I made the marinade for the chicken, I sent Peanut and his brother Van out to grill the chicken.



The chicken was delicious- the best bbq chicken we've ever made! Doesn't it look great?



This was the primary side dish: cucumber salad with hot spiced mustard dressing. I had never had anything like it before, and it made the trip to Langley Park for the 3 tablespoons of mustard oil totally worth it!



We also picked up a selection of metai, or Indian sweets. The orange pretzel-looking things at the bottom left are called jalebi- they are my favorite! I was so happy that Udupi Palace had them! I think I was the only one who liked them. Oh well...

In my opinion, this was one of the best meals I have ever made. Is it Peanut's ability to identify great recipes, or perhaps the Dean and Deluca spices? Or perhaps it's just in my genes!