Every month we host guests for dinner – now we have 60 new friends

It was difficult to approach people in a “different culture and language” to make friends, Vick said.

After two years in Belfast, Niddy realized how isolated they were.

“I suddenly realized that we didn’t have friends, we didn’t have a social life, and as an adult, I didn’t know what to do.”

Back home in India, they like to cook for friends and invite groups for holidays.

Wanting to recreate that sense of connection, they created an Instagram page called Masala Talkies and posted an online form for anyone who wanted to come to dinner.

It was full of people of all ages and backgrounds, from Belfast and beyond, and Nidhi chose a group of ten that she thought would blend well together.

Inviting total strangers to their home was not easy.

When applying to attend, people are asked about their personality and interests.

Like to sit back and soak up the atmosphere? Prefer deeper one-on-one conversations? Or are they the life and soul of the party — the kind that make a group of strangers feel like family?

Nidhi and Vic use that information to adjust the mix around the table.

“You go with what you do on the form and you go with your gut,” Nidi said.

“We’ve been very lucky to have a lot of friends so far, but it’s nerve-wracking.”