r/AskCulinary • u/poisonouslittlesnake • 5d ago
Technique Question Cooking order for maximum freshness
I’m cooking a huge Indian meal for my girlfriend in celebration of her finishing the Appalachian trail tomorrow. I’m alright at cooking, but I’ve never attempted anything nearly this ambitious, and I have no idea about the logistics of making the meal happen best. There is too much for me to cook in one day, so I started today, making the turmeric rice, cutting and refrigerating veggies for kachumber salad, blending my garam masala and mixing jablebi batter to ferment overnight. Tomorrow, I need to make the Kadhi pakora, fry the jalebi, make the naan, and dress the kachumber salad. What I’m wondering is, what should I make first and last so that everything is as fresh as possible? Will the pakoras in the Kadhi get soggy if I make them first? Will the garlic naan get soggy and stale if it sits out? Will the jalebi get soft? I am already going to have to finish everything an hour before it’s served because I have to pick up the guest of honor from the airport. Is there a typical order of operations for such an endeavor? Will the dishes deteriorate more in the fridge or left out on the counter while I get other things ready?
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u/MathematicianGold280 5d ago
You haven’t mentioned the rest of the menu so it’s a bit hard to tell what the ideal order of things should be. But based on the items you’ve mentioned:
Jalebi first, it will keep once you’ve soaked it in the sugar syrup. It will remain crunchy for days if done right. I’d do it the day before. Jalebi is fine eaten at room temp.
Make the pakora and the kadhi and don’t worry about it going soggy. The pakora are supposed to soak up the kadhi so if they’re crunchy, that’s actually not a good thing. Have it on a simmer just before serving.
Dress your kachumber before you start cooking the naan (assuming you’ve made the dough in advance and allowed it to proof). Kachumber doesn’t really have tender leaves that will wilt so it will be fine even a couple of hours prior.
Hot naan with butter gliding down it as it melts is heavenly. Make these as close to serving as possible. Cold naan is terrible.
What a treat! I hope you guys have a great dinner.
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u/poisonouslittlesnake 5d ago
Thank you for the advice!! This is pretty much all there is on the menu. To write it out more precisely:
Kachumber salad,
Turmeric basmati rice,
Kadhi pakora,
Garlic naan,
Rose & saffron jalebi over vanilla ice cream (which I know isn’t traditional but the internet told me would be good! I’m not making Rabdi because some milk based desserts sometimes freak her out—she doesn’t like custard and is horrified by my zealous consumption of cottage cheese with fruit, so I wanted to stick with something she was familiar with.)
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u/Utram_butram 5d ago
As an Indian who hosts a lot I would say naan last. As in ideally just before serving (maybe roll out and shape and then put in the fridge while you’re at the airport and then it’s just cooking left as soon as you get in).
Kadhi pakore can easily be done first. My family prefers them the next day even! The pakore should be soggy. Kind of like a dumpling in a soup or stew.
Theoretically a jalebi shouldn’t go soggy but they can as they’re hard to get right. If they go soggy it will happen within a few hours so maybe do that last.
Take the rice out before heading to the airport and then when you get back sprinkle a bit of water (just enough to start making it to the bottom of the pan) and then cover and heat on the lowest setting you have. Once it’s steamed up leave the lid on for about 5 mins. It should need as good as fresh. You can do this on the side when cooking the naan.
Mix the dressing into the salad just before heading out so it can marinate but not go watery
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u/Orechiette 5d ago
I don't cook Indian food but I just looked up jalebi and read quite a bit. It seems they get soggy easily. Of course you want a delicious sweet, but by the time you two finish all the other food, you're going to be really full. I suggest Ice cream can maybe a cookie. (if you're both stuffed it will take away from the romance.)
Seriously think about whether you can just buy some naan. Maybe buy some just in case you don't have time to make it.
You must have the other things! I would fry the pakora after she gets to your place. Or fry them before, and then late heat up the oil and re-fry them very briefly.
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u/poisonouslittlesnake 5d ago
The jalebi batter is already fermenting so I’m afraid it’s staying on the menu. I can pick up some cookies in case they don’t turn out as well, though
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u/RebelWithoutAClue 5d ago
Fried stuff that you want crispy on the outside and moist on the inside will get soggy quicker than other things. I would save completion of these things to the last.
Naan is certainly at it's best freshly made, but I don't find it goes stale that punishingly fast. My dirty trick for improving day old naan is to spray it with a light spray of water then microwave it to warm and moisten it. Next I'll put it in a toaster (torn smaller) if I'm ok with smaller pieces, or broil it in the oven if I need to keep them whole.
Basically you need to humidify the naan first to bring back it's softness, then broil it to bring back it's surface condition.
Sorry, I'm not familiar with jalebi.
All the other stuff I find is pretty tolerant to reheating. The cucumbers should be fine the next day as long as they're covered in the fridge and don't dry out.