Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Bollywood and Indian Cuisine-What More Do You Need? ;)

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Friday night was our "Bollywood Night" at Mimi's house.  We had so much fun! :)  Mimi and I dressed up in salwar kameezes (I think that's how you spell it!) that we'd found at Goodwill.  I also wore my bangle bracelets and my anklet.  We ended up watching two Bollywood movies.  It was a great night to pretend I was a teenager again with no obligations.  Just food, friends, and fun. ;)

The first movie we watched was "Dil Bole Hadippa", starring Shahid Kapoor and Rani Mukerji.  It had some great songs and some really funny parts, but it also had enough content in it that it's not one I would recommend.  Pity, too, because some of it is absolutely hilarious! 

Emma and Piper, the two Bollywood fans, joined us for the evening. ;)  In fact, you can read Emma's take on things HERE

Here's a look at our delicious feast.  Mimi went all out when she picked it up from her favorite restaurant!  She and I have both had Indian food before, but my friend from college, who joined us, has never had it.  I can't remember what everything was called (it's only my second time eating Indian food!), but I've labeled everything that I had. :)

The rice is just like our steamed white rice.  It goes great with the chicken tikka masala, which is basically tender chicken pieces in a creamy, spicy (but not too hot!) sauce.  Chicken tikka masala is still my very favorite Indian main dish, by the way. :)  The aloo gobi was really good too.  It has potato and cauliflower in it, both things I'm not a big fan of, but together in the amazing sauce they're delicious!   The garlic naan was awesome!  It's very similar to a tortilla, but it had garlic and other spices on it.  It was really thick and soft, too. :)  The tandoori chicken was something new I tried...not spicy at all and very tasty.  Mimi told me that she normally gets tandoori chicken for first timers because it tastes very similar to chicken the way we normally prepare it.  The mango lassi is another must!  I'm not usually a fan of mango, but these are amazing!  The mango taste is really mild, and they're basically sweet smoothies.  Then there's my favorite Indian dessert so far:  gulab janum.  Imagine a doughnut hole dipped in an incredible sweet sauce.  Yum!!  

I have to admit, I didn't exactly count Weight Watchers points this evening. ;)  It was worth it, though!!  

We finished the evening with "Rab Ne Bana di Jodi", which my friend had never seen.  I did a review for this movie in my Bollywood Reviews post, if you want to know more about it. :)

We had such a fun night!  I think we'll definitely have to schedule another one soon! ;)

I'm hoping to get one more post in before my trip, but I'll just have to see how things go with all of the packing and whatnot. ;)

8 comments:

Priya said...

That sounds fun! I absolutely LOVE Indian food! My favorites are chicken tikka masala, mango lassi, saag paneer, garlic naan, and vegetable pakotas. :)

Korianne said...

SO JEALOUS OF YOUR FOOD! I haven't eaten dinner yet (night class) and my mouth is watering! Also you did a really good job of labeling food, which I know can be a challenge. Very proud. :) glad to see you like the lassies

Hannah Prewett (beastsbelle) said...

Hi Priya! :) Sounds like we enjoy some of the same favorites. :) I've never tried saag paneer or vegetable pakotas...maybe next time. ;)

Korianne, long time no "see"! ;) It's great to hear from you again. Sorry to torture you with the yummy picture. ;)

The food labeling actually worked out pretty well, thanks to Picmonkey.com. :) I thought it would be fun for everyone to see which dishes I was talking about.

Oh, and I don't just like the lassies, I LOVE them!! :D

Have a great week, gals! :)

MulanFan_95 said...

You have to look at this! I posted it to Belle's blog but I wanted You to take a peek of this! http://www.flickr.com/photos/68105287@N03/7311575396/in/photostream By the way, the food you've eaten looks really delicious! I've never tried Indian food.

Hannah Prewett (beastsbelle) said...

Wow, thanks for the great link, MulanFan. :) I've been wondering if they'd change the face molds again. I love the fact that they're going to be fully articulated! :) I have to admit, I'm not a fan of what they've done with Belle. Her dress is gorgeous, and I love the articulation and the fact that her hair is closer to her movie length, but I'm not loving her face. Her eyebrows look much too severe...she's lost her dreamy, innocent look. I also prefer the older versions of Snow White (her current face mold is just perfect!) and Rapunzel (I like the softness of her expression in the new mold, but she looks too heavily made up and not as natural to me). I really like the new Jasmine and Tiana, though. Cinderella is cute too. Aurora and Ariel just haven't been captured to my satisfaction yet (currently or to come...their faces are too long and narrow and they don't look as much like themselves as the other dolls). Pocahontas and Mulan look like they didn't get a new face job. Disappointing for Mulan and Pocahontas collectors (unless they really like the current face molds!).

I understand why they want to keep changing up the Princess dolls (they want us to buy more, people!!), ;) but I wish they'd quit while they were ahead. For those of us who prefer some of the oldest "redesigned molds", it's always sad to see Disney Store move on to something else.

I am still kinda tempted by Belle though...maybe for down the road. Perhaps her eyebrows will grow on me. ;)

Thanks again!

Hannah Prewett (beastsbelle) said...

Okay, Hubby doesn't see the issue with the eyebrows. Maybe I'm overreacting. Of course, as he put it, "I don't stare at dolls all day long like you do." ;)

By the way, I would definitely recommend trying Indian food when you get a chance! :)

MulanFan_95 said...

I totally get your point about the dolls! When the articulated dolls were first introduced, they had dreamy and soft expressions like Snow White, Belle or Ariel, but this new wave is somehow weird... I'm not feeling an Ariel vibe, I like Aurora's face and eyes, but her hair and dress are a dissapointment. I agree with you on Belle! She looks quite malicious or something. Cinderella has a fresh change, but I don't like that color. Rapunzel's face went backwards... I don't like her eyes. Tiana and Jasmine got an improvement! Pocahontas and Mulan didn't got as affected as the others, but it would have been nice to see a bun or a sideways glance on Mulan... sigh, we'll still have to wait.

Hannah Prewett (beastsbelle) said...

I'm still holding out hope that they'll look better in person. Sometimes stock photos don't do the dolls justice. Here's hoping that's the case this time too! :}