The Desi Dawat Guide is made for the first-time host, the clueless host, the anxious host, the host who wants to love hosting but can't, the host that just needs a small helping hand, the host with the most...
"It was like having a personal dawat-coach on hand, guiding me through the steps!"
BUYER
The Ultimate Guide To Hosting a Desi Dawat Like a Pro
If you're reading this, it's safe to assume you either want to host, or DO host but can't quite things running the way you want to - right? Because if so, you're in the right place!
"I followed the instructions in the guide... in my panicked state I would have probably ended up spending a lot of unnecessary money but thanks to your last minute menus I was able to decide what to make based on what I had very quickly. I've never been so decisive!"
BUYER
Who is The Desi Dawat Guide for?
- People who would like to host, but don't know where to begin
- People with hectic schedules, young children and/or a lot on their plate
- People who are anxious about hosting
- Those of us who get the classic freeze response at the thought of deciding a menu
- People who struggle with time management and the logistics of planning a dawat
- People who would like to host both formal and casual get-togethers
- The Dawat Guide is suitable for beginner hosts, seasoned hosts, and everything in between!
"Best [money] I ever spent."
BUYER
Here's What We'll Be Tackling Together In The Desi Dawat Guide
Starting from the BASICS
Sometimes you just need someone to tell you everything from the START. I'm not talking about which drinks and dessert pair best with a Chicken Biryani - I'm talking about literal BASICS, like what kind of bowls and spoons you need.
The Desi Dawat Guide will help you right from the start, building up your knowledge and confidence from rookie to pro!
Getting YOU, Your Menu and Your Home Organised and Ready!
- How to ease the anxiety that may inevitably come with hosting
- How to manage your time effectively, so you're not scrambling at the last minute!
- With so much love, you cannot do everything all the time. I want you to actually, realistically assess what you can and can't do, so you don't set yourself up for a stressful, mismanaged get-together.
- A breakdown of tasks, cooking and non-cooking, that you should do a day in advance to save your time and hassle on the big day!
Dealing With Specific Hosting Situations
- Hosting when you have young children - it's HARD, but there are things you can do to get things done more efficiently.
- Hosting families with young children - how best to cater, serve and entertain young children, including some thoughtful, intentional gestures that can make a world of a difference to the parents you've invited!
- Hosting large gatherings comes with considerations such as food quantities and seating + serving arrangements, which we'll be considering in the guide.
- Hosting with last minute notice - a situation I find myself in incredibly often, how to host with ease and grace even when you've been given very little time to prepare!
Menu Confusion? Not Anymore.
Have you ever wondered which curry pairs best with which rice? Or what complements what? Ever felt like something was just 'missing' from your menu, and failed to understand what? Menu woes are NOT happening on my watch! Here's what why:
- The Dawat Guide comes with 31+ menus suggestions laid out for you, grouped according to your cooking expertise and menu size, so you only have to focus on cooking the menu, not creating it! YES YOU READ THAT RIGHT, there's over 31 menus to choose from!
- If you want to pick and choose your own menu, with dishes that complement each other, you can use the extensive 'Build-a-Menu'! This section will help you build a menu from scratch depending on what works for you, your guests, and what will actually pair well together.
And my personal favourite...
- How much should I cook? Ahh, the age-old question. It used to boggle my brain too... and then I created a mathematical formula to work out how much you need to cook to ensure there's no embarrassing food shortages, or enough leftovers to feed a small village. And this formula has NEVER failed me! (This is what you get when you cross a stats geek with a food lover!)
How To Manage The Dawat LIVE
It's not all about the prep beforehand... I have you covered for when the show *actually* begins too! Including:
- What to do when your company arrives (because no one likes awkward silences staring at the walls)
- How to ensure your food reaches the table HOT and GARNISHED
- Creating a warm, inviting space for your guests
BONUS: The Dawat Planner!
To make the hosting process as organised, well-managed and easy to execute as possible, I've also created a handy Dawat Planner workbook for all your shopping lists, menu plans and more!
"I do not have the words! Fatima your guide is bloody brilliant! Only you could come up with every atypical scenario possible with Asian families... But let me tell you you've left no stone unturned."
BUYER
YOUR PROBLEM: You want to host more regularly at your home. But you've never done it before, and you literally don't even know how to start!
The Desi Dawat Guide breaks down everything for you from the very start of your dawat. We go right to the basics (which can sometimes be the most confusing for newbie hosts!) and I'll share what kind of cookware and dishware you need, how much food you should cook, WHAT to cook, what pairs well with what, and how to plan your dawat effectively. The Desi Dawat Guide will help you think about the kind of dawat-experience you want to create for your guests that you can realistically manage without biting off more than you can chew.
YOUR PROBLEM: You can never figure out what to cook for a Dawat, or how to plan a menu that actually 'works'.
The Desi Dawat Guide comes with over 31 set menus. But it's not just 31 menus - they're all been created taking into consideration not everyone is an expert cook who wants to serve a 5 course meal! All my set menus are grouped based on:
- Your cooking expertise: there's a variety of menus for you to choose from whether you're a beginner, intermediate or advanced level cook!
- How large a menu you're able to cook up: I start small, with menus for 1 starter + 2 mains + 1 dessert, and go up to 2-3 starters + 4 mains + 1 dessert.
- Themed menus: If you're up for creating a niche experience, my set menus include 6 themed menus for Afghani, Indo-Chinese, BBQ, breakfast and tea time themed dawats.
And if you want to try your hand at mixing and matching your own menu, I have a comprehensive 'Build-a-Menu' that'll help you pick and choose a menu that works for you and your guests AND ties together beautifully!
YOUR PROBLEM: You find dawats stressful and overwhelming. You want to love them, but you can't.
There was a very long period in my life when the thought of hosting, even just close friends casually, would fill me with dread and anxiety. I used to love hosting before, but when I found myself at my wit's end with two young children, and any kind of effort felt like it would tip me over the edge.
With practice, I figured out a system to organise and manage my Dawats in a way that made it joyful for me. And in that, I re-discovered the joy in hosting that I had lost over the years. Now hosting to me is as we say in Urdu - 'baaen haath ka khail hai'.
In The Desi Dawat Guide, I'll be sharing all my tips, tricks, advice and systems on how to host after years of personal experience.
- I've gotten down everything you could need to ease the anxiety that may come with hosting
- How to assess how much you can realistically do without burning out
- How to manage your time and cooking effectively.
Hosting SHOULD be enjoyable event for you - if it's filling you with dread instead, I want to help you discover the joy in it!
YOUR PROBLEM: Time management is your weak area, and you end up panicking and rushing at the last minute.
It's no small feat, figuring out how to manage your time so everything is smooth sailing come serving time. It certainly isn't intuitive to know what you can prep in advance, what things to get out of the way first, and which to finish closer to serving time.
In The Desi Dawat Guide, I'll go into everything with ample detail, including what you can cook the day before and what to leave for the day, how to manage the cleaning effectively (because THAT is where a lot of the headaches happen!) and I'll also help you manage your dawat schedule when you're super short on time!
The Dawat Planner, which is included in The Desi Dawat Guide, will help you get EVERYTHING down on paper, so you're not missing ANYTHING out.
YOUR PROBLEM: You know NOTHING about hosting. Literally, NOTHING. You need someone to spell EVERYTHING out for you - even the things that appear to be 'common sense'.
I've written The Desi Dawat Guide with YOU in mind. Even if you've never invited anyone into your home, let alone hosted a dinner - The Dawat Guide will help you find your feet from the basics. I'll break down everything you need from A-Z, including the kind of dishes you need for cooking, serving and eating, how many you'll need, what sort of products can help you. If you're clueless about what exactly you should cook, there are plenty of menu ideas and set menus to guide you to something that works for you and your dawat. I've broken this all down in a way that will make sense to someone who has NEVER hosted before, as well as a seasoned host!