BellaOnline Forums Food and Wine Indian Food How many servings in the newletter recipes?

Sadhana doesn't indicate number of servings for the recipes. It's easy enough to figure for some, but often enough, I end up with too skimpy or plentiful a finished dish. How many servings are written into the recipes? (I'd think the number is uniform throughout, yes?).

Hello MB,

Thanks for posting! This is always a tough question in the sense that Indians usually eat family style meals & in much smaller portions than here in the US. My recipes generally feed about 4-6 people but this also depends on how many other dishes are served, general appetites of the diners in question.....

A typical daily Indian meal in my family (Maharashtrian) consists of Indian flatbreads (I make phulkas, people eat 1-2 per meal), a bhaji (vegetable dish), an amti (dal or lentil curry) & a koshimbir (Indian salad) along with rice, yogurt & Indian pickles. Once a week, we'll eat a seafood or chicken based dish. Our daily dessert is usually fruit if anyone is still hungry.

For guests (which is quite often in my family), the dinners are much more elaborate -- I will usually serve a few appetizers, a main curry dish (veg or non-veg depending upon the guests), maybe 2 bhajis (one stir fry & one curry type), possibly an amti (dal), a koshimbir (salad), a side dish (like fried fish, shrimp or veggies), a pulao (rice), yogurt, pickles, papads (lentil wafers) & of course, dessert :-)

Feel free to check out my FAQ section, post in this forum or email me directly at anytime :-)

Indian Food FAQs

I hope this helps :-)

Hello, I just wanted to say that I am a huge fan of Indian food & I LOVE all of your recipes!! I started making Indian food at home a few years ago, I was really intimidated by all of the spices before that but thanks to your easy to follow recipes -- I am now cooking up a Indian storm! I am not ashamed to admit, I've had a few mishaps but overall my Indian cooking skills have greatly improved over time. Thank you again for all your delicious recipes! Keep them coming!!! FoodieBabe 815

Hello FoodieBabe 815,

I am so glad that you like Indian food & am so flattered by your kind words!

THANK YOU SO MUCH, you just made my day!

I think that if the meal is too skimpy, just add a nice chopped salad and some fruit. If you have too much, freeze the extra for a great quick heat and serve meal. It really does depend on individual side dishes and appetites.

Great advice Connie! Salad & fruit are always great healthy additions :-)

Thank you, SG. I understand the difference in meal style and your reminder is a great help. Connie, good idea. There's always something on hand to put out another simple, complementary serving dish. I live in NYC in walking distance of the stretch of Indian food stores on Lexington Ave. What a treat. It's always seemed to me that the people who, way back, began to use the variety of spices and mix of flavors were geniuses. Lack of refrigeration had something to do with the highly-spiced cuisines and a good thing it was. East 6th, called 'Little India,' is also in walking distance. What a life! Mulberry Bush

I used to live in NYC for many years & always shopped in Little India @Kalustyans. Or would take the #7 train & head over to Jackson Heights :-)

There's a great vegetarian place, called Saravana Bhavan at Lexington & 26th :-) The food is delicious, simple & authentic :-)