Alumna shares her favorite Thanksgiving recipe

This post was curated by Priyanka Naik (CAS’10)

Thanksgiving in the Naik household was always a-typical from the traditional American family’s. There was no turkey to be found, no green bean casserole, but definitely a ton of unique, but seemingly Thanksgiving-y dishes. And every dish would have an Indian twist, i.e., full of flavor, color, and spice. You won’t find any bland or lumpy mashed taters here! Check out this super simple (and vegan) Indian-inspired Thanksgiving meal! Perfect to celebrate on the day of or even just to make on a crisp autumn day!

Ingredients

Directions

1. Place the cashews in a bowl, cover with water, and let sit for at least 2 hours you want them to be softened. You can do this ahead of time, but not overnight (that’ll be too soft and watery).

2. Cut a thin piece off of one side of the squash to create a level surface for easier cutting. Using a very sharp chef’s knife OR a serrated knife (I used a serrated knife) cut acorn squash into 1/4 inch thick rings. As your cutting, you can clean out the “guts” being careful as they can be slippery. Once cut, set aside. Slice the red onion into thick wedges. Break apart and set aside.

3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

4. Using a mortar and pestle, grind up the fennel and coriander seeds together until almost finely ground. Add to a small bowl, add the salt, red chili powder, and olive oil. Mix well.

5. Take the garlic head for the mashed potatoes, trim off the top so that almost all the garlic cloves are exposed. Place in a sheet of foil, drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle on a bit of salt and close the foil to create a packet.

6. Place the squash and onions on a baking sheet and drizzle on the spiced oil and massage into all the veggies making sure they’re coated well. Place the garlic foil packet on the same sheet.

7. Bake at 400 degrees for about 10-15 minutes flipping the squashes once. Squash should have a nice golden brown caramélisation and should be fork tender when done, not mushy.

8. While the veggies are roasting, place the potatoes in a big pot, cover with cold water and set over high flame on the stove.

9. Make the cashew cream sauce. Drain and rinse the cashews and place in a food processor. Place all the ingredients in there as well except only add about 1/2 cup of water. Blend on high (or purée setting) – it’ll take a few minutes get really smooth. Add more water if it’s too thick. Consistency should be creamy, but if you’d like it thinner, add more water. Blend until super smooth. Set aside.

10. Potatoes should boil until fork tender and skin begins to come off. Drain and place in a large bowl.

11. Rinse the same pot out thoroughly, dry it and place it on the stove. Pour in the oat milk and add the butter. Set over medium-low flame to just heat the milk through. While milk is heating, begin mashing up the potatoes using a masher and keeping the skins on. After milk is heated through – right before it starts to simmer, pour about 1/4 cup into the potatoes and mash. Continue doing this until you’ve achieved a creamy and smooth-ish consistency. You should then squeeze the garlic cloves in from the roasted garlic, add the salt, pepper, and garam masala. Taste to make sure it’s seasoned well. Set aside.

12. Rinse out the same pot using for the milk, dry and place over the stove. Set on medium flame and add in about 1 tbsp olive oil. Once hot, add in the fennel seeds and break up the dried red chili and add in. Once the fennel starts popping a bit add in the kale and sauté. it’ll reduce down in size. add in a sprinkle of salt, sauté until slightly softened – about 3-4 minutes and turn off flame.

13. Pile on a large scoop of mashed potatoes, followed by the sauteed kale right next door, top with 2 rings of squash, and drizzle with cashew cream sauce. Voila!

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