A Virtual Indian Dinner Party
Entertaining has always been a joy for me. Not only does it allow me to bring together friends and family around the table, but it also functions as a creative outlet. It is almost like orchestrating a small theatrical production with its script, actors, staging, costumes, scenery, lighting, music and night-of performance. Similarly, executing a dinner party includes: researching a unique, themed menu; selecting guests who will perform well together; shopping for the ingredients; preparing the meal; setting the table with appropriate “props” and lighting; and picking out background music to set the mood. Finally, the most critical part of the dining experience is enjoying the various courses and lively conversation throughout of meal. The parallels are all there.
My late husband and I entertained extensively during our 40+ years of marriage. Ed selected the wines and methodically documented every menu and wine served along with the names of all our guests. As we agreed, my role was as impresario doing everything else except for loading the dishwasher and hand-washing the Riedel wine glasses. Thankfully, that was Ed’s job.
THE URGE TO ENTERTAIN AGAIN
When my husband died in early 2019, the festive dinner parties came to an abrupt halt. I could not muster the enthusiasm without my partner to welcome guests to our home and wash and dry the glassware. Then, a year later the urge returned. Just as I was gearing up to invite a few people over, the coronavirus hit New York City like a bear caught in a steel trap.
Not being able to share a meal with friends after two months of solo incarceration was making me stir crazy. When a dear friend, Jan Hazard, relayed how she had organized a virtual Easter Egg hunt for her out-of-town grandchildren, the light bulb went off. Why not organize a group virtual dinner party? Then afterwards invite everyone to a digital Happy Hour to discuss the meal and various beverage choices? Our only hitch would be that we could not dine together because of social distancing.
HOW A CHEF SURVIVES COVID-19
I had recently read about Chef Surbhi Sahni, a friend and fellow member of Les Dames d’Escoffier, and how she was managing under the coronavirus pandemic. Surbhi is a partner of the Saar catering company as well as an Indian confection and gifting company called Tagmo Treats. When her catering business lost its contracts due to the Covid-19 lockdown, she switched gears and started offering home-cooked meals through her other business. This avoided her having to lay off her staff, all South East Asian women for whom Surbhi provides training and education. Now, in addition to making this new endeavor viable, she is donating 250 meals weekly to hospital employees.
AN EASY SOLUTION FOR FEEDING PARTY-STARVED FRIENDS
I contacted Surbhi at www.tagmotreats.com and asked her to create one of her home-cooked Indian feasts for my party-starved friends. This interactive event was going to be the easiest and least stressful dinner party I had ever hosted. Plus, no wine glasses to wash afterwards!
A small group of New York friends were invited electronically to a communal dinner party scheduled for Friday, May 1st. Even though being under the same roof was not possible, all fourteen households would enjoy the same meal from Surbhi’s kitchen.
CHEF SAHNI’S HOME-COOKED, MODERN INDIAN MEAL
The menu was emailed in advance so that guests could select their beverage. May 1st our group feasted on the following:
Chicken Tikka: Marinated chicken finished in a clay oven
Dal Moradabadi: Steamed yellow lentils topped with an onion-tomato salad
Pata Gabhi: Cabbage and peas
Raita: Yogurt sauce
Basmati rice
Roti flatbread
Firni: rice pudding flavored with cardamom
That Friday evening our collective dinner was delivered to all points on Manhattan island: Eastside, Westside, Chelsea, Greenwich Village, and Harlem. Afterwards, several guests shared photos of their DIY tablescapes reflecting our Indian theme. Designer Joan DeCollibus sent around a video showing her meal beautifully plated. She also managed to capture, as a fitting audio, New York City’s 7 PM “Applause” with cheering, hooting, and banging on pots to thank Covid-19 first responders.
AN ESCAPE FROM THE KITCHEN
As much as this group of foodie friends enjoys cooking, everyone relished the rare escape from kitchen duty. Mary Gorman, MW, recounted how her family spent their afternoon pre-dinner. “We prepared by being able to go out to Randall’s Island for a whole two hours of exercising and enjoying fresh air: Luca (her son) doing his solitary soccer exercises, Joe running four miles and me walking about 3.5 miles and watching the beautiful sunset.”
Joan de Collibus shared how she was initially confused about the concept of a “virtual” dinner party. She commented with a self-deprecating chuckle, “You can imagine my delight when I realized that I would not be cooking this meal- but rather - eating this meal!” Then she told us about the laugh she and her architect husband, Doug, had “when we realized we had plated dessert along with the main meal.”
ZOOMING IN INDIAN ATTIRE
To sustain the Indian concept and keep the fun going, people were encouraged to dress for our Zoom Apéro Hour which took place the following Monday evening, May 4th. Most everyone hit the closet and/or jewelry box in search of authentic scarves, blouses, and over-sized, dangling earrings. If someone lacked something “Made in India,” beautiful tops from Bhutan, Myanmar, or other exotic places in South East Asia were substituted. Joan Brower, travel industry marketing powerhouse told us the jacket she was wearing “was given to me as a gift by one of the four Queens of Bhutan during a visit there in 1997.”
Retired wine marketer Lila Gault described her trip to New Delhi years earlier. Abruptly, she disappeared from the screen. When she reemerged, a pair of exotic earrings had been added to her attire. “My Indian host,” Lila recounted continuing her story, “was also a jewelry designer. I bought several pairs of her earrings, which I have not worn in years. Thanks to you, I’ve rediscovered them and will put them to good use.”
Natasha Kavanagh, who was born in India and a true “Mumbaikar,” showed off her heirloom ruby necklace from her mother. She and her doctor boyfriend, Lou Aledorf, wore what she called an “Indian uniform of a kurta (tunic) and baggy pants in Indian paisley prints” custom-made for them on a recent trip to Mumbai. She explained that she and Lou—who specializes in Hematology—spend a month there every year where Lou does volunteer work at a clinic he founded in 2015 now part of a public hospital.
WEARING A BANNER AROUND MY SHOULDERS
While vibrant colors and dazzling gold earrings danced across our “Hollywood Squares”-like screen, I secretly wondered how many pals were wearing sweatpants or pajama bottoms below all this glitter. I, for one, wore grey exercise pants, my uniform du jour as a sequestered New Yorker. However, an effort was made from the waist up including applying make-up for the first time in a month! Necessity being the mother of invention, I took a colorful, fabric doorway banner purchased years ago to India and threw it around my shoulders as a shawl. The same piece of fabric had been appropriated as a table runner several days earlier when I dined alone on Surbhi’s scrumptious food.
INDIAN ROYALTY JOINED THE DINNER PARTY
Food expert Eleanor Sigona—whose dinner parties and elaborate table settings are legendary—carefully selected a dramatic backdrop for our Zoom get-together. Instead of the ubiquitous “news broadcaster bookshelf” used for internet transmissions these days, Eleanor zeroed in on our Indian theme. She and her husband, Bruce, sat regally like a Maharaja and Maharani in front of an oil painting on silk from India depicting a stately cheetah in an exotic forest.
FEEDING A GROWING BOY DURING A PANDEMIC
During our Happy Hour, people chatted cheerfully about the juicy Chicken Tikka and the fluffiest rice any of us had ever eaten. Mary Gorman disclosed that her skinny 6’6”, 16-years-old son, Luca, had devoured all the chicken after his two hours of practicing soccer. She admitted, “I was a little worried early in the day as to whether we would have enough food. So, I actually had a pizza on the reserve.” Turns out it was not needed as Surbhi had sent generous portions of each dish.
WHICH BEVERAGE TO PAIR WITH INDIAN CUISINE?
Given the complexity of spices and heat in Indian cuisine, I was curious to see what people—many of them from the wine world—would select. Their choices were as diverse as the tantalizing flavors of our sumptuous dinner. Friends experimented with a whole range of beverages from Joan and Doug’s Amstel Light beer to wine to cocktails to even non-alcoholic beverages.
Bruce Weininger, retired BATF executive, explained what he served. “We considered having a Gewürztraminer or a dry Riesling wine with the dinner as Indian cuisine has lots of spices and herbs, and we thought either of these two white wines, also a bit spicy, would work. We settled on a 2018 Hermann Wiemer Vineyard Dry Riesling from the Finger Lakes. We thought it went superbly with the food we had.”
THE VERSATILITY OF GERMANY’S MOST FAMOUS VARIETY, RIESLING
Mary Gorman, the Master of Wine in our group, agreed with Bruce’s varietal choice. But first she and her banker husband Joe started with Château de Breze, a non-vintage Crémant from the Loire Valley which, according to Mary, “gave a great energetic lift to the food’s rich flavors.” Next they opened a 2016 Sybille Kuntz Riesling Kabinett Trocken which Mary explained “had started to take on some tertiary notes and was weightier than the Crémant – so followed nicely and, of course, the cocktail of stone fruit flavors went perfectly well with the food. The touch of sweetness also complemented the heat.”
BUBBLES TO THE RESCUE
Champagne was a popular choice, as well. Natasha and Lou, who were celebrating an anniversary, picked a Piper-Heidsieck Champagne. Cookbook editor, Deborah Mintcheff and her wine collector husband, Alex, selected a Champagne from St. Aubert des Fils. Unfamiliar with this marque, I went online. This is one of those delicious wines made by a cooperative which stands toe-to-toe with some of Champagne's heavy hitters. A discovery! Thanks, Alex.
Seasoned wine writer Eunice Fried picked a bubbly, too, but not from France. Instead, she zeroed in on an English sparkler. After first trying a Californian Chardonnay from Chappelet, Eunice found a 2015 Gusbourne Rosé sparkling wine more satisfying. In a conversation after our Happy Hour, Eunice explained she had recently written an article about English sparkling wines. Thanks to global warming, a serious industry of sparkling wine producers has cropped up in the UK with surprisingly delicious results according to Eunice’s research.
A ROSÉ FOR ANY OCCASION
Lila and her husband, Bill, served “a fresh, crisp Pinot Grigio with the meal Friday night then a Whispering Angel Rosé with leftovers on Sunday evening. Both were delicious with spicy Indian food,” Bill testified. Joan Brower also turned to a rosé, a Côteau d'Aix en Provence. Midway, she switched to a St. Urbans Mosel Riesling, a Nik Weis Selection, which she enjoyed equally.
Corporate chef and cooking instructor, Janeen Sarlin, looked in her frig and found a selection of wines. After a quick taste assessment, she settled on a 2016 red wine blend from California, called The Cellar Cru. “I’ll cook with all the leftover wines,” she added knowing fully the value of wine as a flavor enhancer.
A LESS PREDICTABLE CHOICE
Beth Cotenoff, wine communications guru with a string of wine credentials after her name, went in a totally new direction. “I enjoyed my dinner with a Pecorino - a crisp white from the Marche in Italy, a delicious pairing. The freshness and zippy acidity worked well with the spices.” She divulged that with leftovers the following day she dipped into the frig for a can of Frico Lambrusco which she said worked like a charm, too.
Chandni Patel, another New York-based publicist, drank water. Born in Nashville to parents of Indian heritage, Chandni explained in a matter-of-a-fact way. “I was raised on Indian food and we never drank anything but water with it.” She did confess, however, that before the dinner she and her new husband, Josh, enjoyed a cocktail of vodka lemonade.
My Italian classmate, Joan Ross, eschewed wine completely. Instead, she traveled the Negroni route. In this instance, the similarity in the complex, rich flavors of both the food and the cocktail created a balanced marriage. Plus, the touch of sweetness in the Negroni toned down the food’s high heat profile.
KEEPING IT OFF-BEAT
While sparkling wines, rosés and Rieslings—all classic companions to spicy foods—are excellent choices, I wanted to walk on the wild side. Instead, I pulled out a Lazy Breeze Grüner Veltliner from California’s Edna Valley. Typically, this is a go-to-for-everything Austrian grape variety and not something normally grown in California. That piqued my interest. While this Californian wine was decidedly more flowery than a typically linear, white pepper and lime Austrian Grüner Veltliner, its high acidity and rich flavors of guava, passion fruit and honeysuckle held up beautifully to the complexity of Surbhi’s spicy dishes.
But, an even better match was Maeves’ Hudson Valley Cider, my second beverage choice. Contrary to what I expected, this low alcohol, dry cider was a surprisingly delicious accompaniment to our dinner. Its crisp, refreshing taste and light effervescence functioned in the same way as a Champagne to tame the heat and round out the food’s spiciness.
According to Eric Asimov, NYTimes wine critic, “Almost never is there only one correct wine to serve with any dish.” Hearing guests describe their rainbow of diverse choices proved Eric’s point. While some parings are better than others, it is important to remember that individual taste preferences are subjective. But when it comes to Indian food, if you are nervous with your beverage selection, just follow Chandni’s rule: Keep is simple and do as the natives do. Serve water!