How do you decide what to cook for guests for supper?

We have two couples coming over for supper, a very English middle-class way of saying “dinner” with pretensions. One includes a south American with a taste for spice, whilst the other includes a man with an Indian mother. I am not going anywhere near cooking an Indian dish that his mother inevitably makes better. But I do fancy a bit of spice and at this time of year, crisp and cold weather suggests warming soups and stews.

I’m veering towards a butternut laksa dish, smooth coconut and comfort personified. It has a bit of heat but all wrapped up in a creamy buffer. The “soup” can be made a long time in advance with the butternut squash cooked ahead and added last minute, just to warm through. It has south east asian overtones but I’ll probably cook basmati as an accompaniment – there’s something incredibly reassuring about a rice that you can essentially add boiling water, cover with a lid and leave to its own devices for 10 minutes.

Once you’ve decided the central dish, the rest sort of looks after itself. I’ll make a side dish of spinach and coconut which is basically from an Indian cook book but goes so well with the laksa that no one will care. Again, the spice mix can be made ahead of time, and the spinach microwaved, so all that’s required is a quick stir fry just before serving.

And for desert I’m going to serve rhubarb and lychees in warm syrup with vanilla ice cream – make ahead and just heat through last minute.

But every meal should have some fiddly bits, so maybe I’ll add some chilli aubergine. Because the aubergine is deep fried, and my deep fat fryer is tiny, it will take quite a bit of time to fry the aubergine in batches. Once cooked, it can be served as it is or on a bed of noodles (is this too much with rice already on the table?)

I have korean chilli crackers for snacks and could knock up some kale crisps as well. The latter would make a decent garnish for the laksa.

But since I have a small hob and limited pans, the main question is whether I can fit everything on to cook.

• Skillet- laksa
• large saucepan – rhubarb and lychees (left to the side until after the main meal then warmed through)
• medium saucepan – rice
• small saucepan – aubergine chilli sauce/noodles if required
• wok – spinach and coconut

And probably the trick to make it look decent is to have a number of garnishes pre-prepared at the side of the kitchen, so small sliced chillies, coriander leaf etc.