Nupur Arora- Indian Cuisine and Foodways
Nupur Arora is a local Chef of Queens, New York, and the owner of Queens Curry Kitchen. Nupur started Queens Curry Kitchen as a way to reignite her creativity, stepping away from a fashion career and stepping into authentic Indian homestyle cooking as a hobby. It soon became hugely popular among Indian international students in NYC who missed the taste of their mom’s food back home and looked for delicious vegetarian-friendly options. Several tiffin box requests later, she decided it was time to create a line of Indian spice blends for easy Indian cooking, and Namaste Food and Bev Corp was launched.
As the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Nupur has sought ways to support the community and restore their faith in hope and humanity through meals cooked with love. She has also made revenue contributions to India with the Hunger Heroes Project. Chef Nupur was awarded the "Small Business Hero Award" by the Queen's Chamber of Commerce. Her Queens Curry Kitchen was featured as one of the best businesses to emerge in the pandemic by the New York Post in 2021.
Today Chef Nupur continues to share her flavors with her food through in-person and online cooking classes, books, vegan meals, and her line of Indian curry spice blends! She also presents her cooking classes at FTH’s annual Diwali Festival, senior centers, and schools.
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION
Indian Food Cooking Demonstration Workshop In Person, Virtual
Chef Nupur introduces Indian culture through food and demonstrates how to cook healthy and popular Indian dishes step-by-step. Each workshop includes a cooking demonstration, a supply list, and a formatted recipe available for both virtual and in-person classes. Most of the dishes are from New Delhi, the North of India, where Chef Nupur grew up with. Participants will learn the name in bilingual languages, the meaning, and the history of the dish that is being made. They will also learn about the ideal pairing and artistic plating of the dish, as well as the "pro tips" for making it better and things to avoid. All classes will be tailored to the skill level of participants. For adults and families!
The workshop offers four options. Please explore below and select one option:
1. Indian Street Food: You'll learn how to make two of the most popular Indian fried snacks. For example, Pakora is a universally available street food and favorite snack in every Indian home and they can be made from anything from onions or potatoes to eggplant, cauliflower, spinach, fish, chicken, eggs, and all the above in any combination. Depending on which part of the country you are in, there is a signature pakora in every city of India! Another essential street food, Papri Chaat, is from Old Delhi and it is famous for its unique taste of freshly roasted and milled spices added to sweet yogurts and tangy chutneys. It is commonly said that papri chaat has such an explosion of flavor that it is totally worth the trip to the crowded bazaars of the walled city of Delhi.
2. Daily Indian Bean Curry: You'll learn how to make one bean curry dishes from--- Rajma (red kidney beans made in classic North Indian style and served with a dollop of butter) or Chana Masala (chickpea curry that is eaten at any time of day and served with fried leavened bread).
3. Rice - The Indian Staple: You'll learn how to make savory or sweet rice--- Jeera Rice (perfect basmati rice with cumin seeds), Vegetable Biryani (fragrant basmati rice and vegetables, along with fried onions and apricots), or Zarda (sweet rice made with aromatic rose and saffron, and garnished with nuts).
4. North Indian Vegetarian Thali: A thali usually consists of a vegetable stir fry, rice, roti, raita, dal (curry dish), papad (Indian deep fried dough), chutney or pickle, and a dessert. This full meal plate is the quintessential Indian food pyramid where the taste and textures are in harmony with the seasons and the time of day when it is consumed. The simplicity of each dish shines through and they work beautifully as a complex combination of carbs, proteins, fats, and also sweet, savory, sour and spicy. There's always a prebiotic in the form of a homemade pickle, a homemade yogurt based drink/raita, or ghee (butter), the golden elixir for longevity in the rice and on top of the rotis. The class is about 1.5 to 2 hours depending on the type of equipment onsite and the skill level of participants.