Happy Thanksgiving, Desi style.

Thanksgiving is steeped in tradition, but when immigrants and their children embrace this holiday, they often add their own spin to it. 

It took my family many years to start celebrating and, once we did, we opted to center our meal on chicken rather than turkey, which none of us really liked. These days, we’ve leaned into the traditional meal, but it’s not uncommon to find dishes like turkey biryani on the menu in many South Asian American homes — or for families to skip the meal all together and do something else. Many Desi weddings have occurred over this conveniently long weekend! 

Central Desi fellow Selena enjoyed her first family Thanksgiving meal this year with tandoori chicken, paneer and vegetable skewers. Her family usually spends the day together, but they don’t prepare a meal. This year, with relatives spending the day with them, they decided to nix the Chinese takeout and make something for everyone to enjoy together.

Ifrah and her husband cooked at her parents’ house. They don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, but they enjoyed preparing a scrumptious and thoughtful meal. It included tandoori-spiced turkey, salad, buttered naan with their favorite za’atar from Palestine, caramelized onion and garlic mashed potatoes, herb stuffing and gravy. For dessert, they made a cardamom blackout chocolate cake, corn flan and jasmine green tea.

Sofia had haleem with her family, who came to visit her in New York City and are road tripping to Boston. Bilal is just relaxing at home this weekend, possibly with a friend coming over. Mariyum and her family hosted a large gathering with friends, which is their tradition.

However you are spending this weekend, our team at Central Desi is thankful that you are part of this effort to diversify our narratives, enrich our understanding of one another, and embrace how being American is being redefined by those of us with our feet in multiple cultures.

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