Oven Baked Yams

This recipe is an easy take on baked yams. The yams are boiled first, then filled with a little butter and maple syrup. After the yams are individually wrapped in foil, they are baked until caramelized and juicy. You can eat them plain, with brown sugar-flavored butter, salt and pepper or a sprinkle of toasted sliced almonds.

Yams are a staple on everyone’s Thanksgiving menu, but not everyone likes the sweetness of candied yams. This is a great alternative that is much more savory. An added bonus is that the yams can be prepared in advance in the morning and warmed just before serving (in the microwave or in a steamer). If you do as much cooking as I do on Thanksgiving, that alone is reason to consider this dish.

Aloo Gobi Recipe with Purple Cauliflower and Potatoes

Aloo gobi is an Indian vegetarian dish made with potatoes (aloo) and cauliflower (gobi). I gave a little twist to the dish by using purple cauliflower and Peruvian purples, which are Fingerling-sized, purple-tinted potatoes. Except for these changes, the recipe remains the same.

The lilac color from the cauliflower slightly fades once it's cooked, but it's still a great addition of color to the Indian dish. It stokes curiosity and brings a new experience to the dinner table. I've made the same recipe using orange cauliflower and sweet potatoes in the past, and it also worked quite well.

Now, I'm off to test carrot purée using Okinawan sweet potatoes and purple carrots. I’ve been having way too much fun with this!

Braised Brussels Sprouts

Brussels sprouts are a delicious winter vegetable that can be cooked in many ways (roasted, boiled, grilled or braised). For this recipe, I first boiled them, then braised them in apple cider vinegar and honey and mixed them with tarragon-infused caramelized onions.

The dish is quite filling, yet healthy. I love these miniature cabbages and as their name indicates, they originated in the capital of Belgium (hence the name). So they are spelled Brussels sprouts, not Brussel sprouts, Brussel's sprouts or Brussels' sprouts. Regardless of how you spell them, they are yummy!

French Green Beans with Oven Roasted Tomatoes

Haricots verts with oven roasted tomatoes are a great side dish. If you're in the market for a great green bean recipe for Thanksgiving, this might be it! It may look simple, but it’s absolutely bursting with flavor.

Making the dish takes quite a long time but requires very little work. The tomatoes are caramelized in balsamic vinegar, palm sugar and garlic and very slowly roasted for 2 hours. French green beans are very fine and tender, so they require very little cooking. I sautéed them in caramelized onions and added the tomatoes at the last minute. The crunch from the greens and the softness from the tomatoes make a wonderful combination without packing a lot of calories.

Vegetable Chana Dal Recipe

Turai chana dal is a dish that Baji, my husband Lulu's late grandmother, would make for the family. It's a healthy dish made of ridged gourd vegetable and lentils.

The ridged gourd vegetable, also known as turai or beerakaya, has the shape of an elongated starfruit squash. You can find it at any Indian grocery stores. This time, I made my own interpretation of her dish using a similar looking Vietnamese vegetable called mướp, which is a loofah gourd. Like the ridged gourd, mướp also belongs to the squash family. I've made this recipe with other vegetables such as zucchini and opo squash (trái bàu in Vietnamese) before and it’s come out well because once cooked, the texture of all these vegetables is quite similar. The flesh is soft and tender with a mild, natural sweetness.

No matter which vegetable you end up using, this dish will make a great veggie main course for your next meal.