Cocktail Party Recipes | Indian Cocktail Party Starters | Cocktail Party Snacks and Appetizers | 

A cocktail party is usually an occasion for celebration. It might be to celebrate an occasion, an achievement or simply a sophisticated get-together.

At a cocktail party, the guests are usually served several bite-sized starters along with alcohol-based drinks or cocktails. A couple of non-alcoholic mocktails are also served for teetotalers. The guests will be moving around freely at a cocktail party. The snacks or starters may be placed at tables at convenient places or carried around by bearers depending on the scale of the party, the place where it is held, the number of helpers available, etc.

Usually, dry and bite-sized snacks are preferred. The starters are always made to look very attractive because there is a certain standard to live up to in a cocktail party! The cocktails may precede a brunch or dinner party.

10 Tips for Cocktail Party Starters

1. Always include some starters with bread as it soaks up alcohol. Mexican bread rolls is an evergreen starter which can be served to young or old. 

This quick party starter features bread, deep-fried with a filling of sweet corn, capsicum and cheese bound with milk and flour, and flavoured with red chilli flakes. For all the cheese fans these rolls when served with tomato ketchup are truly irresistible. You can’t just stop at one roll!

Mexican bread rolls recipe | Mexican rolls veg starter | quick party starter | Indian snacks with bread |

A perfect balance of textures and flavours makes the Zucchini and Bell Pepper Sandwich a delight to relish! Mellow zucchini, pungent capsicum, peppy herbs and spiky spices come together to make a mind-boggling filling for mustard-lined hot dog rolls.

Zucchini and Bell Pepper Sandwich

2. Let not all the starters be deep-fried. Not only will it get difficult to prepare, but some people might be hesitant about having so much deep-fried stuff. So, include some raw, steamed or baked starters too.

Paneer mixed herb balls is a no-fuss starter can be prepared before you can say mix-and-shape, yet it has the most charming melt-in-the-mouth texture and exciting flavour.

paneer mixed herb balls recipe | healthy paneer mixed herb balls starter | cottage cheese mixed herb balls |

3. Include a selection of chips and dry tidbits that can be enjoyed with dips. The all-time favourite combo of Nacho Chips with Cheese Dip is not only energizing but also delightful to kids because they love the ‘chip-n-dip’ concept. This flavourful cheese dip stays fresh for 4 to 5 hours.

Nacho Chips with Cheese Dip

Also try other dips like hummus. This authentic hummus with tahini paste recipe has a rich mouth-feel and really strong flavour. Apart from the exciting flavour of tahini paste, the strong taste of garlic and a tinge of lemony tang are also clearly noticeable in this recipe, not to forget the herby touch of parsley.

hummus with tahini paste recipe | authentic hummus | Lebanese hummus |

Try tidbits like masala peanuts. Served as a cocktail accompaniment or tea-time snack, Masala Peanuts also happens to be a hot favourite with kids. Place the jar on the table and you can be sure that they will put their hands into it within the hour!

Masala Peanuts Recipe , How To Make Spicy Masala Peanuts

4. The starters served should be easy to pick and eat, and not saucy or messy. Go for bite-sized! Spinach cheese cigars is a tempting starter for any party – be it for kids or a cocktail party. Crunchy samosa patti rolls, filled with a spicy cheese and spinach mixture is what makes this easy Indian snack recipe. Mozzarella cheese gives the necessary gooey stuffing in spinach cheese cigars which we all enjoy.

Spinach Cheese Cigars with Honey Chilli Sauce

5. Pick a good mix of deep-fried, baked, tandoori and barbequed snacks like Paneer Achari Tikka, gobi pakoda, baked samosa and veg seekh kabab

Paneer Achari Tikka, Indian Starter

6. Make it convenient for the guests by serving each starter with toothpicks and tissues. Cheese corn balls makes a super starter and it just melts down in the mouth. Eye appealing, perfect sized Indian style cheese corn balls is a cocktail party starter to be served with tomato ketchup. The cheese corn balls recipe is super quick and easy to make and the combination of cheese and corn is supreme. All ingredients for this recipe are easy to get and most are found in the Indian kitchen.

cheese corn balls recipe | Indian style cheese corn balls | veg cheese sweet corn balls |

7. The starters should be piping hot and fresh. Hara bhara kabab is one of the most loved kabab in Indian restaurants around the world. The hara bhara kabab is a vegetarian kabab made from chana dal, green peas, paneer, spinach, plain flour, bread crumbs and Indian spices. You can deep-fry veg hara bhara kabab or shallow fry them on a tawa and serve it hot.

Hara Bhara Kabab, Veg Hara Bhara Kebab

8. The cocktail snacks must be arranged attractively in platters to make it look classy. Friends and family coming over and want to serve them something that would tantalize their taste buds? Here we have given a transformation to the very famous Indian street food recipe “pav bhaji” that is loved by all the age group and is very famous street food with “Pav Bhaji Fondue”. The Pav Bhaji Fondue smartly combines veggies, cheese, cream, milk and pav bhaji masala, into a richly flavored dip. It is really quick and easy to make. Not even an amateur cook can go wrong with this recipe!!

pav bhaji fondue recipe | creamy pav bhaji fondue | restaurant style pav bhaji cheese fondue |

9. Do not select starters with uncommon ingredients, because some guests might be hesitant to try. Mushrooms and eggs are also not very preferable. Use commonly available ingredients and make something unique and presentable. Try chana chor garam nachos. While the roadside vendor would jazz it up with onions, tomatoes and a dash of spice powders, here were have created a fusion snack by topping the Chana Chor Garam with popular international dips and sauces like guacamole, tomato salsa and nacho sauce.

Chana Chor Garam Nachos

10. Ensure that the starters are circulated well, or placed amply in several locations, so that is it available for all the guests to try. 

A mix of Indian and international starters will strike a proper balance and make sure all your guests are satiated. When a series of snacks is served one after the other, variety is very important. Only then people will pay attention to and individually relish each snack. If the snacks are repetitive, for example if you serve four or five types of tikkis one after the other, the guests will get bored and not even notice what they are eating. So, go for a good variety.

Enjoy our Cocktail Party Recipes | Indian Cocktail Party Starters | Cocktail Party Snacks and Appetizers |