A Tricolor Party to Celebrate Indian Republic Day

Date: 26th January. Dress Code: Any one of the colors of the Indian Tricolor. Potluck Details: Tricolor!

Always looking for an excuse to throw a party, I planned a fun way to celebrate our Republic Day with my girlfriends – a potluck party with a twist. All the guests had to bring a dish that had all three colors of the Indian flag – Saffron, White and Green! And knowing how creative women can get, I couldn’t wait to see what each one of them would come up with.

But before we jump to the food, here are some other details from the party.

Tricolor Decorations

I went shopping locally for some old fashioned candy that we used to eat as kids. I found these and bought them to give as return gifts to all the kids who accompanied their moms. I also used them to create centerpieces by filling them into jars and tucking in flags.

My daughter’s little bicycle already had shades of orange in it. I weaved orange and green ribbons (regular school ribbons) around the wheel spokes and in other areas. Satin ribbon in the 3 colors and tricolor balloons completed the decor and we had an eye-catching focal piece to welcome guests to the party.

More flags, ribbons and balloons added tricolor touches elsewhere in the home.

Tricolor Food

Moving on to the food – it was a delightful experience! In the excitement of the party, I have omitted taking many pictures and truly regret it. But whatever I did manage to capture is sure to inspire you.

I made this combination of Pasta in tomato sauce, baked veg au gratin and baked corn-spinach. This picture was taken before a sprinkling of cheese was spread and the entire dish was baked just before serving. As luck would have it, I forgot to take a picture of the baked dish.

A very colorful and healthy dish – this chunky salsa was made using frozen mango dices, tomatoes, cucumber, jalapeno peppers, onions and corriander. It was served with Doritos and Cornitos corn chips.

The tricolor idlis looked very appealing and the Sambar and chutney was heavenly!

An exceptional idea was Dahi Kachori with orange and green chutneys.

One of the desserts was tricolor rawa/sooji sheera. Many other dishes that were gulped down before we could manage to take pictures were tricolor dhokla, rice and baked, layered veggies.

I found a huge package of ‘fryums’ in different colors at a local store. I got the kids to separate some orange, white and green pieces for me and these were fried for munching all the while.

Games and Activities

Later, as the women discussed more tricolor food ideas, the kids played a game of stacking polo mints. Whoever created the highest polo tower would win.

Later, the kids got creative and came up with lovely designs using polo mints and tricolor candies.

Party Favors/Return Gifts

I made cones containing tricolor candies as gifts for the kids and decorated them with holographic stickers of the Indian tricolor.

The kids did not leave before extracting promises of more such ‘color schemed’ potluck parties and I am already looking forward to the next excuse for another fun gathering!