An Indian-American Holiday

So Christmas is a big deal in my family, even though we're Hindus. My mom and i both went to Catholic schools growing up and grew up in an environment where Christmas was a big deal, so we've carried on this tradition.

Plus as a family we're pretty open-minded religiously, so we don't mind celebrating the birthday of someone who brings so many people joy. And - on top of that my aunt is Jewish, so we're open to anything, we'd do Hanukkah too if we had a chance.

Anyway, like any family gathering we have a mixture of American and Indian cuisines.

This year the menu was extra special - my Wednesdays of planning and preparing International foods with my roommate, Sara, paid off, and I decided to cook some of those recipes. Most of my family enjoyed all of the food, although I will admit, the brussel sprouts may not have been their favorite. But it's never a bad thing to open your family's culinary palate.

Because these recipes come from other Web sites - I will link to those sites, but I have made adjustments to some of the recipes. Most Indians don't eat pork products, so bacon is a no no. I also adjusted any vegetarian recipes so they didn't include chicken stock and used veggie stock instead.

Maple-Roasted Chickens with Sage Butter
Instead of using turkey as Tyler Florence's recipe calls for, I used two chickens and roasted them side-by-side in the oven. I did not stuff the chickens with stuffing because I personally think that is gross, plus vegetarians then can no longer eat the stuffing.
Another trick - cook chicken breast side down for 30 min per chicken first and then flip over a cook normally according to directions that come with the package.

Southern Cornbread Stuffing
Again unlike Paula Deen, I did not use chicken stock. I substituted with veggie stock. I also did not add poultry seasoning. You can use a store bought italian seasoning, or just add salt and pepper.

Balsamic Braised Brussel Sprouts
so this recipe, courtesy of Smitten Kitchen, another food blog, uses pancetta. I cut that out and the flavor didn't change.

Butternut Squash Risotto
This recipe was delicious - even about 3 or 4 days later. Just make sure you have a lot of stock on hand, because the rice take s along time to cook. Ina Garten uses chicken stock and pancetta, which I again replace with veggie stock. Still tastes amazing.

As for the Indian dishes:

My grandmother made fried rice. I will test out a recipe soon and add it as a separate entry.
My mom made my chick pea masala recipe from this blog. My mom's friend, Sonai, brought two very traditional Indian dishes - Dhokar Dalna and a fish dish, I'll figure out what it's called later and add a recipe to the blog. This recipe was a adapted from Ahaar, another blog about Bengali cuisine.

Dhokar Dalna, a lentil cake in sauce.
serves 6 to 8, Prep: 30 min., Cook: 45 min.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cholar dal (chana dal/Bengal gram)
• 2 medium tomato, chopped
  
• 2 large Idaho potatoes, chopped into cubes.
  
• 1 tsp ginger, grated
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin seed powder
• pinch of asafoetida
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 2 green chillis
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp ghee
• 2-3 tbsp oil
• salt to taste

Method:

1. Wash and soak Bengal gram lentils in water for 4-6 hours. Drain water and grind the dal to a paste in a mixer.
2. Heat 1 tsp oil and temper it with 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, asafoetida, 1/2 tsp ginger paste, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder and salt. 
3. Pour the ground dal and cook till the mixture is soft and sticky, but not completely dry.
4. Smear little oil in a dish. Pour the cooked dal and spread evenly on the dish. Press lightly with your spoon so that it sets properly. Cool and cut the dhoka into square or diamond shapes. 
5. Heat two tbsp oil and fry the dhokas to light brown. Remove and keep aside. 
6. Then heat the rest of remaining oil in a deep bottomed pan and temper it with the 1/2 tsp remaining cumin seeds. Fry for a minute till it stops sputtering. 
7. Add cubed potatoes and brown. They will become more tender as they stew in the pot with other ingredients.
   
8. In the meantime, puree the tomatoes, ginger and green chillies together. 
9. Add the pureed mixture with turmeric, red chili powder, coriander powder, cumin seeds powder and saute for 3-4 minutes on low heat.
10. Then, add about two small cups of of water and salt and let it simmer for 4-5 minutes. 
11. Add the fried dhokas, and bring the curry to a boil. 
12. Reduce heat and simmer for another 4-5 minutes till the dhoka starts to soak up part of the curry.
13. Put ghee and garam masala and take it off the heat. It should be the last thing added. just before the dish is taken off the heat. 

Serve with warm rice.