#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 3 (All meals)

I’m going to keep this short. It may become a little repetitive. But anyway, here goes my next post. 

Breakfast was dosa again. But my mother whipped out some spice-filled, authentic coconut chutney to go with it. The combination can never go wrong. If you haven’t already tried it, give it a shot. 

For lunch, the meal was simple but special. My mother made some pulao. It’s a mixed vegetable rice that is a dish in itself. Slightly different from the Paella in Spain, but very much similar in appearance. Sometimes you even add some cinnamon to it. It adds a unique flavour. There was salad as well with juicy tomatoes, onions, radish and carrots seasoned with lime. To add a little twist, we ate it with crispy Yam chips from our local chips store – Ganga Hot Chips. He has some good varieties of chips that you need to try out. Well, it was a healthy meal, indeed. 

Incidentally, day 3 was also my grand aunt’s birthday according to the Indian calendar. We usually buy her, her favourite sweets and savouries. This to round, we were determined to find vegan versions of them. And we succeeded. 

We found many websites that sell vegan items. One such site is Terra Earthfoods. They have a a good collection of vegan snacks, breads, sweets and chips. We ordered the kaju (cashew) katli. It’s not made with ghee. But with almond milk. They come packs of 6. The pieces are big. But what’s more important is that they taste no different from their milk counterparts. Just a slight, negligible aftertaste. But otherwise, it’s good to go. And completely satiating the sugar craving for vegans. 

We also got a pack of Brown rice thattai. It’s crispy and makes for a a healthy evening snack, especially since it’s not made with all purpose flour either. 

Do check out their website. They have an online store and three walk-in stores in Chennai. Their variety is impressive.

I must confess, a vegan diet comes at an expensive price. But it’s worth it when you’re doing it for the ethical reasons. 

The dinner menu saw dosa soda creep it’s way in again. This time with podi. 

Hope you’re liking my posts. Do write about your experiences in the comments section. 

See you tomorrow!

#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

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.

GO VEGAN! IT’S #VEGANUARY!

Before I go on to writing my travelogue, I think this post had to be written. Do read it and please comment and respond if you want to join in or have recipes to share. It will be absolutely lovely to hear from you. Moreover, I will be giving a day-to-day update on my experiences which I hope will be useful for others trying to go Vegan 🙂

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Day 70: A fresh start for all of us, perhaps?

So here’s something I want to share with all of you. #January, world-over, is also celebrated as #Veganuary. It’s that time of the year when we a take a pledge to go on a vegan diet for a month. For some, this one month journey has led to them becoming vegan for  life!

Since many find it difficult to undergo a sudden change in diet for a month, they try it once or twice a week, for one whole week or alternate weeks or even a month and then try ways of adopting a vegan diet slowly in their lifestyle, making the shift gradual 🙂 This could involve consciously cutting down on milk products, honey and so on. 

I wrote about it in the newspaper last year and tried it for a week. It was difficult. But definitely, an eye-opening experience. 

This year, I’m doing it again. And my mother and sister are joining me. 🙂 Here’s a shout out to everyone else who wanted to try it or doesn’t mind trying it after reading this post. Doing it in a community always builds morale. And even if you’re doing it for a day, it’s a start. And it counts. 🙂 To all the vegans out there, help us out! Share some amazing recipes. And let’s give our two and four-legged friends a happy new year too! 

The doodle shows 2017 with happy faces of cows, pigs, chickens, bees and so on. :

Please tag your friends if you know they’d be interested 🙂 
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