Flavors of India Thanksgiving

I love Rachel Ray. She is awesome. I love that she is about creating delicious meals in not a lot of time. So, I was at the grocery store, picked up her November 2012 Magazine and decided to make her "Adventurous Thanksgiving Dinner." It has all the basics...stuffing, turkey, gravy, cranberries....but with a taste of India. I followed her recipes, with a couple of alterations mostly for amounts. We had 9 people and her recipes were for 8-10...and let's be honest....we wanted leftovers!!

Here is the menu:

Tandoori Spiced Turkey and Cracked Pepper Gravy (we smoked ours...so VERY different)
Naan and Cashew Stuffing
Cranberry-Mango Chutney
Stir-Fried Peas with Coconut
Mashed Potatoes... (My addition to the menu!)

Tandoori Spiced Turkey 

Let me first start out and say....all I did was dress the turkey. My husband smoked it and took care of all the cooking details...But the important part is the spice...so cook as  you please...but dress per these directions. (no picture...we ate it too fast!)

Ingredients

1 8 ounce jar ghee (Indian clarified butter) or 2 sticks (8 oz.) butter, clarified (I used ghee from Whole Foods-- and just used the whole 13 oz. since we had a BIG turkey) If you want to make clarified butter: http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/culinaryfundamentals/ss/clarifiedbutter.htm

1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic

5 teaspoons garam masala (Indian spice blend)

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh ginger

2 teaspoons paprika

salt and pepper

1 fresh or thawed frozen turkey (12 to 14 lbs.), neck and giblets saved for another use

1/4 cup finely chopped shallot

4 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup flour

2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

(As for the other ingredients I pretty much doubled them for out 20 lb. turkey

Directions

In a small saucepan, melt the ghee with the garlic, 4 tsp. garam masala, the ginger, paprika and 1 tsp. salt over medium-low heat. Let cool. (Can be made up to 2 days ahead; cover and refrigerate.)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Carefully slide your fingers between the skin and the breast meat of the turkey. Spread as much of the ghee mixture under the skin as you can. Spread any remaining ghee mixture on the outside of the turkey.  
At this point, we smoked the turkey for 3 hours on cherry wood. 
To continue with Rachel Rays version...keep reading:

Using kitchen twine, tie the legs together at their ends. Tuck the wings behind the back of the turkey, if desired. Place the turkey, breast side up, on a rack in a roasting pan.
Roast the turkey for 1 hour. Baste, then lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue roasting, basting every 20 minutes. Roast until the skin is browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thigh registers 155 degrees, 1 hour to 1 hour and 20 minutes more. 

Tent the turkey with foil and let rest for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the gravy. In a large saucepan, cook the shallot in the butter over medium heat until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in 1 tsp. pepper and the remaining 1 tsp. garam masala. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Stir in the flour; cook, stirring, until the mixture turns light brown, about 2 minutes.

Whisk in 1/2 cup broth, stirring quickly to create a paste. Slowly pour in the remaining 2 cups broth, whisking constantly to keep the gravy smooth. Increase the heat and bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, stirring often, until thickened, about 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Serve the gravy with the turkey.
 

Naan Stuffing With Cashews 

This was the star of the show!! Everyone raved about the stuffing!! I recommend going to an Indian Restaurant and buying Naan straight from the source. It's fresh and worth the $2 per piece! This recipe is modified for our group of 9 plus leftovers...I wish I had made more!!!

Remove from My Rec

Ingredients

10 pieces of naan bread, torn into pieces
4 scallions, thinly sliced (white and green tops)
salt and pepper
2 8 ounce sticks butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1.5 cups whole raw cashews
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup chopped cilantro
 4 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
Juice of 1 lime

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, toss together the naan, scallions and 1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper.

In a large skillet, melt the butter. Add the onion and cook over medium heat until soft,  about 5 minutes. Add  the cashews and cook, stirring, until browned, about 5 minutes.

Stir the cashew mixture into the naan mixture. Stir in the chicken broth, cilantro, mint   and lime juice; toss to coat.

Transfer the stuffing to a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and cover with foil. Bake for 20 
minutes. Remove the foil and bake until browned on top, 15 to 20 minutes.

Cranberry-Mango Chutney

This is a fun twist on the typical cranberry sauce. It's tangy, sweet and has a little punch of heat from the fresh ginger.

 

Ingredients

1 12 ounce package fresh or frozen cranberries (about 3 cups) 

1 cup orange juice 

1 cup sugar  

1 cup chopped dried mango 

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

  

In a large saucepan, bring the cranberries, orange juice, sugar, mango and ginger to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 15 minutes. 

Transfer the chutney to a bowl. Refrigerate to cool and thicken. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

 

 

Stir Fried Peas with Coconut 

I have the original recipe below- I just doubled it for our Thanksgiving because I love peas!

 

Ingredients

1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1/4 teaspoon ground tumeric

salt

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

3 10 ounce packages thawed frozen peas

Directions 

In a small bowl, mix together the coconut, garlic, cumin, coriander, cayenne, turmeric,1 tsp. salt and 2 tbsp. water.

In a wok or large skillet with a lid, heat the oil over high heat. Add the mustard seeds and cover immediately (the seeds will begin to pop). When the popping slows down, uncover, add the peas and cook for 1 minute.

Stir in the coconut mixture. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the peas are just tender and still bright green, about 3 minutes.

 

 

Mashed Potatoes

 This is just an easy how-to for mashed potatoes.

 

Ingredients

8 peeled and cubed russet potatoes  (Typically, you use one potato per person + one) but mine were huge.
1 cup milk
1 stick unsalted butter
salt and pepper

Directions 

In a large pot, boil salted water and add potatoes. Boil for about 15-20 minutes. They should starting to break apart. Strain potatoes in colander. Put back in pot and on low heat add butter and milk. Start to lightly mash. Add salt and pepper liberally. Continue to mix.I put mine into our kitchenaid and let it whip up, a hand mixer will work as well. If needed, add more milk while mixing.