Stressed for Thanksgiving? Food Network Star Maneet Chauhan Spills on How to Make Holiday Dishes Your Own

Maneet Chauhan knows what it’s like to have a chaotic holiday season — and now she is sharing her best tips to get anyone through!

“I love Thanksgiving. In India, of course, you don't celebrate Thanksgiving. The first time I came here, I discovered Thanksgiving was all about togetherness. It was about family getting together over delicious food. So, what I do now is I take the usual fixings and then I make it my own,” the Food Network chef, who partnered with Tasty Bite for a unique Diwali dining experience and food demo, exclusively told OK!.

“The Turkey is like a chicken, similar to tikka masala, and then the green beans on the side are like polo, which is with coconut and peanuts. Then I do a cranberry Five-Spice Chutney. This way, I have all the usual Thanksgiving culprits — but with my own flare,” the restaurant owner explained.

“My biggest suggestion to people would be whatever you've been inspired by over the past year — for example, if you've traveled to Greece, if there was something that spoke to you that inspired you, make that as a part of that meal. That is how your table grows and the excitement with your family grows,” she added.

When asked what her advice would be to not worry about making a meal for the whole family, Chauhan spilled, “Do as much prep as possible. And there is no shame if you take a couple of shortcuts, right? It's no big deal. I mean, you're not breaking any rules, just do it.”

As for what she loves to make, the mother-of-two noted, "Anything that my kids would eat.”

“That's the truth of it. You could be the biggest chef in the world, but the kids might look at it and be like, ‘Ummmm.’ So whatever excites them, I love to cook that,” she said.

Over the last several years, the talented TV personality has appeared on a series of popular cooking shows, including Food Network’s Chopped and Iron Chef America. However, Tournament of Champion has a special place in Chauhan’s heart.

“I love all of them,” she said of the shows, adding that TOC was her favorite experience because she won the second season.

As for her future plans to grace screens across America, she revealed she’ll “absolutely” be on more competition shows going forward.

“I can’t talk about it, but yes. I'm very involved in a lot of different things right now,” she continued.

For now, the star is soaking up this time in her life, as she's already achieved so much.

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“I would say that it evolves over the years, right? As you get older, there are new things that you learn, but to me, what really inspires me is the fact that I am true to who I am,” she said. “I've come from India, and I'm very proud of that, and I'm very proud of the food and the culture. But I am also very proud of where I've reached, which is being in America, being in the best melting pot in the world. So, to take the best of both the worlds is what inspires me on a daily basis.”