HYDERABAD: Thanksgiving officially marks the beginning of the holiday season, but hold your hoses; holidays are only in the far west and Japan. But not all is sad, we will still have a Thanksgiving dinner, but it will be a Hyderabadi Thanksgiving. We can gather at the dining table with a wobbly turkey centrepiece and some wine bottles, hold hands, pray before we thank God, and devour. Or we could go to Sanctuary Bar and Kitchen, where the executive chef Asif Iqbal, is setting the scene up for us to celebrate.
“Thanksgiving is all about gratitude towards God for blessing us with the generous harvest; for us chefs, it is to experiment with new dishes and delicious foods,” Chef Asif Iqbal said.
For Sheba, an MNC employee Thanksgiving has been a part of her home since his dad returned from the US. “For the last 12 years, we have celebrated Thanksgiving with our family, where we sit and have an exquisite dinner. In fact, this is one of the best festivals to celebrate. Ultimately, we look for a day for just food and happiness.” Here are a few authentic recipes, but feel free to give them a Hyderabadi spice twist:
Roasted Pumpkin & Ricotta Ravioli in Butter sage sauce
Ingredients:
Pasta dough 150grams | Pesto - 10grams | Extra virgin olive oil 20ml | ricotta cheese 20grams |
Pumpkin 100grams | Parmesan 15grams | Cream 15grams | Butter 150grams | Thyme 2 sprigs | Nutmeg 1grams | Sage 2sprigs | Salt to taste | pepper to taste | Sundried tomato 20grams | Asparagus 10grams | Pasta dough Recipe | Refined flour 250grams | Egg yolk 11no
Method:
● Marinate the pumpkin with olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper
● Roast the marinated pumpkin in the oven for 20 minutes at 170 degrees Celsius until tender ● In a bowl mix together the ricotta, parmesan, roasted pumpkin. nutmeg, salt and pepper. ● Sheet the pasta dough and cut it in the desired shape.
● Stuff the mixture and make a ravioli ● In a hot pan emulsify the butter, cream and sage. Season the sauce with salt, pepper and finish it with basil pesto and juliennes of sundried tomato ● Blanch the pasta in hot water for 12 minutes until it floats on the top ● once the pasta is cooked add the blanched pasta to the sauce ● Garnish the dish with pesto, Sauté asparagus and sundry tomato.
GENERAL TSO’S TURKEY
Marinade/Glaze:
3 tablespoons vegetable oil |3 small dried red chiles, or more to taste | 1 teaspoon ground black pepper | 2 green onions, chopped | ¼ cup light sesame oil |1 small shallot, chopped | ½ can whole berry cranberry sauce | 1 cup turkey broth | ½ cup soy sauce | ¼ cup orange juice | ¼ cup white vinegar
¼ cup plum wine | ¼ cup white sugar | 2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger root | 2 tablespoons chopped garlic | 2 teaspoons grated orange zest | 1 whole turkey, neck and giblets removed 3 tablespoons cornstarch
Dressing:
2 cups cooked white rice ● ½ cup cooked wild rice ● cup dried cranberries ● ¼ cup chopped walnuts
● 2 small green onions, chopped ● 1 small shallot, chopped ● 1 tablespoon sesame oil
Basting Oil:● cup vegetable oil ● cup sesame oil
Directions
● Heat 3 tablespoons vegetable oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Toast dried red chiles in the hot oil until they turn dark red, about 2 minutes. Toss black pepper, 2 chopped green onions, light sesame oil, and 1 small chopped shallot into the hot oil; remove from heat.
● Blend cranberry sauce, turkey broth, soy sauce, orange juice, white vinegar, plum wine, ginger, garlic, and orange zest in a blender until smooth. Transfer to a bowl. Stir toasted red pepper mixture into glaze. Divide glaze in half.
● Place turkey into a large basting bag and pour half the glaze over the turkey and into the cavity. Seal the bag and refrigerate turkey overnight.
● Dissolve cornstarch in the remaining half of the glaze and refrigerate in a covered container.
● Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
● Remove turkey from marinade; discard the used marinade. Set turkey onto a rack inside a roasting pan.
● Mix white rice, wild rice, dried cranberries, walnuts, 2 small chopped green onions, 1 chopped shallot, and 1 tablespoon sesame oil in a bowl. Lightly stuff the turkey cavity with the rice mixture. Combine 1/3 cup vegetable oil with 1/3 cup sesame oil in a bowl and set aside.
● Roast turkey in the preheated oven, basting with vegetable and sesame oil mixture every 15 minutes, until skin is browned and crisp, about 2 hours. Stir reserved glaze containing cornstarch thoroughly and baste turkey every 15 minutes until glaze has baked onto turkey and an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh reads 165 degrees F (75 degrees C), 1 1/2 to 2 more hours.