From fried snacks, to rice-based desserts, Indian wedding buffets are brimming with exotic delicacies. Since India is such a huge country with a wide variety of cultures and traditions, you can be sure to be welcomed with a plethora of meals that is bound to satisfy even the pickiest of eaters. Indian buffets are also amongst the most diverse ones you’ll ever find. If you’re going for an Indian theme wedding, it’s equally important to pay attention to the presentation to infuse an intense exotic touch to the overall day.
Presentation and Setting
In traditional Indian families, meals are not served on plates, but rather on clean banana leaves. This tradition is deeply rooted in Indian culture and it’s considered much easier to serve the feast on banana leaves because there’s no washing or cleaning involved afterwards. While rural areas still opt for natural leaves, people from the city often choose to go for synthetic or plastic leaves for aesthetic reasons. Wealthier families, however, tend to ditch the banana leaves presentation in favor of Limoges or other such elegant plates.
The reception buffet setting is not unlike a typical western buffet, where all the dishes are laid out on a beautifully decorated table and everyone goes to help himself to the delicacies. However, in stark contrast to Western weddings, a lavish dinner is served both on the eve of the ceremony, as well as on the actual wedding night. These two dinners are more of a seated affair whereby guests sit in the eating area and are often served food by the bride’s and groom’s relatives. This is linked to the ancient Indian culture of receiving guests and making them feel welcomed by serving them. The third dinner is normally held at the reception and this is more of a self-service affair.
Popular dishes and desserts served
Several types of snacks are often handed out to guests during the Indian wedding ceremony. These may include both sweet and savory items such as fried dumplings or small cups of rice puddings. After the ceremony, guests are usually served no less than seven Indian curries. The curries are accompanied by plain white rice as well as a traditional fried flatbread. For religious reasons, orthodox Indian families refrain from serving any non-vegetarian dishes on the wedding day, but, chicken and fish are almost always served during the reception.
Several types of Indian desserts are also served to the guests after the delectable feast and these include rice puddings, sweetened cottage cheese, an Indian version of the American donut served with syrup as well as “Kulfi”- which is a highly delicious and creamy ice cream made that contains several aromatic spices.
