Indian Themed Tea Party

I love tea parties and that’s no lie. Every fall I gather the girls for a tea party (complete with hats!) and this Easter we had nothing planned to kick the weekend off so we decided to start a new tradition…An Easter Tea Party. It wasn’t as lavish as my annual girls event but it was a lot of fun with not much effort, all thanks to Patak’s.  Our challenge this month was to entertain with an Indian twist and so you see where I got my idea from! I manage to gather nine guests around the table at a day’s notice which in itself was quite an accomplishment.

Disclosure: I am part of the Patak’s Canada Ambassador program with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog, as always, are totally mine!  

We set the mood by dressing up (though I didn’t mention this to the guests! Oppps!) and as you can see Baby Boy and Little Monkey are both decked out in some outfits I picked up during our India travels two years ago. Our dining table featured my favourite blue silk mats my mom bought me during our shopping spree at Mumbai’s Colaba street. Final touches were added by incorporating a pair of brass tea lights I also picked up in India. All that I had to do was place my fine chinaware and we were good as far as the ambience was concerned.

Menu planning for events is definitely something I enjoy so I spent Thursday curating a menu and managed to come up with dishes that were not only easy to make but also incorporated ingredients I already at home. While nearly all dishes were a hit, not everything looked perfect, there’s some tweaks I need to do on some of the recipes.

Food : Patak’s Madras Curry Paste Potato and Pea Samosas, Beetroot and veggie cutlets, Carol Au Courant’s Patak’s Butter Chicken Poutine, Patak’s Mango Chutney and Cheese Crostini ( I used day old rotis as the base), Patak’s Mild Curry Paste Chick Peas and Patak’s Creamy Coconut & Pineapple Chicken and Asparagus Pizza.

Drinks : Masala Chaitinis served in tea cups (Will share the recipe soon. It was absolutely rumalicious!).

The biggest hit was definitely the Patak’s Creamy Coconut & Pineapple Chicken and Asparagus Pizza and Carol’s Butter Chicken Poutine. I had made the pizza a couple weeks ago and the hubs and Little Monkey both loved it so I knew it was a keeper. I’ve also made it with the Patak’s Mango Chicken and it was also really good. The Pineapple Coconut is our favourite though. It’s such an easy recipe and the kids can get involved too. Sure win in my books.

First saute cubes of chicken ( two breasts are plenty) and a chopped onion in four tablespoons of Patak’s Creamy Coconut & Pineapple sauce. Once fully cooked set it aside. Next take a large flat bread and baste it with Patak’s Creamy Coconut & Pineapple sauce. Go as heavy as you like! Toss the chicken pieces on top, layer some asparagus and you’re nearly done. Grate some cheese and pop in the oven. Once the cheese is melted take it out and cut it up. I used scissors to cut it up for our dinner. That said for the tea party, I was looking for bite sized pieces so cutting the flat bread before basting it was a better idea. It can be tough to cut smaller pieces once it has been baked. Drizzle with hot sauce or chili flakes if you like things spicy. Told you it was easy!

Family and friends gathered around for a casual high tea and the Little Monkey even joined in! We set up a place for her using her own  tea set so she would not break any of the precious china could join in the fun. She had water instead of our the rum masala chaitini of course ;  A friend brought cookies so that’s what she ate for the most part! I completely forgot that I wanted to make some carrot halwa, always next year right? I think we may have found a new Easter tradition!

How did you start the long weekend off?