Post Punk Kitchen Forum

I'm in charge of cooking dinner for my a cappella group this week! I'm SO EXCITED. OH MY GOD.

I've decided to go with an Indian food theme, because that's what I do best, so I'm planning to make saag paneer (with tofu paneer, obviously), chana masala, urad dal, and possibly some tandoori-style kebabs and a couple of chutneys. I'll probably cheat and buy pre-made flatbread just 'cuz I don't have the time or energy to make enough naan for 12-15 people. I will also make a crapton of brown basmati rice.

If anyone has any ideas for desserts, I would greatly appreciate suggestions! I never know what to do for desserts. It has to be something pretty easy to make, and preferably something I can make in advance. But I can't skimp on it and just give them fruit...these people reaaaaaaaaally like desserts ;-)

How about some kheer? This recipe doesn't look difficult to veganize:

http://www.thetiffinbox.ca/2012/02/indian-sweets-phirni-creamy-indian-rice.html

Lassi is fairly easy and it sweet and delicious. You get Indian halvas as well.

Don't know about how labor intensive this is, but vegetalion made my all-time favorite Indian dessert: gulab jamun.

http://vegetalion.blogspot.com/2008/04/monster-dessert-post.html

Carrot halwa is not that hard to make and requires no baking. You can make it a few days in advance too if necessary.
Kheer would be nice and you can make it look really fancy by going all out on the toppings. A rose or orange water flavoured one would be a good end to a spicy Indian meal, I think.
You could also make real masala chai for everyone. A cup of hot sweet chai and a small sweet would satisfy me and I am a massive dessert fiend.

sometimes when I want a dessert to go with Indian food, I do something like chai-spice cookies. It's not super authentic, but it's indian-inspired, and it's really easy (less labor intensive than some traditional indian desserts) and also easy to do ahead of time. Also the chai spice cupcakes from VCCTOTW are really great.

Similar idea here to ameyfm's - I'd go with something coconut or mango (or both!) because that would compliment the indian food flavours really well. There's a coconut pie in VPITS, I think?

Wow! Thanks for posting this. My husband loves this, and always feels too guilty to order any at Indian restaurants as there is nothing for me to have for dessert. I definitely have to try it. Thanks to vegetalion too obviously for coming up with the recipe!

I second carrot halwa. Much easier to veganize than kheer.

I would also check out Manjula's Kitchen -- here's a link to the vegan category: http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/category/vegan/

I just scrolled through the first couple pages and already found a few vegan dessert recipes, mostly burfi (sort of like a fudge).

How about shrikhand? It is a flavoured yoghurt (super simple!) so it is easy to veganize by just substituting non-dairy-yoghurt. You can flavour it with all kinds of awesome things like saffron and rose water and it only gets better when it sits so it is the perfect dish to prepare ahead.

Ah, shrikhand is easy but impressive, it's true. You could also fry up some soft pooris to dip into the shrikhand, it tastes amazing. There's a simple recipe here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aart ... index.html

Chai spice cookies were going to be my suggestion as well. Looking forward to seeing the food porn from this!

burfi! like marzipan, only cardamom-y (i KNOW you want to do something cardamom-y!):
http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/2007/09/ ... ond-candy/

there are a few different burfi recipes on manjula's kitchen, some has cashews and walnuts.. check them out! also, they're easy to make in advance, and you don't need more than a small piece to satisfy your sweet tooth!

I made this this weekend and it was unbelievabley simple and sooo good. Used a almond/soymilk for the milk and cashew cream for the cream. So rich and creamy and so sinful!

Hooray! Choirqueer, if you do make this, please note my "note" in the recipe: while I made it with soymilk powder once, I didn't note the brand, and using the wrong brand can prove disastrous. I ended up repeating the process with soy flour and it worked BEAUTIFULLY, so I'd recommend that instead.

My FAVORITE Indian dessert is jalebi, which is basically funnel cake soaked in syrup, and is a lot easier to veganize than galub jamun. There are a variety of recipes available online; as long as you sub soy yogurt for the yogurt, you should be fine!