Side Dishes for a Thanksgiving Meal

[minisoji]

While the turkey could be considered "the star" of the Thanksgiving meal, side dishes are certainly important and necessary "co-stars." Many people look forward to enjoying stuffing, or dressing, and cannot imagine a Thanksgiving meal without it. Others dream of sweet potatoes made sweeter with marshmallow topping or maple syrup or brown sugar. Cranberries, for many, are another popular Thanksgiving side dish.

While the terms "stuffing" and "dressing" are often used interchangeably, stuffing refers to what is stuffed into the turkey and dressing refers to what is baked in a separate dish. Traditional stuffings and dressings are made with bread, or for those in the Southern United States, cornbread . Basic bread stuffings, or baked dressings used as a Thanksgiving side dish, usually include melted butter, onion, celery, and herbs such as sage, garlic, parsley, and thyme as well as salt and pepper.

Variations of standard turkey stuffings and Thanksgiving side dish dressings include using rice rather than bread or cornbread. Some people add meats such as bacon, pork, or sausage to the bread, cornbread, or rice base. Resourceful chefs often use the turkey's giblets, or the gizzard, heart, and liver, to add to their stuffing or dressing. Mushrooms can also be added and go especially well with a rice-based stuffing or dressing. Fruits such as apples, pears, raisins, or prunes, are other possible additions to a Thanksgiving side dish of dressing or turkey stuffing.

The word "yams" is often incorrectly used to describe sweet potatoes. Yams are named from the African word "nyami," meaning the starchy white-fleshed root vegetable; sweet potatoes have orange-colored flesh. Yams are often "candied" with sugar, while sweet potatoes are often baked as a Thanksgiving side dish with marshmallow topping or praline topping in the South.

Regular white potatoes are a common Thanksgiving side dish usually served in addition to sweet potatoes or yams. Mashed potatoes and turkey gravy are a classic accompaniment to the roasted turkey, but some people may serve roasted or baked potatoes as a Thanksgiving side dish instead. Variations on mashed potatoes include adding an egg and baking the mashed potatoes with a topping of breadcrumbs and grated cheese baked until the top is lightly golden brown.

Additional vegetables commonly served as a Thanksgiving side dish are carrots, Brussel sprouts, or green beans. Collard greens are a popular Thanksgiving side dish in Southern states. Pickles and relishes are also commonly found on many Thanksgiving tables.

Cranberries are also a very common Thanksgiving side dish. They can be homemade or canned, and served as a relish, a sauce, or in a gelled mold. Native Americans ate cranberries for many years and early settlers in Massachusetts ate cranberries from bogs in Cape Cod.

[zmora]

any ideas for vegeterian main dish

[zmora]

a subtitute for turkey?

[minisoji]

Vegetarian main dishes

Mexican Fried Rice

Ingredients

• White onions: 2, sliced
• Cloves garlic: 3, crushed
• Turmeric powder: 1/4 teaspoon
• Capsicum: 1, sliced
• Tomato: 1, chopped
• Mixed boiled vegetables: I cup (French beans, carrots, green peas)
• Chilli powder: 1 teaspoon
• Oil: 6 tablespoons
• Uncooked rice: 1 ½ cups
• Salt to taste

Get Started…
1. Wash and soak the rice for 30 minutes, then drain.
2. Sautee rice in oil until it turns a light pink shade.
3. Add 3 cups of water, salt to taste and cook.
4. Heat the oil in a wide vessel and fry the onions till golden brown.
5. Add the garlic, fry for a few seconds.
6. Add the turmeric powder, fry for a few seconds.
7. Remove onions.
8. Fry the capsicum for a minute in the same oil.
9. Toss in the chopped tomato, vegetables, chili powder, salt, and cook for one minute.
10. Add the fried onions and the cooked rice and mix well. Voila, it’s piping hot and ready to serve

[minisoji]

Vegetarian main dishes

Mexican Fried Rice

Ingredients

• White onions: 2, sliced
• Cloves garlic: 3, crushed
• Turmeric powder: 1/4 teaspoon
• Capsicum: 1, sliced
• Tomato: 1, chopped
• Mixed boiled vegetables: I cup (French beans, carrots, green peas)
• Chilli powder: 1 teaspoon
• Oil: 6 tablespoons
• Uncooked rice: 1 ½ cups
• Salt to taste

Get Started…
1. Wash and soak the rice for 30 minutes, then drain.
2. Sautee rice in oil until it turns a light pink shade.
3. Add 3 cups of water, salt to taste and cook.
4. Heat the oil in a wide vessel and fry the onions till golden brown.
5. Add the garlic, fry for a few seconds.
6. Add the turmeric powder, fry for a few seconds.
7. Remove onions.
8. Fry the capsicum for a minute in the same oil.
9. Toss in the chopped tomato, vegetables, chili powder, salt, and cook for one minute.
10. Add the fried onions and the cooked rice and mix well. Voila, it’s piping hot and ready to serve


Cauliflower Baath

Ingredients

Cauliflower : 1
Onion : 3
Tomato : 100 gm
Green chilli : 5
Curry leaves : a few
Curd : a small cup
arisi noi ( broken rice ) : 1 cup
Turmeric powder : ½ sp
Salt : a little
Oil : 50 gm
Peas : ½ cup
Mustard : a little
Black gram dal : a little

Method

Cut cauliflower into flowerettes, add salt and soak in hot water for 10 minutes.
Cut onion, tomato, green chilli into pieces.
Heat oil in a frying pan.
Add mustard and black gram dal.
When mustard splutters, add curry leaves and fry.
Add arisi noi, fry and set aside.
Heat oil in a frying pan.
Add onion, green chilli and fry.
Add tomato, cauliflower, peas, fry and add salt.
Add arisi noi, curd, masala powder, turmeric powder, a cup of water and stir well.
Remove the pan from the stove, when the contents are cooked.

Potato Baath

Ingredients

Rice : 100 gm
Potato : 3
Onion : 1
Cashew : 4
Ghee : 25 gm
Copra ( dried coconut ) : ½
Coriander leaves : a little bunch
Salt : a little
Masala powder : 2 spoon
Lime juice : 1 spoon

Method

Clean the vegetables.
Boil potato, remove the skin and grate.
Cut onion finely.
Cook rice and set aside.
Heat ghee in a frying pan.
Add onion and fry.
Add cashew and fry.
Add masala powder, coriander leaves and stir well.
Mix rice, grated potato, salt, onion, lime juice, grated copra and mix well.


Rice Jambalaya

Ingredients

To serve 8 -10 persons

Delhi rice : 2 cup
Tomato : 4
Ginger : 1 piece
Cocktail sausage : ¼ kilo
Chilli powder : 1 tsp
Pepper powder : ½ tsp
Onion : 3
Garlic : 6 pods
Green chilli : 4
Boiled peas : 1 cup
kaalaan ( cut into pieces ) : ½ cup
Shelled boiled prawns : 1 cup
Butter or oil : 1 cup

Method

Soak rice in salted water.
Cut onion, coriander leaves, chilli, garlic, ginger finely.
Melt 2 tbsp butter in a frying pan.
Add onion, coriander leaves, chilli, garlic, ginger and fry till they are golden.
Cut kaalaan into small pieces.
Melt 1 tbsp butter in a frying pan.
Add kaalaan, fry and set aside.
Melt 1 tbsp butter in a frying pan.
Add prawns, fry and set aside.
Boil sausage in water and strain the water.
Wash tomato, remove the top portion and cut it into eight pieces.
Fry tomato with onion, garlic and green chilli.
Add all fried items, pepper powder, chilli powder, green peas and cook for ½ an hour.
Serve hot.