Dinner Club: An East Indian Menu

This gluten free East Indian menu is perfect for a Dinner Club night. Explore rich, earthy dishes made with fragrant cumin, coriander and cardamom to create a culinary adventure. Divide the recipes among friends or let them chose their own. Then gather in the kitchen to bring it all together. That's what Dinner Club is all about.

My friends and I started a Gourmet Dinner Club decades ago and simply refer to is as Gourmet. We've cooked our way around the globe over and over. From this Thai Menu to a Spanish Fiesta or Greek Night, there's no end to ideas. Make up the rules as you go, then change them whenever you want. That’s how we do it.

We've hosted elaborate multi-course dinners, tasting events, menus from countries we hadn't heard of and have even taken a break to visit restaurants with some kind of theme. (Wouldn't gluten free restaurants be an awesome theme!)

For our group the hardest part is finding a date. I can’t help you with that but once you’ve set a date then you need a menu. I can definitely help you with that!

Indian Recipes To Plan Your Menu

There's nothing like a great menu that someone else put together. Back in the day that was an exciting yet rare find for me. There's always one dish I want to change or too many dishes for me to handle.

In my Dinner Club we sometimes get an email from the host who has chosen a main course. We then get to pick from a list like this and whoever replies first gets the best selection.

Starters

• Pakora, crunchy fried Indian vegetable fritters.
• Spinach Salad with Mango Chutney Dressing

Main Course

• Tandoori Chicken from scratch.
• Whole Roasted Cauliflower for a vegetarian option.
• Grilled Tandoori Shrimp is perfect for a summer menu.

Sides

• Paneer and Peppers in Fragrant Gravy can be a vegetarian main or a side dish.
• Zucchini Tomato Yellow Split Pea Dal
• Fruited Rice

Dessert

• Lemon Kulfi with strawberries and pistachios

A Gluten Free East Indian Menu

Starter

Gluten Free Vegetable Fritters (Pakora)

These gluten free vegetable fritters are made with chickpea flour. Called pakora in East Indian cuisine, they're a delicious starter with any Indian inspired meal.

Check out this recipe

Main and Side Dish Ideas

Tandoori Chicken

My son calls this Red Chicken. Some recipes call for red food colouring to enhance the colour but I don't want to use food dye. The tomato paste and chili powder make it red enough for me.

Check out this recipe

Tomato Ginger and Green Chile Raita

Tomato Ginger and Green Chile Raita is like a yogurt salad and it provides a cooling contrast to the spiciness of other East Indian dishes.

Check out this recipe

Zucchini Tomato Yellow Split Pea Dal

Zucchini Tomato Yellow Split Pea Dal is a long time favourite dal recipe. The spiced zucchini-tomato mixture on top is next level!

Check out this recipe

Paneer and Peppers in Fragrant Gravy

This is a flavourful East Indian side dish or vegetarian main course. When I'm entertaining this is always on the menu.

Check out this recipe

Fruited Rice Pilaf with Pine Nuts

Fruited Rice Pilaf with Pine Nuts is a delicious rice dish that can be served as part of any Indian meal. This is what I call 'special rice'.

Check out this recipe

Make Ahead Frozen Dessert

Lemon Kulfi

Lemon Kulfi is often referred to as traditional Indian ice cream and is said to be more dense and creamier than other ice cream.

Check out this recipe

For me part of the fun of a Dinner Club is discovering ingredients you are not familiar with or challenging yourself to try techniques you have never tried before.

This way there's less pressure. Be adventurous and don't worry about every dish turning out perfectly. We've learned to appreciate the occasional disaster and everyone loves retelling their favourite stories.

I'd love to hear in the comments below if you tried this East Indian Menu and how it went.