Tea Party

It is usually during festival season (mid-October thru’ New Year’s Eve) that we, as a family, miss home the most. Fortunately, we have been blessed with great friends with whom we can celebrate important events like “Diwali”, the Hindu festival of Lights, and feel like we’re back home with our closest family members! This year, we had a simple celebration in the form of a tea party with a twist – festive appetizers with piping hot chai!

I decorated the table with a lovely, pink-and-yellow tablecloth acquired during my last visit to Mumbai from my favorite traditional handicrafts store, “Soma”. I used fresh carnations from “Publix, our favorite grocery store in Tampa, to complete the look.

Each of my guests brought an appetizer. The menu was simple:

“Batata Wada” is a famous Maharashtrian snack made with mashed potatoes dipped in chickpea flour and fried (recipe to follow soon!).

“Chakli” a savoury snack made of  rice flour and lentil flour, usually made during Diwali

“Shankarpali”  a sweet biscuit made with clarified butter, sugar, milk and flour.

“Dahi wadas” – ground lentils in creamy yoghurt sauce. Click here for recipe

We had a lovely time chatting about “Diwali” and catching up on memories of home. A big “Thank You!” to my friends for some truly awesome Indian comfort food!

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