So from my time spent living in India (almost 3 yrs), and being married to an Indian for almost 4 years, I've learned that hospitality is a big thing in India. We recently had Indian guests over, and even with all my "experience" there are still things I forget - or at least which I have to remind myself of.
Here are a few things on my list, maybe you guys will have more to add...
- Always offer - no actually insist - on offering your guests a drink (a cold drink or hot tea/coffee - depending on the time of day). We had sparkling pink lemonade with our Indian guests today. But many Indians like chai in the morning and at mid-afternoon tea time as well.
- Your Indian guests may not like much ice - especially if the drink is already cold, so it's better to ask.
- Have some snacks on hand to offer your guests. Today I was caught off guard - we've been trying to eat healthier, and so I've been buying less "snacky" foods. I had to really dig (when reminded by my husband!) to find something appropriate. What did I end up serving? I found some Trader Joe's Oriental Rice Crackers, and some digestive biscuits, and some spicy peanuts. Whew, I pulled that one off!
- Presentation is important - don't serve the drinks in recycled plastic 7-11 cups! Dust off your nicer cups and it is considered polite to serve drinks (even just one drink) on a tray of some sort. Don't ask me why - but in almost every house I've ever been to (as a guest) I have always be served drinks from a tray...
- If you're serving food, it is better for the hostess to wait until everyone has been served. In some houses the hostess won't eat at all until everyone has eaten.
- You should insist that your guests have more to eat - even go so far as to serve more on their plate - even if they say no. You have to give a very forceful no if you really are full - otherwise everyone will just assume you're being polite!
- When you go to someone's house and eat, be sure to take very little at first - so that you'll have enough room to have seconds - that is a compliment to the hostess - otherwise they'll think you don't like the food or it's too spicy or something.
- Try to always have something on hand in case unexpected guests show up - depending on the time, you might need to invite them to stay for dinner - better add some more water to the dahl!
In my intercultural marriage, I've had to remind myself to be a better hostess. My husband is big-hearted and will invite anyone and everyone home - at any hour of the day. So when I cook I always plan to make enough in case someone stops by... cause you just never know! And anyway, we like leftovers. I think I'm gonna stock up on some more of those oriental rice crackers, they last for quite a while and they were a big hit today. I don't think any of our guests had had them before. At least that's one feather in my hostess's cap!
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3 comments:
Handy tips!
Potatoes comes in very handy to make a meal for two seems like a feast for 5-6, just add them to whatever indian vegetables you were cooking.
Always keep a few carrots and cucumber in the fridge, it's easy to clice the cucumber, grate the carrots, add a few raw onion slices to the mix, present everything on a pretty place and there you go you have an extra dish on the table.
Most of these pretty much come second nature now to me... the tray thing always stuck out in my mind too... I had a friend get married when I was there. pre-marriage, we just ate straight out of the bags. Post-marriage, it was all bowls and trays... I still see "trays" as a sign of domesticity!
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