thanksgiving: new tandoori traditions

I must admit, I was nothing short of skeptical when the Mister announced that he would be making both a tofurkey and turkey on Thanksgiving. For whatever reason, my parents have always opted for Indian food in lieu of the traditional fixings. As a child, I always found this disappointing. As an adult, I was ecstatic to have all my favorite Indian dishes prepared for me during my short visit home.

There was push back after this announcement. I was first to dismiss the Mister's proclamation as ridiculous, and told him to forget it. We always have lamb curry for Thanksgiving, thank you very much. My sister was ambivalent and my cousin was in deep denial. (You would understand our feelings if you've ever tasted my Mom's lamb curry.) We have it every Christmas and Thanksgiving; it’s our holiday tradition. 

My Mom hates to tell her beloved son-in-law no, so she inevitably told him he could make a Thanksgiving lunch. This was acceptable to him, but somewhere along the line the Mister managed to rally my Mom to join him in making a big dinner with all the bells and whistles.

Before I knew it, they were excitedly preparing the new menu. Tandoori turkey, tofurkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy…um, was this really going to happening? Oh, and our delicious mutton curry was moved to Saturday night.

I announced to my husband that I wanted nothing to do with this anti-Thanksgiving tradition. He shrugged and accepted my lack of culpability.

My Mom purchased a 15-pound turkey and a tofurkey at Raisin Rack (organic/veg grocer) in Canton, Ohio. They worked all day to marinate and bake the ‘urkeys. They made Indian-style cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes with chili powder and turmeric, and a beautiful, orange gravy for the turkey.

The Tandoori spices were delicious and the turkey was succulent. You could smell the garlic, coriander and onions. The tofurkey was, in fact, so delicious that the carnivores took seconds. Well, needless to say, I think we have a new tradition for the Bebe.

Tandoori Turkey

Tandoori Tofurkey