Indian-American Fusion Thanksgiving

Holiday meals are a group affair in our home. Cooking is the main event, with friends and family hands on in the kitchen, hanging out nearby to visit, or taking kids outside to play while others work.  This year was particularly fun because my friend Shashi guided the day’s menu. Shashi and I met in 1994, and while we’ve eaten each other’s cooking over the years, in fifteen years of friendship this was the first time we cooked together.  It was a real pleasure to cook with her, and certainly a pleasure to eat her food. We put together an Indian-American Thanksgiving fusion meal, which consisted of (for the most part) traditional American ingredients done with Indian flair.

Shashi arrived with four bags of groceries, and along with Aaron, Travis, and three of his friends, we settled into an afternoon of cooking.  Nearly every dish started with the same four ingredients, a mix of diced onion, garlic, ginger and green chiles. However, spices varied the flavors so each dish was unique and savory.  Shashi guided us through several dishes and accompanying chutney, including eggplant stuffed with peanuts and coconut, green beans, cauliflower and tofu balls, and a fabulous pumpkin and turnip soup with North African spices. All of her cooking is done by feel, with tasting along the way to balance the heat and spices.

One interesting note is that each dish balanced heat, sweet, savory and salt for a complex flavor.  For example, we made chapati with a base of zucchini, mint, cilantro, garlic and chile, pureed in the food processor, then kneaded with whole wheat flour, rolled into flat bread and grilled.  The chapati were flavorful with a background sweetness and heat from the mint and chile, and a calm counterpoint to some of the more robust flavors.