A Totally Fun Suruprise Party

Never in my life had I experienced a surprise party in my honor. Last night, Friday, June 7th, Patty, Raj, children Mallory and Johnny, with Raj's 3 best friends, my friend, Peggy, and I ate, drank, and laughed until the wee hours, celebrating my retirement on June 3rd.  The evening started with Raj's beautiful, delightfully refreshing, drinks, Sunrise Margaritas.

As the men concocted authentic Indian food, course by course, Patty took us on a tour of India via nearly 1000 photos on the largest TV I've ever seen in a private home. Last fall, Patty, Raj and the children spent a month in India visiting Raj's family and friends.  We were amazed by the ancient religious shrines, the expansive scenery, the crowded cities and wild traffic,the elephants and monkeys, but especially by the close family ties and deep spiritual practices.

Our first appetizer was spicy fried chicken chunks with a mild honey mustard sauce.  "Patra" is a  pinwheel made with crushed chickpeas wrapped in the leaf of the taro plant. Laced with spices and fried, this appetizer was a new taste experience, very pleasing. 

Our main course was Sahi Muttor Paneer, a soup with goat cheese, green peas, milk and a blend of Indian spices, served with sliced tomatoes, sliced onions and Paratha, a flat bread to be broken off and dipped in the soup.  We spooned out every drop!

The grand finale was cake and pink champagne!  We lost count of the many toasts but, rest assured, we were happy that Patty volunteered to be the designated driver.

The happy gang, from left: Peggy, Jan, Raj, Amey, Veeru and Jaydeep.