For a successful house party

Christmas and New Year are just around the corner. From late night partying to taking weekend trips, we all have something planned for the holiday season. But there are many people who find it economical to draw up a guest list for a fun house party at their place.

A successful house party requires just a few ingredients...a fun-loving crowd, great music, the right drinks and easy-to-make but delicious snacks to get the party going. So here are a few ‘do it yourself’ recipes — by food specialist Akansha Jaiswal and home baker Sulekha Gupta, who have come up with a few quick snacks and Christmas special cake, to make your house party just the way it’s meant to be.

Quick recipes

Mini Peanut Macaroni Salad cups: To make this salad, boil a big packet of macaroni and one cup of chickpea separately. Keep them aside and let them cool. Now take a large bowl and mix some sandwich spread or any mayonnaise based dressing with the boiled items. Add crushed peanuts, chilli flakes and salt to taste. Your delicious salad is ready to get paired with drinks. Serve them in canapés and enjoy.

Egg Cups: Eggs are everyone’s favourite at a party. Boil as many as you want and cut them in halves. Pull out the yolks and collect them in a bowl. Add mayonnaise, mustard Sauce, salt and chilli flakes. Spoon this mixture on every halved egg.  Garnish with parsley leaves.

Mushroom Topped Pancakes: Make a batter of chickpea flour with water, milk and salt to taste. Keep the consistency moderate. Make bite-sized pancakes and keep them aside. To make the topping, boil peas and mushrooms. Also, boil some moong dal until it’s crunchy and can be swallowed. In a pan, heat some butter, toss chopped onions, the boiled dal, peas and mushroom. Add salt to taste. Now keep the mixture aside. In a bowl, put some chopped tomatoes, red and yellow bell peppers. Add salt and lemon juice.  Now take an oven tray, place the pancakes topped with the mushroom mixture. Put grated mozzarella on it and let the cheese melt in the oven for two minutes. Take the pancakes out on a serving tray and top them with the tomato-capsicum salsa and drizzle some olive oil over it.

Chicken Crostini: Crostini is a sliced Italian baguette brushed with olive oil and toasted until crispy and golden brown. Toss chopped chicken sausages in olive oil. Top the crostinis with the sausages, chopped parsley, chopped tomatoes, and grated ricotta or parmesan cheese. Serve it if you are inviting a more upscale crowd.

Bacon-Stuffed Mushrooms: Cook bacon in a pan until crisp. Discard the fat and drain the bacon on paper towels. Set aside. Clean the mushrooms and after removing the stems from it, set the tops aside. In a bowl, mix cream cheese and cheddar cheese. Add the bacon and chopped garlic. Spoon this mixture into the mushroom tops, and place them on a greased baking pan. Bake until the mushrooms are tender. Serve them hot and trust us, your guests will keep asking for more!

Christmas Plum Cake (eggless)

Ingredients
n Milkmaid: 1/2 tin
n Refined oil: 1/2 cup
n Maida: 1 cup
n Orange juice: 3/4th cup
n Vanilla essence: 1/2 tsp
n Baking powder: 1 tsp
n Soda bicarb: 1/2 tsp
1 cup of (dates, raisins,dry cherry, currants)
1 cup of mix nuts coarsely chopped (kaju,walnut, almonds)
Spice - cinnamon:
               1/4th tbsp
n Green cardamom:
              1/4th tbsp

Method
Soak all fleshy dry fruits in orange juice overnight in a glass air  tight jar. Beat oil and         milkmaid. Sieve dry in  gredients. In a tbsp. of  Maida dust all the nuts.  Mix all ingredients, add  the soaked dry fruits and lastly nuts. In a greased and dusted
tin pour the mixture.        

Lastly put some walnuts and dry cherries for garnishing. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 150°c for 40 - 45 mins
* For rum cake, insteadof orange juice soak the dry fruits in rum  for minimum 
10-15 days. Rest of  the recipe is the same.