Raj Party - (Indian Theme Dinner) with Naan Bread

On Saturday we were all still recovering from various things (jetlag, tummy bugs, ear infections) so we didn't get out of the house at all.

Late in the afternoon Dash asked if we could have Indian food for tea (butter chicken & rice is his favourite), "with that special bread, mum?" They all love naan bread. Then he said, hey you could look on the computer and we could make some.

One thing led to another and before we knew it we were planning a full-scale Indian theme party.

Miss Fab helped me decorate and set the table. Thanks to our jaunt to Mauritius, I am now fully equipped with a beautiful red and gold sari (which I hung like a canopy over the table). We scoured drawers and cupboards for little tea-light candles and before long the dining room was looking very exotic.

We checked out pictures on the internet of what Indian people wear, and Miss Fab was very excited about being a "sari-girl". We improvised some turbans and saris for the whole family out of scarves, dress-up capes and sheets.

The internet also turned up a great recipe for naan bread (oh so easy) and I just happened to have a can of Watties Butter Chicken sauce in the cupboard (oh so authentic)!

After mixing up the naan dough and leaving it to sit for half an hour, I googled some Indian (Hindi) phrases and we practised saying "Namaste" to each other.

We also chose an Indian name for the night... Dash became Sanjay, Mr G was Shav, Scrag was Ravi, Princess became Madhu and I was Lakshmi. (All named after people we know of course)

A fun night in... yes?

It should have been.

Sadly, although the decorations, food and setting were all fabulous, there was a fresh outbreak of the War of the Wardrobe. Miss Fab protested loudly and long about the fact that her sari was not beautiful enough and we wolfed down our lovely food while trying to get the air raid siren turned off.

Eventually peace was restored, but by then the moment for Indian parties had passed.

Sad. I had envisioned some snake dancing (always good for a laugh, a la "Bride & Prejudice") and pleasant conversation in Hindi - you know, things like "kahaan hai chaaval?" (where is the rice?) and "swadista shukriya!" (delicious thankyou!)

Never mind. Just because our plans turned pear-shaped doesn't mean you can't benefit from the idea! It should have been a great lot of fun.

Just in case you fancy an exotic Indian Evening, here's the naan recipe I found...

Naan Bread/Roti

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup warm water

Directions:

1. Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
2. Add the water slowly, making sure that the whole mixture is covered, to form a soft dough
3. Either in the bowl or on a bench, knead the dough until it doesn’t stick to your fingers. You may need to add a little extra flour for this. The dough should be smooth and flexible
4. Separate the dough into golf ball-sized portions
5. Cover the dough and leave in a warm place for at least half an hour.
6. Roll each dough ball out into circles about 3mm high.
7. Heat a frying pan with a little oil and cook each side for about 20 seconds or until the first sign of bubbles.
   
   Makes about a dozen.