We host strangers for dinner every month - now we have 60 new friends

Making friends in adulthood can be difficult, especially after moving across the world to a new city.

When Nidhi Pal, 38, and Vik Parashar, 46, moved from India to Belfast, they found, while people were warm and friendly, building lasting connections was difficult.

So the couple came up with an unusual way to expand their circle - a dinner party made up of 10 strangers.

"We thought, if no one is calling us in, we will call them in, and open our door," Nidhi said.

Approaching people to make friends in "a different culture and a different language" was difficult, Vik said.

After two years in Belfast, Nidhi realised how isolated they had become.

"I suddenly realised that we have no friends, no social life, and as a mature adult, I didn't know how to make any."

Back home in India, they loved cooking for friends and inviting groups over for celebrations.

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

People of all ages and backgrounds, from Belfast and beyond, filled it out, and Nidhi chose a group of ten who she thought would mix well with each other.

Inviting total strangers into their home wasn't easy.

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

Do they like to sit back and soak up the atmosphere? Do they prefer deeper, one-on-one chats? Or are they the life and soul of the party - the kind that could make a group of strangers feel like family?

Nidhi and Vik use that information to curate the mix around the table.

"You're going by what they put on the form, and you're going with your gut," Nidhi said.

"We've been very fortunate to make a lot of friends so far, but it is nerve-wracking."

Six months on, they are hosting their sixth dinner - and I am the tenth guest at the table.

Nidhi and Vik have cooked an Indian meal, with each of the six courses linked to a different Indian city.

At the table with me are guests from across Belfast as well as two students from India who are studying in the city centre.

This dinner is especially meaningful as it follows days of anti-immigration protests and some violent demonstrations across Northern Ireland.

"I know that isn't the real Belfast," said Nidhi, adding that she is grateful for "the opportunity to show people that Belfast isn't what it looks like from the outside".

For Kayva, 25, a student from India, the timing of the dinner feels important.

"After the riots and anti-immigration protests, I was receiving loads of videos which were very disturbing. People throwing rocks and burning houses. It was terrifying," she said.

"I wanted to come to Nidhi and Vik's supper because I felt so far away from home. I wanted to feel safe, comfortable, and at home."

Beside her sits Julia, 55, from east Belfast.

"Meeting Nidhi and Vik at home after the riots this week made it all the more poignant," she said.

"It's made me more determined to get to know people who live in my area, even if they're not from the same country."

For Nidhi, "life has completely changed" since they first opened their door to strangers.

"Six months ago, I knew nobody here, even though I'd been here for two years.

"I have someone I can call now. I feel that I belong here, which is what I was looking for."

Vik said that, while they have accomplished their goal in making new friends, this isn't the end of the story.

"Now we have 60 friends after six dinners.

"That's a beautiful feeling, because you know that when you go outside, there might be someone you know.

"I am very greedy. I want the whole world to be my friend. So as long as we have the time and the energy, we'll keep inviting people.

"We're not doing anything special. We just ask that people try our food, sit with us, listen to us, talk about themselves, share their stories and laugh together."