November 22, 2006
Flippin' the BirdFood
I am quite sure many of you macacas have had some version of this experience, recounted by Mukta Tripathi of the Napa Valley Register:
During my first fall in the United States, someone asked me what Indians do for Thanksgiving.
Faced with this sort of inquiry, there are three basic approaches you can take.
1) A thorough, sensitive explanation that Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday unfamiliar to desis-from-desiland or any foreigners for that matter, augmented if you care to, by a description of meals consumed at holidays of the desi tradition of your choice, and if you need to, by a patient clarification that you are not one of those other Indians, you know, like that nice lady Pocahontas;
2) A petulant riposte that you are, by birth or longstanding residence, as American as the questioner, and how dare they suggest you would mark Thanksgiving any differently than they;
3) Simply invite the questioner to sit down with you and get your eat on.
My personal preference goes to option 3, as does Tripathi’s, who contributes in that spirit a menu of desified Thanksgiving delights:
I have put together a list of dishes using some traditional American Thanksgiving ingredients: green beans, pumpkin, turnips, potatoes and even cranberries. The sweet and sour pumpkin dish and the turnip, tomato and pea curry can be served with rice pilaf or rolled in a flour tortilla or flatbread as a wrap. I can guarantee that your vegetarian friends will be happy with these alternatives to turkey, and even the non-vegetarians may be inspired by these recipes.
They include Sweet and Sour Pumpkin with Indian Five Spices, Turnip Tomato and Peas Curry, Rice Pilaf; and Ginger and Cranberry Chutney with Five Spices.
You will have noticed that one key item is missing: the turkey. That’s fine if you’re vegetarian — you get to avoid the chore of preparing this fundamentally boring bird in a way that’s fit to eat — but if you or your guests are not, and unless you splurge for a partridge or goose, you need to deal with the problem. That’s where restaurateurs like Qudrat Syed of Chicago come in. He’ll desify your gobbler for a fee:
For $75, Syed took Motamen’s store-bought bird and gave him back a tandoori turkey with biryani, a vegetable-laden rice dish, and Motamen got to keep his own kitchen clean. “It was really different and really good,” said Motamen, who plans to do it again this year.
Another alternative is to outsource not just the cooking but also the cleaning and decor by taking your little tribe of macacas to a restaurant. In Washington, for example:
Thanksgiving is not a holiday in India, but Rasika (633 D St. NW; 202/637-1222) and the Bombay Club (815 Connecticut Ave. NW; 202/659-3727) are adding tandoori turkey to their a la carte menus on Nov. 23 for $15.50 and $14.95.
Or on Long Island:
The Curry Club, an Indian restaurant in East Setauket (751-4845), is contributing the turkey chandni ($9.95), or boneless chunks of fresh turkey breast marinated overnight in sour cream, black pepper and other fresh-ground spices, cooked with red onions, tomatoes, chopped garlic and ginger, and turkey vindalu ($9.95), a dish for spice lovers who crave hot curry. It is cooked with potatoes, tamarind and vinegar as well as spices.
Still, call me —gasp— American, but I just don’t like the idea of feasting at a commercial establishment. Fortunately there are some home solutions to be thankful for. The Seattle Times visits Stuti and Anu Garg of Woodinville, Wash.:
So when she arrived in this country from Mumbai (Bombay) with her parents in 1989 to study, she took a natural liking to Thanksgiving, a holiday that centers so heavily on food, family and togetherness.
“It’s a time to share our food and our memories,” said Garg, 35. She stood in her kitchen amid the scent of simmering Raajma Royale, a kidney bean, onion and tomato dish similar to American-style chili that she likes to bring to potlucks. On her counters sit tins holding curry leaves, turmeric, cumin. Bags of lentils in different colors line her pantry. In her nearly two decades in the United States, it’s become increasingly easier to find her ingredients just about everywhere, she said.
The website Sub Rosa, which Abhi linked to last year, suggests:
Pumpkin pie leads the way to India - nutmeg, ginger, allspice, cinnamon, cloves and baked pumpkin. If you know your Indian food, you instantly recognize these as staples in the Indian kitchen and key ingredients in your mom’s favorite pumpkin pie.
So you jack that up with crystalized ginger and a cardamon whipped cream and you are sailing straight towards Kerala, a province at the tip of India. Cumin rub on the bird; stuffing with dried fruits and cinnamon; Horseradish mashed potatoes; Cranberry chutneys gone to Bombay and back all help turn your American standards into East Indian delicacies.
Finally Shanta Nimbark Sacharoff brings us full circle. Apparently faced with having to feed a posse of Western, fake-meat and seitan-lovin’ vegetarians, she flips the script altogether and concocts a meal that mixes the flavaz of Desiland with those of them other Injuns. This results in dishes like her Savory Pueblo Pie with Spcies of India:
For the main Thanksgiving entrée, many of my vegetarian friends struggle to make a mock turkey with soy or seitan (wheat gluten protein) or end up buying the frozen unturkey. Many of these products are healthy and tasty, but being a lifelong vegetarian, I do not have a need for fake meat, so I usually make a main dish that is substantial, such as a casserole. This year, I decided to make a main entrée that is a fusion between Native American food and Indian spicy cuisine. This pie does not need any crust. Instead, cooked polenta and cornmeal are layered on a filling that is fuss-free and nutritious.
If you’re still hungry, here’s Abhi’s 2004 Thanksgiving post, Abhi’s 2005 post, and some gratuitous Tofurky pr0n from Manish. I’ll see you around the virtual dinner table. Feel free to bring a few bottles of pinot noir, it helps the turkey go down right. Gobble Gobble Y’All!
siddhartha on November 22, 2006 07:39 AM in Food · T·r·a·c·k·b·a·c·k address · Direct link · Email post
Hehe... culture writers are so quaint :)
A lot of desis who celebrate the holiday don't really have a choice but to eat desified Thanksgiving food. Desi moms have a way of desifying everything - they can't help it. You'd have to make everything yourself, or tell them what to do (wtf, tell my mom how to cook? perish the thought!) if you want it done the traditional American way.
Mmm. All those desified Thanksgiving dishes sound divine. I'm thinking even gobi or gaajar-mattar or gajar halwa would be appropriate with Turkey.
The joy of Thanksgiving is of course that it's just an American national holiday and isn't associated with any religion, and it's all about the food, which pretty much anyone can share in, and no-one ever asked me if Indians celebrated it (lots of anecdotes on this blog make me think I was lucky enough to experience the more cosmopolitan American milieux...no redneck howlers). Makes for a great joke, though, the ex and I had a Thanksgiving party once and we sold it as particularly appropriate seeing as there was an American and an Indian....
Who you callin' quaint? Also: recipes, please!
Thanksgiving is hands down my favorite holiday of the year. I actually look forward to the Wednesday before Thanksgiving as much as the day itself because invariably, because everyone is in town with family, I end up at a bar with old friends that I've known since childhood. Coming from a pretty orthodox TamBram background, my Thanksgiving is your standard desi party. Potluck lunch AND dinner (it's an all day affair) with aunties in their finest pattu saris and uncles ready to break out the black label and talk politics. Now that us young'uns are all growns up, there is generally beer involved as well. In fact, the only traditionally "american" things about it are the fact that we all gather on Thanksgiving and we all watch football (Go Cowboys!!!).
To all you mutineers out there, have a safe and happy holiday weekend. Eat, Drink, and Be Merry.
Yum! thanks for the links- I brought black cardamon on a whim one day- but never found in all my desi cook books a recipe that uses it until this (rice pilaf)
warning for you epicurean's
I have been dying to know....just what does tofurkey taste like??
If we have guests, my Mom trots out the full South Indian buffet. Once or twice when it's just the four of us, we've gone to an Indian restaurant instead for lunch.
That snake wouldn't have burst if it had just been prepared with its maternity pants for Thanksgiving dinner....
Seriously. Those who fail to loosen their belt do so at their own risk. It's a great meal for lungis or sarongs...
Re: Recipes: In 2002, the Newark Star-Ledger featured my brother's desi-spiced turkey and stuffing. The link is no longer available, but if you have access to a newspaper database, the citation is
At the Thanksgiving Table
Handed-down family recipes flavor celebrations with history and memories
by NANCY RING
Wednesday, November 20, 2002, Page 65, 1653 words.
Best day to PARTYY!!
That's a lovely image Sriram. Enjoy your day!
I think Wednesday before Thanksgiving is National Go-To-The-Bar with your high school friends and makes asses of yourself day. I love it.
Might be my favorite post ever.
My mom desi-fies Thanksgiving too, but I think that makes it even MORE American. I have always loved Thanksgiving because it was the one holiday that it seemed I could legitimately celebrate along with my classmates and friends. Now I know many folks take issue with Thanksgiving for several reasons but all that aside, I really do enjoy spending time with family and friends while eating. What could be better? Also, the lack of presents makes it less stressfull.
My mom's traditional Thanksgiving included roasted pumpkin soup with lots of garlic. No one in my family really likes pumpkin pie, so we have cranberry sauce over vanilla ice cream (Hagen Daaz of course) for dessert. I'm telling you, nothing ever tasted so good.
You think? I know!
I'll be making a pair of desified, spicy quiches for Thanksgiving, one most likely clove and ginger-flavored, and the other spicier and with spinach and onions. I put the basic recipe up a few days ago, after I made a few different quiches for a Sunday brunch over the weekend.
Off-topic: Anu Garg is mentioned above. For those who may not know him, he's famous for his Another Word A Day mailings to over 600,000 people daily. A true, wonderful word nerd!
Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!
I know quite a bit about soy substitutes, even though I don't like them. Soy can be used to make any number of things, but meat substitutes are for people who still crave meat and simulate its taste and texture with other products to satiate that craving - a bit hypocritical if you're a moralist veg, I think. Me, I don't know what turkey (or any other kind of meat) tastes like, so I can't give you a point of reference, but if it tastes like Tofurky products (which are supposed to be top of the line), then I don't feel like I'm missing anything. I can only describe it as a dense and coarse bean curd sliced really thin and loaded with salt, pepper and other kinds of spices, depending upon what meat "flavor" you get. And of course, there's just no way to get rid of that soy aftertaste.
This is the Thanksgiving version. I have yet to try the "Tofurky Feast", but I don't know about a giant slab of soy stuffed with god knows what... though I have to admit that their "Giblet Gravy" is pretty good on mashed potatoes.
Um, yeah, that's sexy... :-/
Best wishes to you all from the polar circle. I hope you and your dear ones have a fantastic thanksgiving. Thank you for sharing your personal anecdotes and thoughts.
Siddhartha,
I just tried to email you, but it looks like IllHindu is down so I couldn't get your address. Here's the link to the Times profile mentioned above, the one of Anu Garg and his wife about their Thanksgiving celebrations, for those who want to read the full article.
Siddhartha's website hasn't been working for at least a month now. Maybe Mr Kobayashi's atheism finally got to our Ill Hindu?
Ha! I'm an idiot. I should have just moused over your name!
wow...am I the only one whose parents actually do the whole american turkey-dressing-sides thing? no desification anywhere in sight in our house...
Siddhartha's website hasn't been working for at least a month now. Maybe Mr Kobayashi's atheism finally got to our Ill Hindu?
And Apple Itunes store is very unhappy because of it. I've had no inkling to download the latest craze in, say, Senegal music.
Hey hey now some of us aren't moms yet but still desify our Amrikan food! Here is my recipe which has become a proven success. Best rate of success: 32 lb turkey gone in 20 minutes.
I losely follow this Martha Stewart recipe with the following variations:
I premake a frozen roll of unsalted butter with Indian red chili pepper & finely chopped fresh mint. Soften 1 stick of butter and mix with 2 teaspoons of the pepper & the mint. After everything is mixed well put it in a ziplock bag, squeeze it to the end and make a roll of it and stick it in the freezer. When it's all set, cut the plastic off and you have a "log" of spiced butter. Cut it into coins/slices.
Losen the skin of the turkey from the inside so that it is still attached to the turkey on the ends but there is space between the skin and the turkey. Stick the coins of butter under the skin all over evenly. Put 3/4 of the log on the outside of the turkey under the skin. Use 1/4 of the log to rub on the inside of the turkey, in the cavity and on the legs/wings. Stick whole cloves in a pattern that looks like a ham pattern on the outside of the turkey to sort of secure the loose skin onto the turkey and seal the butter coins in.
I'm not a big fan of stuffing a raw turkey with uncooked veggies or other things so I make a pouch of cut lemon, thyme, basil, mint, bay leaves and kadipatta and stick it inside the turkey, in the cavity.
Follow instructions for the roaster and setting temperature according to the size of your turkey. Line the bottom of the pan with raw long chopped carrots and celery. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon of garam masala on it & 1 teaspoon of chili power on it.
As the turkey starts heating up roasting the frozen butter under the skin will melt into the skin and start dripping down into the pan. Add white wine to the pan. I actually prefer California Chardonnay to cooking white wine or other obscure liquids.
Your pan will start filling up soon with the spicy turkey drippings, wine mixed with the masala and the celery and carrots. This is your basting liquid and can be used for the base of your gravy. The carrots and celery prevent your pan from turning into a burning mess and the boiling of veggies creates a steam under your turkey so the heat isn't so dry. I highly recommnend a good baster and a good cooking brush.
When the coins of butter have pretty much melted off into the turkey line the turkey with the cheesecloth which I presoak in a butter, chili power and wine mix. You baste over the fabric. And this turkey needs a lot of tending to and basting because the cloth tends to dry up fast and burn if you ignore it too long.
Towards the end remove the cloth, when your turkey is almost done. Sprinkle a mix of brown sugar, cinammon & red chili over the turkey and finish roasting the turkey and letting it brown without the cheesecloth. Baste before you sprinkle with the mix.
Questions about this recipe will cost you $1 each :-)
*for me, going vegetarian was really because of the physiological reaction i had to meat. beef made me feel sick. one meal of mutton and i would be sweating these ammonia bombs. the bones threw me off when looking at chicken bones. though to be candid i have had moose and beaver to abide with my host's tradition. another story.
And then there's the desi families that won't even hear of having a desi-ish dish at dinner on Tgiving. This is often cultivated by older siblings who grew up when there were no desis around, and are so white identified that they freak at any sullying of this sacred white holiday. "Gross! Indian food at Thanksgiving? That's sooo stupid! Like do you really think the pilgrims and the American Indians were eating vindaloo? I don't think so! You and you're stupid 'identity stuff.'" Yes, its the stuff of holidays. ;)
Our family usually has a happy balance. The turkey gets masala-fied, and we have about an even number of brown and american dishes - and of course, my 4-cheese baked mac-n-cheese.
TerraTango - I know of what you speak -those are usually the families where the adults have yummy desi food and the kids insist on eating blander-than-bland classic turkey that mom was forced to order in or make. Kind of ironic about it being a whiter than white holiday, given that many of the traditional thanksgiving foods were brought by, um, the Indians, and are New World foods.
Great post, Siddhartha -- making me very hungry. My new favorite Thanksgiving dessert riffs off of Maya's sweet deception using pumpkin. My mom thought it sounded gross when I described it over the phone, but when I recently tested it on friends last month, the reviews seemed pretty good.
Tamasha -- I feel exactly the same way about Thanksgiving, and your observation that desi-fying it makes it more American seems so spot on. I think it's a
fabulous-- oops, sorry, I mean fantastic holiday, one that always has been a personal and family favorite. A happy Thanksgiving to all of you!Happy Turkey Day all! No turkey for me, I dont like it at all, taste like dark meat chicken, but anyway I will be making a giant leg of lamb. Yup, a very South African South Asian American holiday for me!!!! Mashed potatoes......garlic mashed potatoes...lots of it!!! Yummmm
desitude:
The grocery store too. I kinda felt guilty about hating okra after his bit on NPR about okra and racism. So I got me some okra and made it reeely sticky. And I still didn't like it. But at least it got me back on sauteed dry okra - that counts for something, hain na? Please sir, bring back your website.
hairy_d:
Oh I understand (and I actually do the same thing). I just don't like them hippie moralists who make everyone else feel guilty about their dietary choices, but find every which way to replicate the taste and texture of the forbidden flesh. Cultural and religion-based vegetarianism (if it's not done with the zeal of a convert) is very different from trendy moralist vegetarianism.
Shruti:
Save your snark
*swoon*
The grocery store too. I kinda felt guilty about hating okra after his bit on NPR about okra and racism. So I got me some okra and made it reeely sticky.
It is a little slimy Shruti, however he might have poeticized it. It might make a good stuffing.
shruti
:-p yum
desitude
:-
I would love to have some sauteed dry okra. my last experience with okra was at a pakistani resto in SF. they made it a bit too oily and it was shredded. didnt enjoy it. care to share shome shrepies shroo
don't forget- Abhi had posted some fierce recipes last year. I was going to bust out with the sweet potato recipe, in fact.
Being wegetarian, I don't even mess with Tofurkey or any of that crap. More side dishes and dessert for me, thank you very much. Everybody can fill up on turkey and have their little tryptophan coma. I'll be heading back for seconds on scalloped potatoes while you snore...
out of curiosity - is pumpkin used in any indian cooking? actually, i'm sure it is - i believe it is called a kaddoo in hindi (ryhmes with laddoo) - just dont recall anyone actually cooking with kaddoo.
i can say that again and again.
kaddooo
kaddOOOO
kaDDDooo
KAAADDDooo
KadDDoooOOOOooo
If you're ever in the Bay Area, go to Avatar's in Sausalito. They have a dish called Punjabi Enchiladas and one of their 'secret' ingredients is pumpkin.
I knew a Malayali Aunty who made a damn fine cranberry pickle. I always thought that would have been a great desi spin on cranberry sauce. Invite your American friends over, giv 'em turkey and cranberry achar...
my mom makes an awesome pumpkin dish... here's a v simple recipe... works w any kind of squash actually
Tarla Dalal has a killer Rajsthani sabji recipe. If you can't Google it, I can get it from my semi-guju wife.
There isn't much to it, especially in terms of the ingredients required.
Don't shred the okra. Wash it and then slice it into pieces that are about half an inch thick. DO NOT WASH AFTER YOU'VE SLICED THEM (the water facilitates the sap, and makes them really slimy to work with while preparing and cooking).
I trust you can gauge the proportions depending upon the amount of bhindi you want to make...
1. Chop two medium sized onions and bring them to a light brown in about a tblsp of olive oil on med heat.
2. Add the okra slices. Don't stir too much, or you'll make it mushy. Leave it at a low-med heat so that it dries out slowly by itself.
3. About half way (when it starts wilting a bit) add a clove of garlic, and chili bowder, salt and haldi to taste.
4. You're almost done when it's gotten dark, wilted and dry (don't make it too dry, just enough that it doesn't stick to the spoon). You need to add something sour to it - half a tsp of amchur, if you have it, or a tsp of lemon juice. Stir till it's mixed and you're done.
If you want more substance in the base (which will make the dish less dry), add chopped tomatoes, coriander and cumin to the onion as you're browning it.
As for pumpkin, doesn't "kaddoo" just mean "squash"?
You know, Garam Masala - Coriander - Cumin + Nutmeg = Pumpkin Pie Spice
You must try to find that old ketchup commercial "Ismein kaddoo nahi zara". A dig at rival ketchup makers who mixed cheaper kaddoo to improve the bottom line.
Apologies for typo-ridden run-on text in previous post.
Awesome.
As a long term FOB, TG is at first intimidating, because it is about finding family. In the long run, it has become fulfilling. One of my favorite American Holidays.
Thank you Sonia, Shodan, Shruti and Sumiti. youve made me very hungry.
I think the secret ingredient here is amchur or mango powder. Got ot get me some.
My contribution will be a little spare. Hey - if it takes more than 10 minutes of my time in the kitchen, it's too long. But this should go down well with the desi males. They can feel they've added something to the table without being a total sponge.
Gather the following
1. One sweet potato peeled. Four red potatoes not peeled. Four blue/purple potatoes not peeled.
2. 3/4 red onion. 6 cloves garlic.
3. 1 teaspoon sea salt, 1 tsp pepper (coarse ground)
4. Capful of skanky ho olive oil.
5. Large square of aluminum foil
6. half a lime
slice and dice
1. sweet potato into wedges
2. red and blue potatoes into fat blobs.
3. garlic into slices
4. onion into rings or half moons.
cook it all by
1. throwing it all in the foil.
2. Drizzling with skanky ho olive oil.
3. Adding the salt and pepper
4. shoving it in toaster oven and wait for 20-25 minutes
serve with squeeze of lemon. You;ll be surprised what a color splash this makes. I'd try cooking the sweet potato unpeeled as well - but the mud sometimes gets to me.
hmm i think i'll try amchur too the nex' time.
happy thanksgiving, mutineers!!
it's my FAVORITE american holiday, complete with Dahi Vade and Vegi Stuffing!!
if you want a cheerful alternative to pumpkin pie that takes 1/3 the time, here is a recipe for pumpkin brownies which are always a hit:
4 eggs (or the equivalent of egg subsitute-- use Ener-G potato starch found at a health food store)
1 can pumpkin (i think about 15.5 oz?)
3/4 cup veg. oil
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cup all-purpose flour (you can also use rice flour if anyone is allergic to gluten)
2 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice (found in the spice aisle)
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1 Tsp ground cloves
1 Tsp ground ginger
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt (optional)
Beat pumpkin, egg, oil, vanilla
Add dry ingredients and beat until thoroughly mixed.
Pour into greased 13 x 9 pan
Bake @ 350 for 20-25 mins until a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean. Don't overbake-- you want the brownies to be moist!!
For some seriously decadent frosting:
take cream cheese (an 8 oz package will do), let it sit out until it can be beaten-- add 1/2-1 cup of confectioner's sugar (or enough to taste) and thoroughly beat with an electric mixer until it is spreadable. Add a dash of vanilla and pumpkin pie spice. when the brownies are cooled, frost and enjoy.
YAAAAY!!
JOAT,
How much are you charging at the door for an invitation for your awesome-sounding (and probably, awesome tasting) turkey? ;)
I'm going to stick with the following:
Appetizers: Puff pastry with mushroom cream sauce and spinach
Main course: Chole, Paneer something & chicken something
Dessert: Pumpkin pie (Thanks Whole Foods)
and the staple: LOTS of wine and Texas vs. A&M Football.
Hook 'em!!
ALERT! ALERT! ALERT! All Thanksgiving Turkey Chefs!
Everyone Stop what you are doing right now and run home to BRINE your turkey!
If only we had this post a few days ago, but its not too late. You can brine your turkey the Indian way tonight. My family religiously gets together on Thanksgiving to play traditional American family. We always had the big Turkey and all the fixin's. But every year, the Indians complained of 'the smell'. 'Do they put Benzoic acid in everything' my aunt wanted to know. "No its must be what wild animals smell like when cooked." Someone said the turkey was fermenting. Even the dogs wouldn't eat it. Until last year. I got bit by the 'brine the turkey' bug. I called my uncle over and we brined it together.
The turkey was too big for any utensil we had so we took one of the big plastic bags grocery stores have to put your greens in and dropped the cleaned turkey in it. WE then put the whole thing in a bucket to avoid accidents. Next we added water in the plastic bag till it engulfed the turkey. Added a cup of kosher salt. we put fresh rosemary, fresh thyme and dried Bay leaves which we bought for this purpose. Then to 'Indianize' it, we had my mom toast few cardamum, a cinnamon stick, and 5 or 6 cloves and added to it. To make it spicy, we crushed green chillies, black pepper and ginger and dropped it in. My uncle wanted to put rosewater in it but I revolted. We thought we put enough spices in it to overpower any turkey smell. Next day we cooked it according to instructions and it was unbelievable. It tasted so delicious and spicy on its own. The smell was slightly like chicken curry. We had it with gravy containing extra crushed pepper. We had everyone gnawing on the bones. Last week my uncle promised to make it the same way at his house this year but I'm not sure he wont put rosewater in it.
I don't think you can go wrong but just in case, I should put in a disclaimer. Try this and you'll have a great adventure I promise, but results are your own.
Anyone want to meet me at a Chinese restaurant tomorrow?
Only if its the Wok-22 with plastic icicle lights and fake Santa already up in the window. Wahoo for coming from a family of desi doctors who are all on call because the American doctors actually celebrate this holiday and don't want to be at the hospital.
Not that I'm bitter or anything, the Friday after always helps my TG blues.
@ # 26
Jane of All trades:
May I please have the complete recipe? You sound like some one who knows what she is doing :-)
thanks
"I'll be back." There've been some temporary techical/financial difficulties plus I've had a lot going on. Actually, if there's anyone out there who could help me with a quick and easy redesign, please give me a holler. I can give you clear specs, even complete wireframes, I just need some design help. I might be able to pay a small/symbolic fee.
Unfortunately I am not making it this year. I really didnt have any takers. Next time I make it you are welcome to come eat it for free, no charge :-)
Cliff give me 10, I'll repost with the combined recipes (Martha & Me) in a proper format :-)
And, from mallu-land, mathanga erissery.
shruti sez:
Also, if you want to get rid of the sliminess completely, and add a bit of freshness to the thingy, don't add the chopped tomatoes like above, but added fresh chopped tomatoes, and yoghurt after the sanji is done. Kinda like an okra sabji-raita. Yummy.
Speaking of kaddu, there's a memorable bit in a Bharati Mukherjee story (I think "The Lady from Lucknow"), where someone is hosting a university exchange student from Pakistan for Thanksgiving dinner. The student makes a comment like, "The idea of pumpkin as sweet is repulsive. We are eating it as vegetable only." I always think of this story when eating pumpkin pie now.
We did the whole sh'bang: turkey, stuffing, giblet gravy (yes, from boiled vertebrae and drippings), mashed potatoes, yams/sweet potatoes, buttered corn, buttered peas, buttered rolls, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. Oh, and a separate dish of stuffing for my vegetarian father. Until called to dinner, he'd stay upstairs to avoid the sacrilegious smell of meat.
This was all special, only for the holiday and a few weeks of leftovers. We didn't see a reason to make it like the food we ate the rest of the year.
Though now that I think about it, there were some poppy seeds in the yams.
MATHHANGAAA!! Main tujhe bhoon daloonga
which... I suppose translates to ... Pumpkin! I will roast you.
maTTHANGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! there tukray thukray kar doonga.
which... translates to ... Pumpkin!! I will cut you up.
I think I'm going to be known henceforth as MATHANGAA!!! Say it and quake!! ( shake and gel in a flat baking dish)
:D
Minor correction before you adopt the name, hairy_d. I think it would be more correctly transliterated as "Mathangya". In my opinion it sounds even more bad-ass that way.
JOAT,
Thanks.........still waiting on the recipe (stomping feet restlessly like Homer Simpson) :-)
Here you go Cliff. Enjoy. Ask questions if you have any or if you find anything wrong with the recipe. :-) Good luck.
Thanks,
It is pretty straight forward. I will let you know tomorrow how it turned up. If good then- I am the champion else be in the dog house :-)
Cliff
It really is a simple recipe. If you've cooked a turkey before you will be fine. The problem is never with the actual recipe which can be simple to complex but usually people can't figure out the cooking time and temperature thing and that is where most of the screwups happen. Take pictures :-)
Is that THE Stuti Garg of Namix and Anu Garg of A.word.a.day (and a unicyclist)? An awesome couple (although I don't know them personally).
Kumro aar Peyaj Kolir Chhechki
(Pumpkin & Scallion Stir Fry)
Pumpkin: Cut into desired size. No bigger than 1square inch
Scallion: Separate the white part and slice lengthwise. Chop the green parts to size.
Oil
Kancha Lonka, slit ends.
Kalonji
Salt
Sugar:
Ghee/Butter optional
Non stick skillet
Heat oil to almost smoking.
Add Kancha & Kalonji. It should sputter.
Add the sliced white scallion and stir once.
Add the Pumpkin pieces and stir
Add the salt and sugar.
Cook on high heat for 5 minutes.
Add the scallion greens and stir.
Cook another 5 minutes.
Add Ghee/Butter.
Check taste. Add salt and sugar if needed.
I've had enough of this "desified" Thanksgiving nonsense, I want something "Americanized" and ready to kick some ass! I've got three words for all of those vegetarians out there: BACON. COATED. TURDUCKEN! Mmmm...now that's some real 'Merican cuisine I can be thankful for.
Pritha.. is there an alternative to ghee/butter. Do you think olive oi would work? it doesnt work for some dishes that need a certain aroma so i thought i'd ask.
what is kalonji btw? and
Thus spake the mathannngYAAA!!
JoaT,
Well, that's a shame, seeing as you appear to be one of SM's Gangsters of Gastronomy (Manju being the other one, due to his sushi expertise). Maybe it's a factor of how you "sell" your menu. As follows:
The dish consists of a veritable supermodel of a turkey, tantalisingly massaged with Indian red chilli pepper & mint all over its glistening brown body. Note the tattoo of cloves, revealing that this bird is not afraid to throw caution to the winds and be as unconventional as possible for the Thanksgiving season, tradition and respectability be damned. Drool over the lemon, thyme, basil, mint, bay leave and kadipatta stuffing which awaits those finally permitted entrance to the Garden of Eden.....Fantasize over the chopped carrots and celery coquettishly reclining on the pan as though it were a silk-draped four-poster bed in a courtesan’s royal quarters, a lavish boudoir of spicy garam masala and chilli powder aching to explode passionately upon the quivering lips of the waiting connoisseur.....Lose your senses in the allure of the California Chardonnay wine drizzled over the pan, by now an unbridled symphony of frenzied piquant delight.....Gasp in scandalised surprise at the threeway of brown sugar, cinnamon and – once again – that lascivious harlot red chilli shamelessly fondling the luxuriant surface of the turkey, nuzzling the skin without discretion or restraint yet simultaneously beckoning you to join in the banquet of oral debauchery.
And then Angelina Jolie strides into the kitchen wearing a chef’s hat and starts doing suggestive things to the turkey with an extremely long carving knife.
You see ? If you want to sell a dish, that’s how you do it. Amateurs :)
Jai:
How do they celebrate Thanksgiving in England? Also do you guys get just the Thursdays off or do you get Friday off as well?
AlMfD, Thanksgiving isn't celebrated in Britain. As far as I know, it's solely an American holiday.
They give thanks that the War of 1812 never became anything more than the War of 1812.
Which reminds me of this dialogue:
J. Russell Finch: You want me to tell you something? As far as I'm concerned the whole British race is practically finished. If it hadn't been for lend-lease. If we hadn't have kept your whole country afloat by giving you billions that you never even said "Thank you" for, the whole phony outfit would be sunk right under the Atlantic years ago.
[Hawthorne screeches to a stop]
J. Russell Finch: What are you stopping for?
J. Algernon Hawthorne: Get out of this machine.
J. Russell Finch: Get out? You can't...
J. Algernon Hawthorne: It's my machine, I will do as I bloody well please. Out!
J. Russell Finch: I'm awfully sorry. I've been very edgy today and if I said anything about England, I apologize.
J. Algernon Hawthorne: Glad to hear you say so.
....
J. Algernon Hawthorne: I must say that if I had the grievous misfortune to be a citizen of this benighted country, I should be the most hesitant of offering any criticism whatever of any other.
J. Russell Finch: Wait a minute, are you knocking this country? Are you saying something against America?
J. Algernon Hawthorne: Against it? I should be positively astounded to hear anything that could be said FOR it. Why the whole bloody place is the most unspeakable matriarchy in the whole history of civilization! Look at yourself! The way your wife and her strumpet of a mother push you through the hoop! As far as I can see, American men have been totally emasculated- they're like slaves! They die like flies from coronary thrombosis while their women sit under hairdryers eating chocolates & arranging for every 2nd Tuesday to be some sort of Mother's Day! And this infantile preoccupation with bosoms. In all time in this Godforsaken country, the one thing that has appalled me most of all this this prepostrous preoccupation with bosoms. Don't you realize they have become the dominant theme in American culture: in literature, advertising and all fields of entertainment and everything. I'll wager you anything you like that if American women stopped wearing brassieres, your whole national economy would collapse overnight.
"A thorough, sensitive explanation that Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday..."
Hey! What about us Canadians. It's not celebrating the slaughter of the indigenous people and their culture, but we have Thanksgiving nonetheless.
hairy_D:
the ghee/butter is for aroma and flavor--you can do without, no worries. Kalongi menas nigella seeds--interestingly enough there is great debate about kalongi as the word means kala jeera, which it isn't. It's not related to the cumin family. Nigella seeds are often used in Mediterranean cookery (sprinkled on breads, etc.) and in Bengal, we use it for breads, fried pastries and chheckis (quickly sauteed veg. dishes) including a tasty one made with potatoes meant to be eaten with lucchi.
Good Luck!
DJDP:
I'll be making Sauteed Brussel Sprouts with Shallots, Bacon, Capers and Roasted fingerling Potatoes because of you.
Oink.
AlMfD, Thanksgiving isn't celebrated in Britain. As far as I know, it's solely an American holiday.
Jai: I was kidding with you. I am well aware of the fact that Thanksgiving is not celebrated in the UK. I was playing on this comment:
Btw, Thanksgiving is also celebrated by the Canadians on the second Monday in October.
OMG Jai I have never been so turned on by a turkey! From now on anytime I have to send out invitations to events/parties you will be my first consultant. That was brilliant. All the more reason for you to write a blog man. Pickled Politics isn't doing enough for you.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I can take credit for being the one to bring/force this holiday into our home, sometime back in 1st grade or something...my mom tried to fool me that year by making chicken instead of turkey, but I was on to her. After that year, we switched over to my mama ji (mom's brother's) house and that's been the tradition ever since. It's always a traditional American meal, turkey and all, with no desi influence whatsoever...but it's been great reading how some of you desify your holiday. Enjoy! And JOAT...sounds like a super recipe. Jai, that was hilarious.
JoaT & Amitabh,
Thanks for your responses ;) You've gotta love how I can turn a description of pretty much any situation into fake-erotica and (even better) somehow always find a way to work Angelina Jolie into the scenario !
I guess I was inspired by the more pretentions high-end menus that are around. Also, Tom Parker-Bowles (Camilla's son/Prince Charles' stepson) is a renowned foodie in the UK (he has his own book too) and he writes absolutely brilliant articles in some British newspapers which are really entertaining -- sort of along the same lines as above (not as lascivious, obviously, but very funny and imaginative). I was basically inspired by his writing style too -- it always puts a grin on my face.
My own blog ? Interesting idea.....Not sure if the world is ready for that yet, though :)
Since someone has mentioned the name "Nigella", here's a completely gratuitous link to famous British chef (and daughter of a previous politician) and all-round hottie Nigella Lawson. The article includes a link to her own website too. She occasionally has her own show on British television -- I think it's also been syndicated in the US -- and I remember she was on Letterman or Jay Leno a couple of years ago where the host got a little too excited by her and ended up saying "My wife's gonna kill me !".
People have described Nigella's presenting style as "Gastro-porn", which ties in nicely with this thread and of course my post #73.
AlMfD,
That's really interesting, I had no idea about that. I thought only the US celebrated it.
Typo: That should of course say "pretentious"
Nigella Lawson...yummy!
Hey stupid question, what does Wegetarian mean? Nothing came up on google.
It's just a joke. Many South Asians can't pronounce "V." It comes across sounding like a "W" instead.
...Many South Asians
cancan't pronounce "V." It comes across sounding like a "W" instead.Jai, do Dave and Jay have a big audience in the UK? How about Conan?
Thanks SM Intern! So sorry your heartless bosses make you work on a holiday.
I kinda figured it was a pronunciation joke, but i'm so behind the curve with my knowledge of restrictive eating - vegans, fishtarians, eggetarians that I thought I had missed the latest wave. my ignorance is culinary bliss.
JOAT,
The turkey turned out to be kick ass !! I honestly think it could have used another 30 minutes of cooking. Everybody loved it. I deviated from the recipe a little bit, though. Details later with pictures....
Cliff
OMG so excited Cliff. Cooking time is always tricky because of oven sizes and temperatures. Can't wait to see pictures :-)
Sounds
Unamericandelicious.Moo. @=)
South Asians will switch the v and w in their pronounciation.
Instead of "whatever" a desi with an accent will say "vatewer".
I don't know mayne, it's just how we do.
Yeah, she's pretty famous for it here in the UK. Her presenting style is all dark flashing eyes, posh English voiceover, closeups of her licking her fingers etc etc.
Amitabh,
Letterman was huge in the UK during the 90s when his show was broadcast on one of the main terrestrial British television channels. It's now on a more obscure satellite/cable channel so I guess the viewership isn't as large, but he's generally pretty well-known. Jay Leno and Conan's shows are both broadcast on the CNBC channel, so are familiar to those with access to satellite TV. However, these days, Jon Stewart's The Daily Show is extremely popular in Britain.
Nigella-wise, here's her first (notorious) appearance on the Letterman show, when ol' Dave became more than a little flustered by her. It's really funny. Some more examples of her TV appearances are on the right-hand-side of the screen.
However, these days, Jon Stewart's The Daily Show is extremely popular in Britain.
What about the Colbert Report?
AlMfD,
Not to anywhere near the same extent, as far as I know. Jon Stewart's the big mang on campus around here.
PS -- I just supplied lashings and lashings of Nigella, and you picked up on my remark about The Daily Show instead ?! Not so much with the "Debauchery" in reality, eh -- all talk and no patloons.
*kidding*
Jai, Nigella is HOT! Her picture in the wikipedia entry doesn't do her justice. I got flustered myself watching her on the youtube clip.
Jai: I dont know who Nigella is so let me check her out.Will report back to you.
Amitabh, I told you she's gorgeous ! You have to check out the other Youtube clips, along with some of the links at the bottom of the Wikipedia page I originally linked to, including her own website. Here's a sample picfrom her homepage's gallery.
Note her date of birth. Unbelievable, isn't it -- she really is that hot in real life.
Hey JOAT,
I am still recovering from the thanksgiving and the long weekend hangover. As I mentioned, the turkey turned out awesome. Did not follow your recipe verbatim, made my own improvisations, but used the general guideline that you provided.
-Brined the turkey overnight with pepper corns, bayleaf, cinnamon and cloves. Curry leaves could be added but I thought it might be a conflicting flavor with bayleaf.
-Used Olive oil instead of butter.
-I had a 14lb bird. did 400F for the first hour and 350F for the next 3 hours. I figured my oven was a little on the larger side for a small bird.
-Did use up 3/4 bottle of chardonnay, which helped an awesome gravy. Spiced up the gravy with crushed pepper corns, mint leaves and additional garlic.
- Used the Carrots and celery on which the turkey rested as a side dish. I had most of it as nobody really cared much for it.
- Used lime, mint, curry leaves in the pouch inside which really added to the flavor of the meat.
- Massaged the rub ( marinade) into the meat for a good 30 minutes.
- Used a aluminum foil to cover the breast while cooking, but the cheese cloth is a better idea.
- for the final glaze ( applied 15 minutes before taking out of oven), I used brown sugar, chilli powder, lime juice and a little salt. Gave it a nice light golden hue.
This is my first venture at cooking the turkey ever. My wife made Cranberry chutney, Stuffing, Green beans casserole, and Sweet potato pie. We invited a few friends to share this "experiment" and they were pleasantly surprised. Ofcourse, we liquored them up thoroughly before the meal.....naah,just kidding!!!. I enjoyed my annual indulgence in high end Scotch, though.
My 4 year old "minicaca" dropped the digital camera and broke it a few days back, I had to use the good ole' "phillum" camera to take the pictures, so please gimme a few days before I can post the pictures on Flickr. Did take some "still" photos on our Sony "miniDVDcam", but the pictures are not the best quality. I need to invest in a good digital camera....
Thanks for the inspiration.
Cliff.
Cliff I'm so excited and really happy things turned out well. It's a simple recipe and leaves a lot of room for personal interpretation according to personal taste. Glad you made the best of it. Can't wait to see the pictures.