Dishoom's Christmas Turkey

Christmas Turkey. Now be honest. Does the thought of it fill you with excitement? Does it make your taste buds stand to attention?

Probably not. Everyone seems to have a memory of a Christmas dinner that turned out appallingly – insipid meat, flabby sprouts – and the mere idea of cooking a roast fowl can send some people into a decline.

So naturally, we felt it was our responsibility to rescue Dishoom-wallas from this pit of turkey despair. A noble mission to turn this uninspiring meat into something amazing. Something that friends would squabble over the scraps of. A Bombay party in your mouth, so to speak.

One of our absolute favourite Indian dishes is Raan, a whole leg of lamb, slow-cooked until the meat is so tender it’s falling off the bone. Much-celebrated and more than a little lavish, and therefore quite fitting for Christmas. And in a slightly inspired (read crazy) move we decided to try it with turkey instead – and the results were absolutely phenomenal.

Unlike a traditional roast, we marinate the meat and cook it slowly over a whole day to keep maximum moisture and flavour. We cover the turkey leg with a dry rub of salt and chilli followed by ginger and garlic paste, then allow it to rest and absorb the flavours. The marinated meat is braised over several hours in a rich stock spiced with star anise, black cardamom and bay leaves, before being grilled over charcoal. Finally, it is tossed with butter, lime and black pepper.

Rich, moist and packed with flavour, Turkey Raan is the antidote to every disappointing Christmas dinner you’ve ever had…

And for the non-meat eaters, savoury and nicely spiced soy pieces come together in the form of No-Turkey Raan to comfort and uplift.

No matter how full you feel, it will be impossible to resist finishing off your feast with a glass of Chai Eggnog.

Until 24th December, avail yourself of our abundant Festive Feasts and Christmas Specials for maximum sparkle. Explore Christmas at Dishoom.