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East Indian Bread and Celery Stuffing
We took this traditional and simple Thanksgiving turkey stuffing and added fruit, nuts and classic Indian spices. Everyone loves stuffing and when it comes to experimentation with stuffing ingredients… there are no complaints from the hungry when we go Indian. Just for the record… it is called stuffing if it is put inside the bird. It is called dressing if it is cooked outside the bird.
Here is what you need:
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1 (1 pound) loaf sliced white bread (8-10 cups) |
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3/4 cup butter |
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2 medium onion, chopped |
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4 stalks celery, chopped |
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1/4 cup each: Golden raisins – plumped in hot liquid (water or brandy), currents, coarsely chopped pitted prunes, chopped almonds |
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Toasted coconut – in a 350 degree oven, for 7-16 minutes. Watch carefully. |
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1 Tbsp. Italian parsley, coarsely chopped |
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2 teaspoons poultry seasoning |
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2 eggs beaten |
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salt and pepper to taste |
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2 tsp. paprika |
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1 tsp. cinnamon |
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2 tsp. garam marsala |
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Salt and pepper to taste. |
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1 cup chicken broth |
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2 Tbsp. Half & Half cream |
Here is what you do:
1. Let bread slices air dry for 5 to 12 hours (overnight), then cut into cubes.
2.. Chop celery, parsley and anything else that needs cutting up.
3. In a large pan or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Cook onion and celery until translucent. Season with poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper, paprika, cinnamon and garam marsala. Stir in fruit.
4. Stir in bread cubes until evenly coated. Toss in almonds
5. Moisten with chicken broth, half & half and beaten eggs; Lastly throw in toasted coconut. Mix well.
4. Chill, and use as a stuffing for turkey, or bake in a buttered casserole dish covered with foil at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes. Then bake uncovered for an additional 15 minutes.
Original recipe yield: 10 servings.
Stuffing and Dressing Notes: If you choose to stuff your turkey, here’s the drill. Twelve cups of stuffing will fill both cavities and leave you extra to bake separately. Just before roasting, spoon room-temperature stuffing loosely (stuffing expands as it cooks) into the neck (smaller) cavity. Fold the neck skin underneath the body and secure with a small metal skewer. Then loosely fill the body (larger) cavity, and tie drumsticks together. If you don't want any stuffing to spill out, cover the opening with a slice of fresh bread, tucking it inside the cavity before tying the drumsticks. Follow roasting directions above. (Timing for a stuffed bird may be slightly longer, but start checking the temperature at 1 3/4 hours.) Immediately transfer stuffing from body cavity to a shallow baking dish (separate from one for stuffing baked outside the turkey). Take temperature of stuffing in neck cavity and if less than 165°F, add it to the baking dish. Bake (covered for a moist stuffing or uncovered for a crisp top) until it reaches a minimum of 165°F. This can take 20 to 45 minutes, depending on the temperature of the oven, which you may have lowered to reheat side dishes.
• Make the stuffing slightly dry if you are going to stuff the turkey with it. It will expand and become more moist as the turkey roasts.
• The bread you use should be dried overnight at room temperature, or sliced and baked in a very low oven for about an hour. Bread that's too moist will make a soggy, sticky stuffing.
• Make sure to spoon the stuffing lightly into the turkey cavities. We want to get that stuffing to 165 degrees, and it won't if it's packed too tightly!