The fourth Thursday in November arrived at my house as an open invitation rather than a set of instructions, and whatever my family felt like cooking that year is what we ate for Thanksgiving!
One year, my parents declared that it would be an Indian Thanksgiving. No turkey. Nothing beige. I went back to school that Monday and listened to everyone describe the exact same meal, and I remember thinking, quietly and with total confidence, that I had eaten better.
Keep in mind this was Charleston, SC in the nineties. Whatever my parents put on that table came off a very short grocery store shelf and a lot of guessing, and it was still one of the Thanksgivings I remember best.
I have thought about that table ever since.
Last year I wrote about breaking tradition on this blog, and even snuck tandoori masala Cornish hens and a carrot halwa cake onto my ideal menu! Which, in hindsight, was me circling the thing I actually wanted to do. A menu that breaks tradition in all the right ways. And we decided that this is the year to do it right!
Meherwan's debut cookbook came out in September: The No. 1 Best Indian Cookbook in the World. It's full of food that happens to be perfect for a crowd, and our culinary director Alyse Baca went through the whole book and built a Thanksgiving menu out of it!
Every course, every classic dish, matched with something from The No. 1 Best Indian Cookbook in the World.
A few notes before we dive into the menu:
- You do not have to do all of it. I'm not going to pretend that showing up to your family's house with a lamb shank instead of a turkey is a low-risk move. Most families have beloved food traditions around Thanksgiving, and we are not here to tell you to scrap it all…unless you’re into that kinda thing!
- Each section below ends with one dish to make if the rest of your table is staying exactly where it is. Pick one. Nobody will complain!
- Page numbers are from the cookbook & spices are in the 10 pack companion collection. Need both? Check out the bundle.
Okay friends, let's dive in!
Photo of Okra Fries, page 64 in The No. 1 Best Indian Cookbook in the World
Snacks & Starters
Thanksgiving appetizers are usually a holding pattern. Cheese, crackers, something to keep people out of the kitchen while the bird finishes!
And y’all, let me be real with you. Indian snack food was built for exactly this moment! Standing up, talking, eating with your hands, nobody sitting down yet. These are craveable, snacky, and perfect.
Fair warning: the fried things disappear faster than you expect.
- Masala Roasted Cashews (p. 270)
- Veggie Pakoras with Sweet Yogurt Sauce (p. 50)
- Okra Fries (p. 64)
- Fennel-Crusted Eggplant Fritters (p. 67)
If you only make one thing: the Masala Roasted Cashews. They come together ahead of time, they sit out happily for hours, and they'll ruin every other bowl of nuts you've put out in your life.
The Centerpiece (if you dream of more than a bird)
Here's my personal position on turkey. Maybe it's a hot take? You tell me. Turkey takes over your entire oven and most of your day, and while it is my husband’s favorite part of Thanksgiving, I don't care about it! I'm just here for the gravy on mashed potatoes.
Every option below cooks faster than a turkey. Three of them cook on the stove, which gives you your oven back for everything else. And that alone is worth considering.
- Masala Pot Roast Chicken (p. 243)
- Maharaja Lamb Shanks (p. 239)
- Chettinad Spice-Crusted Duck Breast with Coconut "Pan Sauce" Curry (p. 235)
- Chicken Biryani (p. 221)
- Tandoori Chicken (p. 167)
If you only make one thing: Tandoori Chicken, served alongside the turkey rather than instead of it! The yogurt marinade does the work while you deal with everything else, and Botiwalla Tandoori Masala is one of the tins on this list you'll reach for all year.
Photo of Corn Bhel, page 43 in The No. 1 Best Indian Cookbook in the World
Sides
Thanksgiving sides are already a committee. Nine dishes, three of them beige, at least one made from a recipe on the back of a can. Which, to be clear, I am totally here for! I have many a family recipe, handed down by generations, from the side of a can. And I treasure those.
I'm also here to propose that slotting Indian dishes into that lineup is the least disruptive thing you can do, because the format is already chaos!
Alyse matched these one for one against the classics.
- Masala Green Beans (p. 201), where the green bean casserole goes
- Mom's Quick 'N' Easy Potatoes (p. 207) or Masala Smashed Potatoes (p. 54), for the mashed potatoes
- Vegetable Pulao (p. 200), in place of stuffing
- The Obligatory Saag Paneer (p. 230), for the creamed spinach
- Apple Sabji (p. 203), for the apple dish
- Corn Bhel (p. 43), for the corn
- Butternut Squash and Green Bean Coconut Curry (p. 204)
- Parathas and Stuffed Parathas (pp. 215 to 216), instead of dinner rolls
- Famous Desi Salad (p. 49), for the salad course
If you only make one thing: Masala Green Beans. Same vegetable your family expects, none of the canned soup, and a tadka of Brown Mustard Seed and Cumin Seed that takes under a minute.
Condiments
Cranberry sauce and gravy are not decoration. One is sweet and sharp against rich meat, the other is fat and salt against dry meat. Remove them, and a Thanksgiving plate falls apart. I am not here to advocate removing Cranberry Sauce and Gravy. I'm here to say that you should add these 3 too!
- Tamarind Chutney (p. 271), the sweet-tart counterpart to cranberry sauce
- Raita (p. 274), cooling and yogurt-based, for anything with heat
- Green Chutney (p. 270), herby and bright
If you only make one thing: Gaaah! I’m not really sure how to pick here. I’d say make two…both the Tamarind and Green Chutneys. Sour, tangy and herby, bright. All things a Thanksgiving table will appreciate.
Photo of Masala Chai featuring Chai Pani's Mumbai Street Chai
Dessert & Chai
Look, I love a good pie. But if you want to mix it up this year…the desserts Alyse chose run lighter and more aromatic, and one of them is frozen, which is a genuine advantage at the end of a long cooking day.
- Carrot Halwa (p. 248), where the pumpkin or sweet potato pie goes
- Kheer (p. 247)
- No-Churn Pistachio Kulfi (p. 252)
- Lemon-Ginger Steamed Pudding (p. 253)
- Masala Chai (p. 266), to drink after dinner
If you only make one thing: the Masala Chai, not even a question. Everyone is full, somebody has started arguing about something, and a pot of chai is the most hospitable thing you can put on a table at that hour. It also buys you forty-five minutes before anyone thinks about leaving.
What To Make & When!
Thanksgiving is a logistics problem wearing a menu as a disguise. Rough order of operations, in the way these kinds of dishes generally behave:
Earlier in the week. Chutneys first. They keep, and most of them get better sitting in the fridge for a few days. Roast your cashews whenever you have a spare twenty minutes.
The day before. Anything braised. Pot roast chicken and lamb shanks both improve overnight, the same way your grandmother's chilli did. Get your tandoori chicken into its yogurt marinade before you go to bed.
Thanksgiving morning. Rice dishes, the squash curry, the potatoes. Raita comes together in five minutes and tastes best made the same day.
The last hour. Everything fried, which means pakoras, okra fries, and the eggplant fritters. Parathas go on the griddle last so they hit the table hot.
After everyone has eaten. Chai.
One Last Thing
The Thanksgivings I remember aren't memorable because the food was perfect, or because anybody was trying to impress anyone. They're memorable because the people I loved decided the day belonged to us, and then cooked like they meant it.
They had fun with it. They experimented. They got things wrong and put them on the table anyway. And they made room for whoever showed up.
Perfection was the opposite of what was required.
What all of us felt was the care they poured into that day. And that is what kept everyone in their chairs long after the plates were cleared. Nobody at that table remembers whether every dish worked. All of us remember that they tried, and that they did it for us.
So whether you cook this whole menu or the one dish you can't stop thinking about, I hope you make the thing you actually want to eat this year. Share it with your people. Let the kitchen get loud, and the meal run long.
My parents never had this book. They cooked that dinner anyway, and I'm still thinking about it.
You have the book. Go give someone a table they'll still be thinking about decades later.
That's why we're here 💜 Thank you for being here with us.
Cara & the Spicewalla Team
