Serving Eats & Raffling Off Indian Cooking Class for Work It Brooklyn / Brooklyn Based Sandy Fundraiser, PLUS More Ways To Help

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! This post is not about how you can use your holiday leftovers (sorry!), but about an important fundraiser that is coming up.

Although Hurricane Sandy came and went for a lot of us on the East coast, there are still many residents & businesses still in need of help.  I was contacted a couple weeks back about a fundraiser being put on by Work It Brooklyn and Brooklyn Based called The Kitchen is Flooded & Other Disasters that is bringing together the local Brooklyn food community to help support many of the Red Hook businesses still suffering from the storm.

For the event that's happening on Nov. 27th @ Brooklyn Brewery, I'll be serving up some special ABCD eats and donating an Indian vegetarian cooking class for 4 that will be raffled off to benefit ReStore Red Hook, which is helping businesses in the area devastated by Hurricane Sandy.  Other food vendors at the event, besides The ABCD's of Cooking, will be DreamScoops, Porchetta, Anarchy in a Jar and more selling goods with 10% of sales going to ReStore Red Hook, and Brooklyn Brewery will be donating a beer token to each guest attending.  The raffle will also featuring giveaways from Farm on Adderley, Frankies, TALDE, Seersucker and more.

photo collage by Alana Lowe

At the fundraiser, there will speakers talking about kitchen mishaps and surviving Hurricane Sandy like Allison Robicelli of Robicelli's Cupcakes, who helped spearhead relief efforts in Sheepshead Bay and other South Brooklyn neighborhoods and started the Bay Ridge Cares Kitchen to feed Sandy victims, Leisah Swenson and Monica Byrne of home/made in Red Hook, Paulie Gee of the Greenpoint pizzeria Paulie Gee's and the co-founders of ReStore Red Hook.

Afterward, Work It Brooklyn will lead a speed networking session for food professionals, as many in the industry lost their jobs after restaurants were destroyed due to the storm. 

Tickets are $15 and include a free beer and one raffle ticket. You can also select “Donate More!” to support ReStore Red Hook even further.

Work It Brooklyn and Brooklyn Based Present:

The Kitchen is Flooded & Other Disasters

Chefs Storytelling and Food Professionals Networking in Support of Red Hook Businesses

Tuesday, November 27

7:30 – 9:30pm

Brooklyn Brewery

79 North 11th St.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn 11211

Tickets at http://thekitchenisflooded.eventbrite.com/

In addition, if you are an impacted restaurant worker, visit the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROCUnited) website for more information on support available to you.

If you can't make the event, you can also provide a donation directly to ReStore Red Hook here.

There are also a number of other ways to volunteer or support those in need from Hurricane Sandy:

Hurricane Sandy Volunteer & Support Opportunities

General
Occupy Sandy
New York Cares
Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City
Red Hook Initiative
Rockaway Waterfront Alliance
Brooklyn Recovery Fund
Team Rubicon
Red Cross
FEMA
NY Blood Center

Food-Related
City Harvest 
Food Not Bombs
Added Value Farms
Citymeals-on-Wheels
Food Bank NYC
Greenpoint Food Pantry & Soup Kitchen
NY Magazine 
Plovgh
Masbia
Made In NY
Kitchensurfing

Other
NY Tech Responds
Airbnb
Craft Emergency Relief Fund

For more info, you can also visit Sandy Sucks, a Tumblr by Katie Benner that lists the latest needs and volunteering opportunities on a daily basis or follow the hashtag #sandyvolunteer on Twitter.

Since I work at a radio station, I was particularly interested in efforts to record stories from those that were greatly impacted by the hurricane. Here are a few places to hear some of those:
Heritage Radio: HRN on Sandy
WNYC: Life After Sandy
Humans of New York (HONY) & Tumblr Hurricane Sandy Fundraiser (in progress)

Indian Vegetarian Thanksgiving Sides

No turkey here:) I grew up eating Indian food for Thanksgiving. The dishes varied from year to year, but they were always vegetarian & most often using the fall vegetables that were in season.  That's why, being a vegetarian, I've never really felt that awkward on this holiday...or that heavy because many of the dishes we have are pretty healthy, but also really flavorful.

It wasn't until my first one one away from my parents that I realized though that turkey really is the star!  I admit I did love pigging out on a lot of the traditional Thanksgiving vegetarian dishes I had like mashed potatoes, string bean casserole, macaroni & cheese and pecan pie, but I also missed my parents' cooking. 

From spending the holiday with different friends, I've seen how every family kind of has their own unique menu and traditions, and many times, dishes are derived from where the family is from.  If you want to try some of what my family has for the holiday, here is my list of:

Indian Vegetarian Thanksgiving Sides
Beet Palya Stir-Fry 
Curried & Creamed Kale
Kosambri Carrot Salad
String Beans Palya Stir-Fry
Palak Paneer (Spinach & Indian Cheese)
Curried Tofu
Kalonji (Nigella Seed) Potatoes
Yellow Peanut Rice
Spiced Collard Greens in Mustard Oil
Rajma (Kidney Bean Curry) & Spinach

Potato Curry with Kale, Green Pepper and Tahini

Sweet Potato & Feta Curry

I hope you enjoy and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Naan Breakfast Pizza

This may be the juiciest recipe I've put on my site so far & when I say juicy I mean cheesy goodness!  It's a really easy one too, using ready-made naan, my leftover fresh chili pepper pumpkin pasta sauce, fried onions, cheese and an egg.

I've had this pizza now a few times and eaten it for breakfast, lunch and dinner so don't let the title of the recipe stop you from eating it anytime of day.

And I have to admit, after you eat one, you may want another so keep the oven going for your 2nd breakfast, lunch or dinner:)

Naan Breakfast Pizza

Ingredients

1 naan or flatbread

fresh chili pepper pumpkin pasta sauce (or any other sauce you have on hand)

1 cup of cheese of cheddar and parmesan (you could also use mozzarella or gruyere)

1 egg

a few thinly sliced rings of onion

1 teaspoon oil

salt & pepper to taste

cilantro or herbs for garnishing

Method

Preheat oven to 500 degrees fahrenheit.

In a skillet, heat oil under medium heat and fry up onions with a pinch of salt till translucent or to your liking.  Place onions aside.

On a skillet under medium heat, cook the naan on both sides lightly.

Place naan on a baking sheet.  Spoon sauce on top to your liking and cover with cheese & fried onions.  Crack an egg gently on top of the pizza.

Make sure the oven is to 500 degrees fahrenheit and place baking sheet with naan in the center.

Bake the pizza for about 8-10 minutes total and rotate 180 degrees halfway through. Take it out when the cheese is melted and the egg is cooked to your liking. Garnish with cilantro or herbs and let the pizza cool but not so much that it's not gooey anymore:)  Add salt & pepper to your taste.

Fresh Chili Pepper Pumpkin Pasta Sauce

I grew up eating pasta sauce with Indian green chillies so when I got these ristra peppers in my farm share with a big pumpkin, I thought I'd put them both together and make a pasta sauce out of them.

These chili peppers are usually dried and made into ristras, dried chili pepper wreathes. They are quite hot to eat raw, but when you cook them they mellow out. If you don't have these chillies, you can easily sub in jalapeño, serranos or Indian green chillies.

The sweetness of the pumpkin goes really well with the chillies. I had two pumpkins from my farmshare so this recipe was a good one to freeze and use leftovers for later. I started making naan pizzas with the extra sauce, which I'll share with you on my next post.

And don't throw your pumpkin seeds away! Save them for roasting. Here's a recipe for masala roasted pumpkin seeds that I did a few weeks back.

Fresh Chili Pepper Pumpkin Pasta Sauce

Ingredients

2 pumpkins, roasted & pureed (about 4 cups)

2 tablespoons ghee or butter

3 tablespoons olive oil (1 for cooking and 2 for later)

1 large yellow onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, sliced

2 ristra chili peppers (can use jalapeños, serrano or Indian green chilies), chopped fine

1 28 ounce can whole peeled tomatoes

1 cup grated parmesan (grate extra for sprinkling on top)

2 cups water - could use more depending on what consistency

1 tablespoon red or white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

cilantro, chopped (could use parsley or basil)

salt & pepper to taste

dried red chili flakes if you need more heat:)

Method

To roast the pumpkin, cut it in half.  Take out the seeds and stringy mess. Then generously brush both sides of the pumpkin with oil.  Lay them face down on a baking sheet and roast them in the oven for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees fahrenheit or until you can pierce the skin easily with a fork.

To make puree, dig out the flesh of the pumpkin and puree in a blender, food processor or with a hand blender.

Heat the ghee and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot under medium heat.  When hot, add in onions and cook until translucent.  Mix in garlic and chillies and cook for 30 seconds or until garlic is fragrant.  Add in the pumpkin puree and mix well, adding salt to taste.  Fry the pumpkin for a few minutes and next add in the whole tomatoes (keeping them whole) and water.

Bring the mixture to a boil and then let simmer gently for 1 hour. 45 minutes in, check to see if you should add more water, depending on how thick you like your sauce.  At the hour, stir in the vinegar and chop up the tomatoes in the sauce.  Add in the cream and cheese and mix well until cheese melts.  Turn the heat off and mix in your herbs, season with salt & pepper and top the sauce off with 2 tablespoons of really good olive oil.

Serve over your favorite pasta or raviolis with more cheese, black pepper and fresh herbs on top. Add some dried red chili flakes if you want it hotter.  There will be leftovers so you can freeze the rest for pasta or pizza in the future!

Spicy Pickled String Beans (Shimi Ka Achar)

This summer and fall, I have been getting a ton of string green beans and using them in all sorts of ways.



Inspired by making a vegetable achar (spicy pickle condiment) in Delhi with my great aunt, which usually calls for cauliflower, radish and carrots, I decided to blanch and pickle my string beans (shimi in Hindi) in a similar fashion.  Not a bad idea too when you are stuck inside because of a hurricane;)

This is a quick pickle that requires mustard oil to get a really pungent flavor, along with a few ground spices, fresh onion, lemon and salt. My great aunt's recipe also includes ground mustard seeds and hing, but I kind of just threw what I already had ground, but will share her exact recipe this winter with root vegetables I have on hand.



This type of pickle is usually served as a condiment alongside a meal of rotis, curry & rice, but I ended up serving them up in a variety of ways - in veggie burgers, with scrambled eggs, in a taco and just plain as a snack.



Spicy Pickled String Beans

Ingredients
1/2 pound green string beans, stems removed
1 1/2 tablespoons mustard oil
1/4 white or yellow onion, cut into ringlets
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/3 teaspoon turmeric
squeeze of lemon
salt

Method
Wash string beans.  Bring a pot of water to boil.  Add in string beans and cook for 4 minutes or until they are bright green and still crunchy.  Throw beans into a bath of ice water for 5 minutes.

Drain the string beans and dry them completely.

Put string beans in a bowl with mustard oil, onion, coriander powder, chili powder, turmeric and mix well.  Add a squeeze of lemon and salt and mix well.

Cover bowl and place in fridge.  The beans should be ready to eat in 2 hours and will keep for the week in the fridge.