Remembering first Thanksgiving tastes of green beans with fried onion

Heena Patel, the chef behind Besharam in San Francisco, cooks vegetarian food inspired by the flavors she grew up with in Gujarat. She remembers the flavors she encountered on her first Thanksgiving in America, celebrated in 1992. At the invitation of her German neighbors, Patel hoped for more spice but was pleasantly surprised by the vegetarian sides and her introduction to Brussels sprouts and green beans with fried onion. She describes her riffs on traditional dishes.