South Asian Spice for

SOUTH ASIAN SPICES

for Your Thanksgiving Feast

The fusion option to jazz up the holiday meal

JORDANA WEISS

With Thanksgiving rapidly approaching, now is when you organize your menu and get your cooking plan in order. For many people, 2021 marks another year of a smaller Thanksgiving, but that’s no reason to limit your imagination. Instead, mix things up and stray away from the pedestrian classics by bringing in some techniques and ingredients from your South Asian heritage.

The best versions of fusion cuisine fully acknowledge the influence of both cultures. Instead of just adding in new ingredients, the most impactful fusion dishes take what we love from disparate cultures and bring them together into something better than the sum of its parts.

Today, we’ll show you how to incorporate some of our favorite South Asian flavors, ingredients, and techniques into a traditional American Thanksgiving meal. From the appetizers to the sides and dessert, there are lots of opportunities to bring your favorite flavors into this meaningful meal.

Curried Squash Soup

Looking for a light yet flavorful starter for your Thanksgiving meal? We love serving soup. It offers everyone the opportunity to start the meal together, especially if you’re doing a buffet-style spread later. For a truly warming, hearty soup, we love pairing the flavors of curry, squash, and coconut milk into a creamy, smooth soup that comes together in an instant, thanks to your blender. Plus, this is an easy make-ahead dish, leaving you with less to do on Thanksgiving Day.

Another delightful way to use squash is to try our vegan stuffed acorn squash and roasted butternut squash tikka masala.

Get Creative With Your Turkey Rub

Some people are purists, choosing to use little more than salt and pepper on their Thanksgiving bird. If you’d like to infuse your turkey with a bit more flavor, get creative with a spice and curryinfused rub this year. If you cook Indian food on a regular basis, you probably have most of the ingredients for this complex and flavorful rub in your pantry already.

Cranberry Chutney

Cranberry sauce is uber traditional on Thanksgiving, but if you’re anything like us, you’re probably underwhelmed by the sicklysweet flavor. This year, swap your bland cranberry sauce for a flavorful cranberry chutney!

Our favorite version incorporates plenty of cranberries, along with apple, jalapeno, and warming spices like cloves and cinnamon. As a bonus, this makes a fantastic hostess gift.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Every Thanksgiving meal needs a base note that can accompany a variety of dishes including turkey, sides, and gravy. We’ve come to rely on mashed potatoes, but why not create a dish that can be in the spotlight and serve as a supporting player?

We loved mashed sweet potatoes because the taste isn’t too overpowering, but it’s still a delicious way to incorporate some South Asian flavors. We love them with a little ginger, soy sauce, and cilantro, but you can make them creamier but still fully vegan by incorporating coconut milk and ginger.

Sweet Potato Chaat

Want to celebrate traditional North American Thanksgiving flavors without having to stick to the rigid formula of turkey, sides, and gravy? Use sweet potatoes as a basis for chaat. Just roast the sweet potatoes with chaat masala until tender, and choose an array of accompaniments that bring out their flavor. For Thanksgiving, we love: • Chutneys • Pomegranate seeds • Peanuts or pecans • Cilantro • Papdi or sev • Lime juice

Whole Roasted Cauliflower

If you don’t want to do a turkey but still want a beautiful, showstopping main dish, try roasting an entire cauliflower. When rubbed with savory masala spices and roasted whole, it looks (and tastes) absolutely incredible. Serve it with cranberry chutney or raita, accompanied by a side like biryani, pulao, or dal. Looking for some more color on the table? Make our spiced sweet potato and cauliflower bake, best served with a pulao, egg curry, or raita.