#Veganuary: Day 6 (all meals)

Meeting deadlines have kept me from writing regularly. But today I am going to finish writing the remaining portions of my tryst with vegan food. 

In the morning I had dosa again. So I’m going to skip writing about how it just makes life easy for a vegan when they love dosas.  

Lunch was a normal south Indian combination. There was rice, sambhar and curry. You miss your dollop of ghee on rice but when the food is hot, it’s really not that big a sacrifice. 

Mom, dad and I stepped out for dinner. We went to a rather well-know vegetarian joint in Besant nagar called Eden. They have continental dishes and Indian specialties. They have an impressive new menu. The Podi vegetable uttappam (recipes of which can be found online) is a new addition. So my mother and I ordered one each. 

We asked them to make it as crisp as possible. It was garnished with green capsicum, finely chopped and finger-licking podi generously smeared on the top. All this put together almost always gives you a burst of flavours in your mouth. 

Do try it out next time!

#Veganuary: Day 4 (All meals)

It’s wedding season in India and that’s the reason I’m getting delayed with my posts. I’m busy designing some stuff for clients. But here’s my day 4 meals. 

Breakfast was dosa. Yes, again. It’s my favourite. So there’s no change in that part of the meal. As for the other meals, it was an interesting mix. 

I had to meet a friend for discussing some work plans. We went to this restaurant near my place, That Madras Place. I love their Parsley Fries. It’s French fries tossed in oil with sauteed garlic, spring oniona and red chilli. It is quite filling but a little on the pricier side. 

For evening snacks and tea, my mother made some steaming hot Earl Grey tea. I ate that with the Brown Rice thattai. It’s a bit difficult not to have biscuits. But with time, you get used to it. 

I was to have dinner all by myself since everyone else had dinner plans. So I called up the owner of the same restaurant, who happens to be a dear friend too and ask her what the vegan dishes are. She said that all pasta cooked in tomato sauce wouldn’t have any butter or cheese as long as I mentioned no parmesan garnish. Apparently, the steamed rice dish with tomato sauce is tossed mildly in butter. So that’s off limits. 

So, I settled for the Tomato sauce pasta. Their quantities are quite big. So I had some that could be munched on the next morning. But it was absolutely delicious. Give it a try when you visit! 🙂 

#Veganuary Day 2: Dinnner

The evening snack was quite filling. After a good cardio session, I made little space in my tummy for dinner. But since I had to order in, I really had sift through vegan options in restaurants. 

It is quite disappointing and frustrating to see that not many restaurants in the city offer a vegan fare barring a few like Ashvita Nirvana and The Brew Room. But even in these places, most of the vegan items are cakes and other desserts. 

I finally settled for crackling potato from Ashvita Nirvana. It is freshly prepared, crisp and crunchy. Fried in sunflower oil and olive oil, this starter is seasonsed with chopped garlic, red chilli ans spring onions. It is a bit oily and heavy on the stomach. Their portions are also big. So, it was a bit much to eat. Saved some for the morning! 🙂

Day 3 updates will come in tomorrow. Sorry about the lag. It’s been a hectic week at work. 

#Veganuary: Day 2 (Breakfast, lunch, snack time)

Day 2: Breakfast, lunch and snack time.

Sorry for a late posting. There was too much work today. Anyway, here is today’s update.

Breakfast was podi dosa again. No change there. I am a killer for crispy, hot dosas and can have them for a lifetime. 

For lunch, we had a combination. My sister ordered some salad from Subway. It had only the mustard sauce and a little bit of chilli. It was healthy and delicious. 

My mother prepared phulkas (rotis) and cauliflower curry. It was thin gravy with peas and tomato. It is tangy and spicy and when paired with rotis, it leaves you asking for more. Then I had rice with yellow dal.

While I was full till my nose after lunch, by snack time I was again scrambling for something in my kitchen shelves. My sister and I then had multigrain bread with vegan Tomato pesto and vegan cheese. The pesto and cheese was a gift from some German friends. I am hoping to find them in Chennai too. 

Well, that’s all for now! See you soon!

#Veganuary: Day 1 (Snacks & Dinner)

Day 1: Snacks & Dinner

Snacks are utterly crucial for me. I need to keep munching on something and life is incomplete without the occasional chocolate chip cookie or cupcake. But since that is a complete no-no for a week, I looked up sites that have vegan alternatives. There are a few. But I didn’t get enough time to order in between work. So I just bought mini samosas fried in oil (yes, I agree, fried equals unhealthy. Mental note to self: I will slowly cut down.). 

But dinner was quite different. My mother made a thick broth of pumpkin and coriander stem with garlic. It was delicious but tends to leave a slight bitter aftertaste. If you are having it with toast, it is alright. 

The toast was unique too. It was sunflower seed bread. This is available at the Gormei Market. They are small slices but a pleasant change in flavour from the usual varieties. Since we couldn’t toast it with butter, we used olive oil. The bread was topped with pickled Sundried Tomato which we got from this absolutely delightful place, The Farm, which is on OMR in Chennai. Do visit them! They have some interesting things on their menu. 

I’m going to take a nap now since I’ve got a round belly after eating so much. 

See you folks tomorrow! Do tell me what you think in the comments section. 

#Veganuary: Day 1 (lunch)

Day 1: Lunch 

Tamarind rice and banana chips. As long as it’s not cooked in ghee, this south Indian delicacy is vegan!

#Veganuary : Day 1

So I’m going to go vegan for a week, starting today (January 4 – 11). My mother and sister are joining me in this and I couldn’t be happier. 

I will be posting my meal updates for the next seven days. I think it’s important because these posts can help someone else trying out the same thing. The dishes can be easily found online. If you are based in India, you’ll be familiar with these items. 

Day 1: Breakfast

This morning, my mother prepared crisp Podi dosas and I ate it with coriander chutney. It was delicious. If you’re used to eating dosas made from ghee, then you can substitute it with oil. They are easy to make and can be eaten for breakfast and dinner. 

Stay tuned for more updates on lunch and dinner.