Columbia Residents' Favorite Holiday Recipes

We spoke to residents across Columbia and asked them to share their favorite holiday food memories and recipes. Here's what we learned!

favorite holiday recipes

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Columbia residents'

Teja's Recipe Chicken Biryani

Mahalet's Recipe Doro Wot

Ejike's Recipe Oha

Casey's Recipe Latkes

Mahalet Tesfaye

Ejike Iweha

Casey Bach

Teja Teppala

index

Teja Teppala's favorite holiday dish is chicken biryani. The dish is considered versatile—he's had it a couple of times this year. "We make biryani for secial occasions, it could be for anything," Teppala said. "Something huge like a wedding, or a party."

Teja teppala

indian recipe

+ info

Rice layering ingredients

Biryani rice ingredients

Teja's recipe includes ingredients and recipe preparation instructions for three parts of chicken biryani: the chicken marinade, the biryani rice and ingredients for layering the rice.

Serving suggestions

Recipe Preparation

Chicken marinade ingredients

Teja's recipie

Chicken biryani instructions

Casey Bach grew up celebrating Hannukah. During the holiday, her mother makes Latkes, a traditional Jewish cuisine. "Yeah, I just have some good memories," she said. "Having Hannukah and a candlestick, listening to music. It's just an intimate family sort of holiday."

Casey bach

jewish recipe

+ info

• Peel and grate potatoes
• Squeeze potatoes
• Place the potatoes in a bowl
• Mix with lemon juice
• Add grated onion, beaten eggs, matzo meal or flour, salt and pepper

• 4 large russet or Idaho potatoes (1 lb each)
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 1 large onion
• 2 large eggs
• ½ c matzo meal or ¼ c flour

Serving suggestions

Recipe Preparation

Ingredients

casey's recipe

latkes Instructions

During the holidays, Iweha's family has Oha, a traditional African soup. Iweha belongs to the Igbo community. "Some people prefer it with drief catfish, some people prefer it with beef," he said. During the Christmas season, his mother or sister prepares Oha.

Ejike iweha

nigerian recipe

+ info

• Bring meat stock to boil, add crayfish and Cameroon pepper
• Add in the meats and turn heat to low
• Add in the palm oil and stir.

• 500 g Beef precooked

• 500 g stockfish precooked
• 200 g tripe precooked
• 1 or 2 dry fish

Serving suggestions

Recipe Preparation

Ingredients

ejike's Recipe

Oha instructions

The recipe for doro wot, an Ethiopian chicken stew, has been in Mahalet Tesfaye's family for about 4-5 generations, she said. Her family prepares it for Christmas. "There's a lot of different variations of it," she said. "Even though it's the same recipe, everyone's turns out a little bit different."

Mahalet Tesfaye

Ethiopian recipe

+ info

• Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat
• Add onions
• Add garlic, berbere, cumin, coriander, turmeric, and cayenne
• Cook for 1-2 minutes

• 1 tablespoon berbere spice
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric

Serving suggestions

Recipe Preparation

Ingredients

Mahalet's recipe

doro wot instructions

Eat well

happy holidays!

Doro wot

Preparation instructions

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat
2. Add onions and cook until softened.
3. Add garlic, berbere, cumin, coriander, turmeric, and cayenne.
4. Cook for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.
5. Add chicken and cook until browned on all sides.
6. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.
7. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
8. Serve hot. Enjoy your delicious and flavorful Doro Wot!

Hi!

Some things to know before we get started:

• lbs = pounds
• tsp = teaspoon
• tbsp = tablespoon
• c = cup
• g = gram

Latkes recipe preparation

1. Peel and grate potatoes
2. Squeeze potatoes to get rid of excess water
3. Place the potatoes in a bowl and mix in the lemon juice
4. Add the grated onion, beaten eggs, matzo meal or flour, salt and pepper
5. Mix well
6. Heat about ¼ c of oil in a frying pan
7. Drop potato mixture into hot frying pan a tablespoon at a time
8. Fry until brown on both sidesDrain on paper towelsK
9. eep latkes warm in a 250 degree oven
10. Continue until done

Doro wot

Ingredients

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1 tablespoon berbere spice mix
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 4 eggs, hard-boiled and sliced (optional)

Hi! Here are some quick tips:

• Click the home icon at the upper left to go back to the first page
• Click the three lines at the upper left to go back to the index page
• To learn more about a holiday or culture, click the info button
• For the full list of a recipe's ingredients and preparation instructions, click the plus sign
• Click serving suggestions for side dishes and foods to try the recipes with

Thanks for reading and happy holidays! Photo courtesy of Teja Teppala

Chicken biryani

Preparation instructions

1. Marinade the chicken with all the spices, and massage thoroughly so that all the pieces are evenly coated.
2. Seal with a cling film, and let the chicken marinate overnight in a refrigerator.
3. Take the marinated chicken out of the refrigerator, and let it rest for an hour. Wash and soak the Basmati rice for one hour.
4. Boil 2 quarts of water in a saucepan and add all other ingredients except rice. Once the water comes to a boil, add the basmati rice which has been soaked for an hour, and cook until it is cooked to 70% (Similar to al dente -- rice should feel cooked, but the grain should be a little brittle).
5. Drain the partially cooked rice and place it in a cold-water bath to prevent overcooking. Drain and keep the rice aside.
6. Take a thick-bottomed saucepan and arrange the marinated chicken in a single layer at the bottom.
7. Layer one-half of the cooked rice above the chicken. Top it with half of the chopped mint leaves, cilantro, and fried onions. Drizzle half of the ghee and sprinkle some garam masala.
8. Layer the remaining rice, and top it with the remaining chopped mint leaves, cilantro, and fried onions. Drizzle the remaining ghee and sprinkle more masala. Drizzle the saffron water/milk over the rice.
9. Seal the saucepan tightly with aluminum foil and place the lid.
10. Cook on high heat for 8 minutes, followed by 7 minutes on low heat. Then turn the heat off and let it rest for 20 minutes.
11. Turn it over with a ladle from the bottom, and serve it with raita (and salan).

• Sliced red onions and a lime wedge
• Raita/dahi chutney (made with yogurt and raw vegetables)
• Mirchi ka salan (a curry made with chili peppers, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, and coconut)

Try chicken biryani with:

Did you know?

Oha soup originated in the eastern part of Nigeria in West Africa.

Hannukah

This year's Hannukah began Thursday, Dec. 8. The holiday lasts 8 days to commemorate a battle in which the Jews lit the menorah with only enough oil for one day—but the oil lasted for 8.

Serve latkes with sour cream, applesauce, and cinnamon sugar.

Try latkes with:

• 1 tbsp chopped green chilies (use Thai chilies for heat, can substitute with jalapenos)
• 1 tsp roasted cumin powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• Salt to taste
• 1 cup thick yogurt (Greek yogurt, preferably)
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 green cardamoms
• 1 black cardamom
• 1 Inch cinnamon stick

Chicken marinade

Ingredients

• 1.25 lbs chicken (mix of breast and bone-in-thighs, chopped into 1-inch cubes)
• 1 tsp shah jeera (Black cumin)
• 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 1/3 cup fried onions
• 2 tbsp chopped mint leaves
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 2 tbsp ghee (Clarified butter)
• Juice of one Lemon

• Injera bread
• Rice
• Sliced hard-boiled eggs
• Cottage cheese to balance the spice

Try doro wot with these sides:

Vegetarian alternative

Biryani can be made differently for vegetarians! Try using a meat substitute or using more veggies.

Pounded yamFufuGarriSemolina

Have oha with:

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp chopped mint leaves
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
• ¼ cup Ghee (clarified butter)
• ¼ cup fried onion
• ½ tsp garam masala
• A pinch of saffron soaked in 1-2 tsp of hot water/milk

Rice layering

Recipe from Chichi Uguru

Oha

Preparation instructions

1. Bring meat stock to boil, add crayfish and Cameroon pepper.

1. Add in the meats and turn heat to low. ( Don't cook meats for too long remember they are already precooked)
2. Add in the palm oil and stir.
3. Mix Ogiri with a little water and add to the pot. Then take a cooking spoon of hot liquid from the pot to dissolve the ground ofo. Pour the dissolved mixture into the soup and stir. Taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly.
4. As the soup thickens, add oha and the uziza leaves. Stir in and turn off heat to allow residual heat finish up. this keeps the oha fresh and green looking.

Biryani rice

Ingredients

• 2 quarts water
• 1.5 cups Basmati rice (washed and soaked for 1 hour)
• 1 tsp shah jeera (Black cumin)
• 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 2 tbsp chopped mint leaves
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro

• 6 cloves
• 1-inch cinnamon stick
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 green cardamoms
• 1 black cardamom
• 1 Inch cinnamon stick
• 2 tbsp salt

Did you know?

Ethiopian Christmas occurs on January 7 instead of December 25.

Recipe from Chichi Uguru

Oha

Ingredients

Other Ingredients

• 120 g Oha leaves (shredded with your hands and washed)
• 2 - 3 pieces uziza leaves sliced (optional but recommended)
• 7 cups Meat stock or water
• ¼ cup coarsely ground crayfish
• 1-½ tablespoon ground Cameroon pepper ( sub with 2 coarsely blended scotch Bonet or habanero pepper)
• 1 to 2 tablespoon Ogiri igbo (1 or 2 wraps)
• 1 tablespoon ground ofo ( sub with 1-½ tablespoon Corn starch)
• 1 cup Palmoil
• Salt to taste

Meats

• 500 g Beef precooked
• 800 g Beef foot precooked
• 500 g stockfish precooked
• 200 g tripe precooked
• 1 or 2 dry fish ( cleaned and deboned)

Latkes ingredients

• 4 large russet or Idaho potatoes (1 lb each)
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 1 large onion
• 2 large eggs
• ½ c matzo meal or ¼ c flour
• 2 t salt
• 1/8 t white pepper
• Oil for frying