Vegan Carrot Halwa

Carrot Halwa is one of the most popular desserts from
India. Even though carrot halwa is very popular in
India, I was not aware of carrot halwa, until I was in
sixth or seventh grade. I first tasted carrot halwa,
when one of my friends had brought carrot halwa, in her
lunch box. I got hooked to carrot halwa.

I got the recipe from my friend, and that evening I
made carrot halwa. I started to make carrot halwa
almost every day for a couple of months! My mother always made sure
there was enough carrots and milk for me to make carrot halwa.

I have been making carrot halwa for years. Even though
carrot halwa is traditionally made with dairy milk and
butter, it's very easy to veganize. I now make carrot
halwa with soy milk and Earth Balance Margarine Natural Buttery Spread

1/2 cup soy butter or soy margarine
3 cups grated carrot
2 cups soy milk
1/4 - 1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup ground almonds
1/4 raisins
1 Tbsp pistachios

Heat butter in a large saucepan, add grated carrot,
and fry for 8 minutes or until the raw smell goes away.
Now add soy milk and cook for about thirty minutes, or
until there is no milk left in the saucepan. Now add
sugar and almonds. Stir well, add raisins. Garnish
with pistachios.

Chana Dal Salad

Chana dal salad is a popular salad in southern parts
of India. While growing up in Bangalore, I vividly
remember this salad was the "Prasadam" in a nearby
temple.

Since I like to eat raw food sometimes, I recently
made chana dal salad. I loved the taste of this simple
salad. I'm sure I will be making this salad regularly
during summer.

Visit Indira's blog to get some delicious chana dal recipes

Chana Dal Salad

1/4 cup Chana dal
1 cucumber
1 carrot
1/4 tsp canola oil
1/8 tsp mustard seeds
1 red chili, broken into pieces
1 tsp lemon juice
salt

Soak chana dal for about 5 hours. Drain the water.
Finely chop the cucumber into small pieces. Grate the
carrot. Mix soaked chana dal, carrot and cucumber. Add
salt and lemon juice to the salad.

In a small pan, heat oil, add mustard seeds. Once the
mustard seeds pop, add broken red chili pieces. Add
this mixture to chana dal salad. Garnish with
cilantro or unsweetened coconut.

Pista Burfi, Pistachio Fudge

Pista burfi, made with pistachios is a popular fudge in India. I always felt that the pista burfi, which we get in Indian stores had loads of
artifical color, so I never purchased them even before I was a vegan.

I decided to make pista burfi, when I saw one of the
comments by Majula in youtube's badam burfi video. Manjula says that pista burfi can be made by following the same procedure as badam burfi.

I really loved the nutty taste of this burfi. I
veganized the recipe by using water instead of dairy
milk and Earth Balance instead of ghee(clarified
butter). With just a couple of ingredients you can
create this delicious sweet.

Badam Burfi, Almond Fudge

Badam barfi is a very popular Indian sweet, which
originated from northern region of India.

I have tried many times to make Badam Burfi, but my
Badam Burfi's always ended up looking like truffles.

Thanks to Youtube. I found a very talented lady,
Manjula's video on making Badam Burfi. If you are not able to visit through this link, then
go to Youtube, and type, Manjula Badam Burfi in the search box.

I veganized the recipe. I used soy milk and Earth
Balance, instead of dairy milk and ghee(clarified
butter). According to Manjula, the mixture should be
cooked for ten to twelve minutes, before pouring it to
the plate. For me, it took nearly twenty five minutes
to reach that stage.

However, I was very happy with the results, as I could
finally get square burfis!

Split Moong Dal Salad

Indian cuisine also has some crunchy nutritious salads.
Lentils such as split chana dal and moong dal are used
in salads.

I love crunchy moong dal salad. Moong dal salad
is one of the salads which I make frequently. This salad is called as Kosumbari, in Kannada, a local languge in one of the states of India.

Moong Dal Salad

1/2 cup split moong dal
1 cucumber
1 carrot
1/4 tsp canola oil
1/8 tsp mustard seeds
1 red chili, broken into pieces
1 tsp lemon juice
salt

Soak moong dal for about 3 hours, and drain the water. Finely chop the
cucumber into small pieces. Grate the carrot. Mix soaked moong dal, carrot and cucumber.Add salt and lemon juice to the salad.

In a small pan, heat oil, add mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds pop, add broken red chili pieces. Add this mixture to the moong dal salad. Garnish with cilantro or unsweetened coconut.

Delicious Vegan Dishes

Last month, Suganya of Tasty Palettes, hosted an event - Vegan Ventures.

Thai rice and beans croquettes, Lemon poppy seeds cookies, Mixed vegetable curry, Chocolate truffles, Almond orange chocolate cake and Rice paper rolls are some of the mouthwatering vegan dishes and desserts you can view and get the recipes by visiting Tasty Palettes.

Thanks Suganya for inspiring people to try vegan fare, which is great for our planet.

Vegan Maamoul

I love grainy textured cookies . Ever since I saw
Maamoul cookies, Middle Eastern cookies, in Indira's
blog, I wanted to make those cookies.

I did not use the wooden maamoul mold, so the maamouls
are without the elegant design! I made maamouls by
following Indira's recipe. However, I veganized the
recipe, by using the melted Earth Balance Margarine
Natural Buttery Spread, instead of ghee(clarified
butter).

I just adored the wonderful taste and texture of this
cookie. I'm sure I will be making this often.

Rice Kheer - Rice Pudding From India

Rice Kheer is a very popular dessert across India. In
South India, jaggery is widely used as a sweetener.

Jaggery is available in Indian grocery stores. You can cut jaggery into smaller pieces before using it. Sometimes, packets of jaggery pieces are also sold in Indian grocery stores.

This is my entry to the Vegan Ventures, hosted by Suganya of Tasty Palettes.

Thank you Suganya for hosting Vegan Ventures!


Rice Kheer

1 cup rice
2 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups soy milk
3/4 cup jaggery
4 cardamom pods, seeds powdered

In a medium, thick-bottomed saucepan, combine rice and
water. Cook on low heat until the rice is done. Now
add soy milk and jaggery. Mix thoroughly and cook on
medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring
in-between, until the mixture becomes thick. Turn off the heat.
Sprinkle with cardamom powder.

You can serve rice kheer garnished with raisins, almonds and cashews which are roasted in Earth Balance Soy Garden Natural Buttery Spread or Earth Balance Margarine Natural Buttery Spread

Vegan Recipe Booklet

Asian stir-fried vegetables, Classic Ratatouille, Creole okra, and Green Beans with Tomatoes and Herbs are some of the recipes I found in the booklet, "The New American Plate -Veggies"

Visit this website and get your recipe booklet, which is filled with vegan recipes.

Tomato Rasam, Soup From India

I love to eat hot rice with rasam, a popular soup from
southern parts of India.

I sometimes like to drink rasam as a soup. I often
eat, rice and rasam - my comfort dish during winter.

When I suffer from cold, I crave for hot tangy rasam and rice.

Sometimes when I don't have fresh tomatoes, I usually make rasam
with store-bought tomato juice.

Tomato Rasam

340 ml Tomato Juice(I use Campbell's Tomato juice)
340 ml water
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp grated garlic
1 tsp Madras curry powder
Cilantro for garnishing

In a vessel, heat the vegetable oil, add mustard
seeds. Once the mustard seeds pop, add cumin seeds,
ginger , garlic, crushed red pepper and curry powder.
After one minute, add tomato juice, salt and water.

Turn off the heat once it starts to boil, that is
after 10 -12 minutes. Garnish with cilantro.

Tastes great with hot rice and poppadom.

Upma, Cream of Wheat Breakfast Dish From India

Upma is one of the most popular breakfast items of
South India. Cream-of-wheat is known as sooji, and
rava across India. Cream-of-wheat is also known as
semolina.

There are many varieties of Upma. When vegetables such
as beans, carrots, peas are added to make upma, it
becomes masala upma. In restaurants in India, Upma is
always served with sheera, semolina based sweet dish.
Then this two dishes are together known as chow-chow
baath.

Upma

1 1/2 cups Cream-of-wheat
3 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp Urad dal(optional)
1/2 tsp chana dal(optional)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/8 tsp turmeric
2 red chillies or green chillies, broken into pieces
Salt
Cilantro or coconut for garnishing

Dry roast semolina on a low flame for about 10
minutes, or until the color of the semolina changes to
pale gold.

In a wide pan, heat oil. Add mustard seeds, and when
the mustard seeds pop, add urad dal and chana dal.

Once the color of the dals changes, add red chillies,
and chopped onion. Fry for a few minutes. You can also
add chopped tomatoes or any vegetables. Just make sure
to increase the quantity of water if you are adding
vegetables.

Now add water and once it starts boiling, reduce the
heat. Now add salt and the semolina. Keep stirring so
that there are no lumps in the mixture.

Cook until there is no water in the mixture. Garnish
with cilantro or freshly grated coconut. Instead of red chillies
or green chillies, you can also add jalapeno peppers if
you want the upma to be spicy.

I love to eat upma with a dollop of Earth Balance Soy Garden Natural Buttery Spread and spicy lime pickle.

Vegan Recipes for Vegan Month - November

I came to know that November to be a vegan month while visiting food blogs.

I guess many vegetarians and non-vegetarians will be
exploring vegan cuisine during this month. Don't fret
if you don't have a vegan cookbook. If you have access
to the internet, then within seconds you can find vast
array of vegan recipes.

Visit Meatout Mondays, Fatfree Vegan, International Vegetarian Union and Vegan Lunch Box to find vegan recipes.

Visit Vivevegie to read the benefits of becoming vegan.

Puran Poli, an Indian Sweet For Diwali

Puran poli is a popular festive sweet across India. In
Bangalore, Puran poli is known as "Obbattu" in the
local language, Kannada.

I always made puran poli with toor dal. When I saw
the puran poli made with chana dal in Indira's blog,
I wanted to try it.

Today, I made puran poli following Indira's recipe.
This recipe is very easy to veganize. I used
vegetable oil instead of ghee(clarified butter).

I usually eat puran poli with a dollop of Earth
Balance Soy Garden Natural Buttery Spread or with hot
soy milk.

I'm submitting this to Jihva, Navratri-Dassera/Diwali

Vegan Date Cake

I love dates. And I also like cakes. When I saw Date
cake, one of the most popular recipes in Shilpa's
blog, I wanted to try it.

I really don't remember the number of times I have
baked this delicious cake, from past couple of months.
This is a very easy recipe to veganize. Just use soy
milk ,instead of dairy milk. Like Shilpa,
I also don't soak the dates, as I use seedless dates
to make this cake. Once I used turbinado sugar to make
Date cake. The color of the cake was so beautiful!

I somehow could not manage to get a good picture of
this delicious cake, even though I took numerous
pictures. I wanted to frost this cake as I had tofutti
cream cheese. As I was frosting for the first
time, with loads of excitement, I started frosting
the cake when the cake was still warm. The frosting
looked horrible, but it tasted great!

Don't judge this recipe by seeing the horrible picture
of the cake. Try this recipe, and I'm sure you
will be baking this cake often.

I'm submitting this recipe to (AFAM) A fruit a month hosted by
Chandrika of AkshayaPatra

The Chicago Diner

I had been to the famed Chicago Diner last week with my husband. They have a wonderful array of vegetarian
and vegan dishes. Every dish on their menu can be
veganised.

I had Burritos and the filling was fried seitan. The
cheese which was made with nutritional yeast was
delicious. I was in a state of bliss while eating the
delicious vegan fare - burritos and the mexican rice.

My husband had Black beans and rice. Brimming with
veggies and grilled tofu, this vegan dish was also
delicious.

The Chicago Diner is nearly 25 years old. To read more about this restaurant
visit VegCooking
and Conscious Choice

Jo Kaucher has been cooking vegetarian meals at the Chicago Diner
for over 20 years and is the author of a popular cookbook -Chicago Diner Cookbook.

If you enjoy eating great food, then you should visit this restaurant
when you are in Chicago. The Chicago Diner, 3411 N. Halsted Street, Chicago; 773-935-6696. Lunch, brunch, and dinner: Monday through Friday from 11:00 am to 10:00 pm; Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm

Global Warming and Vegan Diet

These days everyone seems to be concerned about global
warming. What we eat and drink every day, has a huge
impact on our environment.

According to a report published by the United Nations
Food and Agriculture Organization, the livestock
sector generates more greenhouse gas emissions as
measured in CO2 equivalent – 18 percent – than
transport. It is also a major source of land and water
degradation.

Thriving on a vegan diet is the best option these
days, as it reduces the generation of greenhouse
gases. And vegan diet is also great for health, as vegan
diet is usually rich in whole grains, vegetables,
fruits, and legumes.

These days, the supermarkets in United States are
awash with diary and meat alternatives, so it is very
easy to follow a vegan diet. The internet also
provides useful information - everything from recipes
to tips , for vegetarians and vegans.

Get vegetarian starter kit at Mercy for Animals, and Go veg

Visit International Vegetarian Union and Veg Cooking for recipes.

Visit Veg family and Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) for articles and health related information about vegan diet.

Eat locally harvested produce by shopping at farmers markets. Visit Local Harvest to locate your farmers market in your area.

Vegan Chocolates are Divine

I love chocolates. Chocolates make me happy. I guess
there are very few people in the world who are not
fond of chocolates.

While growing up in India, for me, chocolate was
synonymous with Cadbury dairy milk. Cadbury dairy milk
was loaded with milk. I sometimes liked eating Amul
chocolates, five star and kit kat.

In United States, I enjoyed eating Hershey's
chocolates - Hershey's milk chocolate, Hershey's
kisses, kit kat and Almond joy candy bar. I always assumed
that Pure Dark Chocolates, was used only for baking.

I decided not to consume anything with milk, when I
learnt about the horrible tortures the diary cows
endure every day across the world. Visit this website
to know why milk is bad for you and your family.

When I became vegan, I somehow could not find
vegan chocolates in the supermarkets. Thanks to the
wonderful vegan bloggers who gave me information about
the vegan chocolates, when I posted a post inquiring
about vegan chocolates.

I was thrilled to bits when I found some vegan
chocolates in some stores. I liked all the vegan
chocolates which I ate. Infact, the vegan chocolates
tasted better than the chocolates drenched with milk.

Ghirardelli Twilght Delight, chocolate bar has 72%
cocao. The firt time I tasted this chocolate, I did
not like it. And then I ate it again after a couple of
days, I was pleasantly suprised when I liked the
taste. It was no longer bitter, but the taste of cocao
was addictive. I purchased this chocolate in a
walgreen's store in Chicago. Visit Ghirardelli

Endangered Species Chocolate, Dark Chocolate with
Raspberries, is my favorite vegan chocolate. This
chocolate with 70% cocoa is studded with dried sweet
raspberries. This chocolate has now become my new -
Cadbury dairy milk chocolate, which I relished while I
was in India. I purchased this chocolate in Kroger's
in Detroit.

I also savored Dark chocolate with cranberries and
almond, which was also delicious.

I also love the fact that the Endangered Species
Company donates 10% of net profits to help adorable
animals and the environment. Visit Endangered Species

Dagoba Organic Chocolate, was another chocolate which I ate recently. According to San Francisco Chronicle, this chocolate was “Best Dark Chocolate” a couple of years ago. Visit Dagoba

Scharffen Berger's, Bittersweet Pure Dark Chocolate was another divine chocolate which I ate a couple of days ago. Visit Scharffen Berger

I purchased Dagoba Organic Chocolate and Scharffen Berger's, Bittersweet Pure Dark Chocolate in Hersheys Chicago.

The common ingredients which you find in chocolates without milk are :cacao beans, sugar, cocoa butter, and soy lecithin.

Visit Vegan Essentials if you can't find vegan chocolates in nearby stores.

Kagome Juice : Blend of Fruits and vegetable Juices

I recently came across Kagome juice in Zerbo's - a
health food store in Michigan. I purchased Ruby
Pomegranate Harmony, a blend of juices - fruits and vegetables.

I felt as if I was drinking Dayquil, when I was
drinking Kagome Ruby Pomegranate Harmony. I guess the
taste was bitter because sugar is not added to make
the juice.

Even thought the taste is not tasty, Kagome juices
are brimming with wide variety of phytonutrients and
antioxidants, which is good for our health. If you like raw vegetable juices, I'm sure you will also like Kagome juices.

To know more about Kagome juices, visit their website

Learn New Words, Save Energy

Visit Free Rice to learn new words and use Blackle as your search engine.

Soya Chunks : Popular Soy Product Of India

According to me, soya chunks is the most popular soy
product in India. During my visit to India , I saw
soya chunks in almost all the grocery stores I visited,
in cities such as Bangalore, Mysore and Hassan.

Recently I purchased soya chunks in an Indian grocery
store, in Michigan. Soya chunks is from Ruchi Soya
Industries Limited. The package says, "100%
vegetarian", even though it is also a vegan product.
The word - vegan, is not a popular word in India.

I made Nutrela Matar Pasand, a gravy following the
recipe on the soya chunks packet. It was a simple
recipe, but the taste was wonderful. I loved the taste
and texture of the soya chunks.
The best part is it cooks in a couple of minutes

I ate soya chunks
gravy with pooris made from whole wheat flour. You can also eat it with pita bread or rice.

Vegan Nankhatai, Cookie From India

I loved eating cookies from bakeries while growing up
in Bangalore. The baked goodies which I regularly
savoured came from the nearby bakery, as we did not
have a oven in my home.

When I saw Nankhatai, in Nupur's blog, I wanted to
make those adorable cookies. The recipe sounded
delicious as it also had powdered pistachios. I
followed Nupur's recipe, but veganized it by using,
vegetable oil instead of ghee(clarified butter) and
used Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread, instead of
unsalted butter.

I simply loved these cookies. I have made these cookies twice in a span of couple of days!

Vegan Dishes From India

These days you can find numerous Indian food blogs
brimming on the internet. With a click of a mouse button,
you can view delicious recipes and pictures
from snacks to sweets from Kashmir to
Kanyakumari.

Asha of Foodie's hope recently hosted a blogging event
- RCI Karnataka, and many food bloggers have posted
dishes from Karnataka, a southern state of India.

Visit Foodies hope to view vibrant dishes of
Karnataka. Most of the recipes can be easily
veganized. Use vegetable oil or Earth Balance natural buttery
spread if the recipe calls for ghee - clarified
butter.

Mahanandi, Aayi, and Sailu's kitchen are some of the
blogs with numerous vegan recipes.

Mahatma Gandhi and World Farm Animals Day

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

- Mahatma Gandhi

October 2, is a national holiday in India. Mahatma
Gandhi, considered as the father of nation, was born
on october 2, in India. This day is celebrated as
Gandhi Jayanti in India.

Prayers services, functions and seminars are held
across India to mark Gandhi Jayanti. These functions
and seminars give Indians an occasion to understand
Gandhi's life and teachings.

October 2 is also World Farm Animals Day.
The United Nations General Assembly
recently decided to observe the International Day of
Non-Violence each year on October 2.

On this day, sale of meat is banned across India.
Mahatma Gandhi always felt that animals should be
protected from torture and cruelty. Gandhi said: "The
greatness of a nation can be judged by the way it
treats its animals."

Unfortunately, the condition of farm animals from
Australia to Austria and from United States to India
is pathetic. As there is enormous demand for the meat
and dairy products across the world, farm animals are
treated just as machines.

According to the Humane Society of United States, one
million animals are killed each hour for human
consumption. Dairy cows are treated as milk making
machines. Dairy cows are medicated, artificially
inseminated and cows are kept continuously pregnant,
to provide milk. According to Compassion Over Killing
,more than 95% of eggs sold in the U.S. come from
birds confined in wire battery cages so small, they
can barely even move—a practice that, according to
recent polls, most consumers find unacceptable.

Gandhi's views on Milk

Gandhi, in his book - Key to Health, states that "Milk is an
animal product and cannot be any means be included in
a strictly vegetarian diet". Gandhi decided not to
consume cow's milk after he came to know about the
cruel process of "phooka" or "doom dev" to increase
the production of milk in cows. "Phooka" or "doom dev"
includes any process of introducing air or any
substance into the female organ of a milch animal with
the object of drawing off from the animal any
secretion of milk.

Gandhi decided to consume goat's milk regularly, but
he always felt that getting used to drinking goat's
milk was a tragedy in his life. To know more about this,
visit this website .

Gandhi's views on Leather
Gandhi knew the art of tanning. Gandhi had made some
leather sandals. How did Gandhi, who considered that
animals have soul, used leather to make sandals?

Well, Gandhi used the hide of only dead animals
to make leather products. Anu
Bandopadhyaya states in the book - Bahuroopee Gandhi
that "Gandhi decided to use the hide of only those
animals that die a natural death. Shoes and sandals
made from such leather became known as ahimsak
chappals(non-violence chappals). It was easier to
treat hides of slaughtered animals than the hides of
carcasses and tanneries did not supply ahimsak
leather: and Gandhi had to learn the art of tanning."
Visit this website to know more about Gandhi.

Gandhi initiated the development of Khadi and Village
Industries which gave employment to thousands of
people and everything was along the lines of
non-violence, that is using only naturally dead
animals for making leather.

The Government of India and state governments are
now responsible for the development of Khadi and Village Industries. Of
course, the khadi and village industries is thriving,
but they do not follow the concept of non-violence
laid out by Gandhi.

According to the Maharashtra government website, leather
is produced from the raw hides purchased from
slaughter-houses and raw hides of superior quality are
imported from Bombay and other places. Visit this website to know more about leather.

Even though there is a ban on slaughter of cows in
most of the Indian states, India is a leading producer
of leather.

The Concept of Veganism In India

Even though India is a vegetarian paradsie, it is very
daunting and challenging to be a vegan in India.

For thousands of years, Indians have used milk and milk
products such as ghee, and buttermilk. Infact milk is synonymous
with nutritious wholesome food. Many years ago, cows were treated
well and the cows provided milk for the family.

However, there are has been a drastic change in the production of milk
in India.

When I was growing up in Bangalore, the popular dairy
in Bangalore - Karnataka Cooperative Milk Producers'
Federation Limited (KMF), had just milk, butter, and
ghee as its products. Recently, I was shocked at the
array of milk products from this dairy. Full cream
milk, toned milk, cheese, flavored milk, and ice cream
are some of the products from this dairy.

According to Peta, in India, "Cows and buffalos who
are raised for their milk are impregnated repeatedly
and are forced to live in hideous conditions. Most are
chained by their necks in narrow stalls, unable to
stretch or move normally. Lack of proper food causes
them to suffer from digestive problems, and lack of
exercise causes lameness. To force animals to produce
unnaturally high amounts of milk, farmers feed growth
and other hormones to cows. These hormones are
released into the milk and consumed by people"
Farmers and dairy owners regularly inject cows with oxytocin harmone
to increase the production of milk.

Thanks to Peta and other non-profit organizations such
as Sharan Project, which are exposing the horrific
conditions of the diary and meat industry of India.
Visit PetaIndia and Sharan Project

Indian vegan is a wonderful website with lots of useful information.

These days even in India, everything from cleaning
products to cosmetics are brimming with animal
products. Fortunately, you can find cruelty-free
products, in India. Visit Beauty Without Cruelty , to find
cruelty-free products in India.

Ways to Reduce the Sufferings of the Animals in Developed Countries

These days especially in western countries, it is
possible to lead a life, which cause minimal harm to
the animals. Thanks to the increase in number of
people who oppose the animal cruelty in western
countries, it is now possible to find numerous vegan
products, even in local supermarket.

Supermarkets are brimming with an amazing range of
dairy alternatives - soy milk, almond milk, and rice
milk. Earth Balance products such as Margarine
Natural Buttery Spread and Soy Garden
Natural Buttery Spread is are popular alternative to
butter and ghee.

Tofu, tempeh, and seitan are wonderful alternative to
meat which widely available in supermarkets. It is
pretty easy to get vegetarian fare in restaurants and
fast-food joints. Visit vegcooking , veganchef and fatfreevegan
to find delicious recipes.

Vegfamily , Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) , vegan forum and
Happy cow are some of the useful websites, forum on the internet.

Everything from cleaning products to cosmetics,
without the cruel process of animal testing and
without any animal product, is available in many
supermarkets. Visit Leaping Bunny to know more about cruelty-free
products.

These days you can find everything from wallets,
handbags, jackets, shoes and sandals made with
synthetics, and plant-based materials. Visit this blog to
know about the latest vegan items in the market.

Indian Vegan Omlette

When I saw a vegan omlette in one of my favorite blogs, I felt like
making an Indian eggless omlette. Made from chickpea
flour, Indian eggless omlette not only tastes great, but it is also
full of proteins.

Chickpea flour is used to make fritters such as
pakoras and bajjis. This flour is also used to make
popular Indian sweets such as mysore pak and boondi
laddu. Chickpea flour is also known as gram flour,
chana flour, garbanzo bean flour. Chickpea flour is
available in almost all the Indian grocery stores. In Hindi, it
is known as "Besan".



Indian Vegan Omlette

1 1/2 cups chickpea flour (I used Meera gram flour)
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped dill
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/8 tsp turmeric (optional)
1/2 cup grated carrot
1/4 cup finely chopped tomato
salt to taste
vegetable oil

Take the chickpea flour in a large bowl, add onion,
dill, tomato, carrot and the spices. Add water and
make a thick batter.

Heat 1 tsp oil in a non-stick skillet on medium-high
until hot. Pour a ladleful of batter into the skillet
and spread it around. Spread 1 tsp of oil on the top
of the omlette, and cook for 3-4 minutes, and when the
edges are dried out, flip over, and cook the other
side for 3-4 minutes.

This tastes great when eaten warm.

I saw a delicious Zucchini and chickpea pancakes recipe in this blog

Vegan Banana Muffin

Growing up in Bangalore, I remember relishing bakery
items - fruit cake, cupcake, masala buns, bread
sandwich regularly.

There was just one type of cupcake in Bangalore
bakeries. Cupcake was also called as apple cake.
Cupcakes in Bangalore bakeries are without the
frosting. So they are somewhat similar to
muffin, but are called cupcake!

When I saw variety of muffins in a local bakery in
United States, for the first time, I was overwhelmed.
I loved muffins and always had store-bought muffins in
my kitchen.

Once I became a vegan, I started baking muffins once
in a while because I no longer get eggless and dairy free
muffins in supermarkets. Recently, I made banana muffins following
this recipe and the taste was superb.
I used very ripe bananas to make the muffins.

To know more about history of cupcake, from an Indian standpoint,
visit an Indian newspaper

Bele undi - Steamed Lentil Dumpling

Bele undi, steamed lentil dumplings, is one of my
favorite snacks. I often make this steamed dumplings
because the recipe does not require cooking oil.

I have not eaten these steamed dumplings in
restaurants in India. I remember eating these dumpling
regularly in my home in Bangalore.

My mom always used fresh grated or finely chopped
coconut to do Bele undi. My mother also added
some ground cinnamon and cloves to make it it spicier.
Here, in United States, instead of coconut, I add carrot.
This is pretty versatile dish, you can use various chopped greens or
herbs such as spinach, parsley , mint or cilantro.

Bele undi, is made with chana dal - resembles yellow
split peas. Chana dal is widely used in Indian
cuisine. In southern India, chana dal is used to make
various spice blends, gravies, and also sweets such as
puran poli. Vada - deep fried lentil dumplings , made
from chana dal is a popular street snack in south
India.

Chana dal is also known as Bengal Gram dal.

Chana dal is good for people with diabetes. Visit
to know more about health benefits of chana dal.

Visit mahanandi for other great chana dal recipes

Bele Undi for RCI: Karnataka, hosted by Asha

Bele Undi

1 cup chana dal
1 cup chopped dill
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 finely chopped carrot
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp garam masala or curry powder
3/4 cup water
Salt to taste

Method
Soak chana dal in water for 4 hours and then drain the water.
Using a blender, make it into a coarse paste adding water.

Mix the coarse paste of chana dal, with onion,
carrot, dill, spices and the salt.

From 2 tablespoon of this mix, make oblong balls
and steam cook it in a rice cooker or idly cooker for
about 15 minutes or until the batter sets completely.

I usually eat these dumplings without any dipping sauce. However,
you can use chutney or salsa to eat with these lentil dumplings.

Vegan Thanksgiving

While reading a blog, I came across a website - Gentle Thanksgiving. You can read wonderful thanksgiving recipes online or you can order free Gentle Thanksgiving Veg Starter Kit.

Vegan Chocolates

I love chocolates. I'm unable to find vegan chocolates in supermarkets across United States. I visit many vegan blogs, but I have not come across any post related to vegan chocolates.

I'm sure there are many vegan chocolates which vegans relish. Where do you purchase vegan chocolates and what's your favorite vegan chocolate?

Thank you!

Meme

I've been tagged by Theresa, to participate in a meme.

K is for Kannada, a south Indian language which is my
mother tongue. I love to view Kannada film songs in
youtube.

U is for urban. I feel that zoos which are present in
the urban setting are sort of a prison for animals. I
wish adults and kids don't visit zoos, so that all the zoos are
forced to shut-down. Imagine tropical animals such as
elephants living in zoos in countries with harsh cold
climate.

M is for Mulesing. For a very long time, I thought
that only leather caused pain and suffering for the
animals. Recently, I learnt that even wool causes a
lot of pain and suffering for the sheep. I decided not
to buy wool after learning about muleasing, in which
huge chunks of skin and flesh are cut from the
animals’ backsides, without any painkillers.

U is for Udupi. I like to visit ancient places. I want
to visit Udupi, a very popular town in Karnataka.I
also would like to visit Ur, which according to some
scholars, is world's first city.

D is for Date. I love dates. When I think of dates, I
think of Iraq. I hope someday I can eat Iraqi
dates, which according to my parents are the tastiest
dates in the world. Unfortunately, millions of date
palms in Iraq has been destroyed in the war.

H is for Health. I'm eternally thankful to Physicians
Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) for creating
awarness across the world in the arena of diet and
nutrition. I think that the percentage of vegans is
increasing in many countries, because PCRM proves time
and again, that a plant-based diet is best for a
well-balanced health by conducting numerous
researches.

A is for Animals. I don't adore animals, but I feel
that animals should be treated with some respect. I
thank PETA, for exposing the horrible conditions of
cows, pigs, sheep, goats and chicken in factory farms
across the world. Thanks to PETA, these days it is so
easy to find everything from shampoo to cleaning
products that does not contain animal products and
which are not tested on animals.

Dada J. P. Vaswani, a popular religious leader says,
"The 18th century gave rights to man, the 19th century
gave rights to slaves, and the 20th century has given
rights to women. The 21st century, I verily believe,
will give rights to animals, and that will be a
glorious day in the history of humanity. I believe
there will be no peace on Earth unless we stop all killing."

Coconut fudge and Coconut burfi

Coconut burfi, a fudge like sweet from South India, is
made with copious amounts of grated coconut and sugar.
Coconut burfi is called as "Kobbari mitai" in my mother
tongue, Kannada.

With just few ingredients, coconut burfi is a
wonderful dessert to make. It tastes great and can be
stored for nearly a week.

I don't use coconut in my everyday cooking, as I don't
like using dry coconut powder or frozen grated coconut
found in Indian stores. I buy coconuts rarely, only to
make some traditional sweets.

If you visit South India, you can find
coconut burfi adorning the shelves of grocery stores
in villages, towns and cities. Street vendors also
sell coconut burfi near the bus stations.

I recently made coconut burfi following Indira's recipe.
Also, I used vegetable oil instead of ghee
to grease the plate.

Spicy Tofu

I recently made spicy tofu with garam masala. Garam
masala, a blend of spices, is commonly used in
North Indian dishes. I made garam masala following
this recipe .
However, I used just 1 tbsp of cardamom seeds instead
of 2 tbsp of cardamom seeds to make garam masala powder.

I often make spice blends at home, because dishes
cooked with fresh spice blends tastes great, and also I
love the aroma of spices when I dry toast the
spices.

You can also use ready made garam masala powder, sold in
Indian stores and some supermarkets to make this dish.

1 (16-oz) firm or extra-firm tofu, drain the water ,and cut tofu into 3/4 - 1 inch cubes
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped bell pepper
1 cup chopped tomato
1/2 tbsp - 3/4 tbsp garam masala powder
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/8 tsp turmeric(optional)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro(optional)
salt to taste

Method
Heat oil in a large skillet, add chopped onion, and
saute for 3-4 minutes.Add chopped bell pepper and
saute until the bell pepper becomes tender. Add the
spices and tofu, saute until the tofu changes to light brown.
Next add tomatoes, and cook for another couple of minutes
until the tomatoes become very soft. Add salt, and garnish with cilantro.

Serve with pita bread, or chapatis.

Different Brands and Types of Tofu

I have tried different brands of tofu and now tofu is
a staple at our home. Ever since I tried trader joe's
tofu, I simply don't feel like purchasing any other
brand of tofu other than Trader Joe's.

I adore Trader joe's tofu. Tofu from Traders joe's is
slightly creamish in color and I feel it tastes pretty
different from other brands of tofu.

The best part of extra-firm tofu is that it looks and
tastes so much like paneer(Indian cottage cheese). I also
like tofu because it gets cooked within a couple of minutes.

There are many types of tofu: silken tofu, firm tofu,
and extra-firm tofu. I use extra-firm tofu frequently
to cook simple spicy gravies, to eat with
Chapatis(flat wheat bread) or hot rice.

What is your favorite brand and type of tofu?

Vegan Pumpkin Halwa

I love sweets. I like to try new recipes once in a while.
Recently, I saw pumpkin halwa in Mahanandi's blog. The rich
color of the halwa was breathtaking and I decided to make it.

I made this halwa with soy milk following mahanandi's
recipe. However, I used vegetable oil to cook the grated
butternut squash and used two and half cups of sugar
instead of two cups of sugar. During the final stage,
the halwa did not turn into a solid firm mass within
10-15 minutes according to the recipe. I guess because
I added more sugar, the mixture took nearly an hour to
become solid firm mass.

I tasted the halwa before keeping it in the freezer.
It was like pudding and tasted great. It became nutty and chewy, when
I kept it in the freezer. I liked both the version of the
delicious sweet.

India and Mahatma Gandhi

Today is India's independence day. Indians consider
Mahatma Gandhi as the father of the nation.

Gandhi, one of the outstanding leaders of 20th
century, brought independence to India through the
concept of nonviolence.

Gandhi, led a very simple life. Gandhi followed the
concept of Ahimsa(non-violence) in his life.

Mahatma Gandhi's food was mainly plant-based. In a
country where milk and milk products is widely used,
Gandhi felt that milk is unsuited for human beings.

Gandhi's meal included simple food -boiled vegetables,
chapatis(flat wheat bread) sprinkled with some
ghee(clarified butter), and goat's milk.

Even though Gandhi consumed goat's milk regularly, he
was not happy about it and strongly felt that humans
should not consume milk and milk products. Gandhi
considered that getting used to goat's milk was a
tragedy in his life.

I wondered why Gandhi did not consume cow's milk, as
milk and milk products is widely used across India.
It seems Gandhi came to know about the
cruel process of "phooka" or "doom dev" to increase
the production of milk in cows. "Phooka" or "doom dev"
includes any process of introducing air or any
substance into the female organ of a milch animal with
the object of drawing off from the animal any
secretion of milk.

I was shocked because this incident took place nearly
six to seven decades ago. If the condition of milk
producing cows was so bad decades ago, the condition
of milk producing cows is horrible in India these
days.

Cows are considered as sacred animals and the
slaughter of cows is banned in numerous states across
India. Most of the Indians feel that cows are
treated well by farmers.

Today, India is the largest producer of milk. Variety
of milk products, everything from icecreams to
flovored milk can be found across India.Towns and
cities across India are brimming with pizza joints.

According to Peta, "Some farmers in India illegally
inject cows with oxytocin, a powerful narcotic that
requires a prescription and causes cows to produce
more milk"

Thanks to Peta, the horrible conditions of diary
industry in India is now exposed to the Indians.

To celebrate this great day,I made vermicelli payasam
with soy milk. I followed this recipe.

I wish Indians across the world, a happy independence day!

http://market.ap.nic.in/mkt/mkt/pca.htm
http://www.nalanda.nitc.ac.in/resources/english/etext-project/Biography/gandhi/part5.chapter29.html
http://www.ivu.org/history/gandhi/experiments.html
http://www.weeksmd.com/articles/dairy/gandhimilk.php

Yogiraj Gurunath Siddhanath on Veganism

Yogis in India from thousands of years have thrived on fresh fruits and milk. Yogis feel that vegetarian diet is the best food for spirutual growth.

Yogiraj Gurunath Siddhanath, a yogi from India visits California frequently to preach about Yoga.

Yogiraj Gurunath Siddhanath advises his devotees not to become vegan.

Visit this video to hear what he has to say about vegan food.

Vegan Mysore Pak

In southern India, almost all the sweet stores will
have bright yellow mysore pak. Mysore pak is made from
chickpea flour, sugar and oil. At homes and in some
famous sweet stores, ghee is used instead of vegetable oil
in the preparation of mysore pak.

I recently made mysore pak and it tasted great. I
followed Mahanandi's recipe, but used vegetable oil.I
also roasted the chickpea flour until the raw smell of
the flour vanished.

Another important factor is to make sure that the
sugar syrup is of the right consistency before adding the
chickpea flour.

Vegetarian and Vegan Fare in Washington D.C

The number of vegetarian and vegan restaurants is increasing across the country. But, it can still be very hard to find vegetarian and vegan fare from coast to coast.

Compassion over Killing, is offering a free guide - The Vegetarian Guide to Washington, D.C and surrounding areas.

Visit VegDC to order the guide. You can find : vegetarian restaurants, groceries, bakeries and caterers.

Finding Vegan Food Items in Supermarkets

People often assume that you should shop at natural
food stores or health food stores for vegan food
items.

Actually in your local supermarket, you can find
smogsboard of vegan food items.

Visit the webpage from peta
to get an idea of the numerous vegan food items in the supermarkets across the country.

Vegan Sandwich at Potbelly Sandwich Works

Large cities across the United States have numerous
vegetarian and vegan restaurants. Sometimes, it is
just not possible to visit some great restaurants.

When you're in a hurry, you are likely to visit the
fast-food joint ,located across the street or in the airport
lounge.

Recently I had been to Chicago with my husband, and I
had the chance to eat Potbelly's vegan sandwich.
We ordered the vegetrain sandwich, minus cheese, and
mayonnaise. The sandwich was delicious with tangy
peppers and with lettuce and mushrooms.

Even though the air around me was saturated with
smells of meat and cheese, I was happy eating my vegan
sandwich.

Unfortunately, this fast-food joint is present only in some states
of the east cost. Visit Potbelly Sandwich Works

Yogi's Food : Fresh Cow's Milk and Fruits

For thousands of years yogis in India thrived on fresh
cow's milk and fruits.Fresh milk was consumed raw. For
me, when I think of yogi's food fresh milk and fruits
come to my mind.

Milk is considered to be the most nutritious food on
the earth by the yogis. Yogis hold cow's milk in high
esteem , as cows are sacred animals to the hindus.

Yogis and gurus in ashrams across India still consider
milk to be the most nutritious food. Of course, most
of the ashrams also keep cows and look after them well
for many years, even after the cows no longer produces
milk. Some ashrams also have goshalas, where
abandoned and aged cows are cared for.

I guess Indians consider cow's milk to be very healthy
food because of the yogis and gurus who sometimes
consumed only milk for their daily food.No wonder that
most of the Indian vegetarians are lacto-vegetarians.

India and Cow's Milk

It is very easy to be a vegetarian in India. But, it
can be very challenging to be a vegan in India, as
diary alternatives are not widely available across
India.

You can find soy beans and soy chunks in almost all
the stores - supermarkets and small local stores in
cities and towns. But you can find soy milk and tofu
only in supermarkets in cities such as Bangalore,
Mumbai and Delhi.

Milk products such as yogurt and ghee(clarified
butter) is omnipresent in every Indian kitchen. Milk
is supposed to be a very healthy drink.And desserts,
known as sweets in India are always made with ghee or
milk in Indian homes.

I was thrilled when I recently came across a
wonderful website by Dr.Nandita Shah. Sharan is a non-profit
organization dedicated to spread the concept of loving
nature - organic farming and veganism in India. Numerous vegan recipes
can also be found in this website.
Visit Sharan

Ahimsa Peace Silk:Cruel-free Silk

Like most people I grew up loving the smooth lucious
fabric - silk. I associated silk with luxury. And for my wedding,
I was presented with numerous vibrant silk
sarees by my parents and in-laws.

And one fine day I learnt that thousands of silkworms
are boiled to produce silk.I felt sick when I read
about the cruel process of making silk. In short, silk
kills. I decided not to buy silk which involves
the cruel process.

I recently came across ahimsa(non-violence)silk, where
silk worms are not brutally killed to make silk.Ahimsa
silk has a wonderful range of great silk products such
as shawls, scarves and sarees. Visit Ahimsa Peace Silk

Vegan Fashion

I'm always excited whenever I shop for shoes, sandals
and purses. Once I became a vegan, I thought that I
will face a long hard road shopping for shoes and sandals,
as the mainstream market is brimming with items infused with
an animal product - leather.

Recently, I came across Vegan Fashion Blog
and was thrilled to find loads of wonderful vegan
shoes, sandals, purses, and accessories. This blog is
unbelievable. I was thrilled to see a pleothra of
amazing cute vegan fashion items made with cruelty-free products.

The blog also has a forum where you can discuss everything
from vegan shoes to jackets.

Veg Blog

When I googled the phrase "vegan blog", 2,700,000 was
the result - a whooping number of websites related to
veganism.

There are a couple of vegan blogs which I religiously
check. Most of the wonderful vegan blogs brimming with
vibrant vegan food pictures entice the websurfers to
become vegan. And since most of the vegan food items
can be easily purchased at the local supermarkets, it
is really so easy to be a vegan in western countries.

Recently, I came across a vegan blog - Veg Blog, which
keeps abreast with the latest happenings in the vegan
world. Ryan MacMichael ,a prolific writer blogs in Veg
Blog.The blog also has a huge list of the best
resources about veganism and vegetarianism.

I'm sure both vegans and non-vegans will find loads of interesting and thought-provoking discussions in Veg Blog.

Vegan and Vegetarian Phrases in Languages

While I along with my husband were in California a
couple of months ago, we went to Thirupati Bhimas - a
vegetarian restaurant in Artesia, Los Angeles.

You can find many vegan options in Indian
restaurants.I came across a rice dish, Bagala bath on
the menu. I assumed it was made with eggplants, known
as Baingan in one of the Indian languages, Hindi.

I waited for my aromatic dish. As the waitress brought
my dish, I realized that something was terribly wrong.
The mound of rice was white as snow. I realized that it
was a spicy yogurt rice. I felt horrible.

The waitress was wonderful.When I told the waitress
about my confusion with words, she calmly listened .I now ordered rice pulao.The rice pulao came with a small bowl of yogurt mixed with chopped onions.

Yes, being a vegan is pretty challenging and daunting.
It takes a lot of patience to order vegan food in
eateries.

International Vegetarian Union (IVU) is a wonderful webpage with loads of useful phrases for vegans in
languages from across the world.

Finding Vegetarian and Vegan Restaurants Online

Recently when I and my husband were planning to visit Long Beach, California , I wondered about finding vegan food in a new city.

Fortunately, I found a great website HappyCow to locate vegetarian and vegan restaurants.

HappyCow is a very user-friendly website. With a click of mouse-button you can find vegetarian and vegan-friendly restaurants. You can also read restauarant reviews.

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM)

The number of vegans around the world would be very
high, if the percentage of vegan doctors ,dietitians
and nutritionists was high in our world.

For the vast majority of the population in the world,
milk and its byproducts such as yogurt, ghee(clarified
butter), butter and butter-milk is considered healthy
foods. Since everyone from doctors to nutritionists
believe that milk is a healthy food, it is natural for
people to consume loads of milk products to get
calcium, even though there are millions of people
suffering from milk allergy.

Fortunately, there is one non-profit organization
consisting of doctors who fully agree that it is
possible to lead a healthy lifestyle by consuming only
plant-based food.

It is indeed very easy to get all the nutrients our
body needs from plant-based foods.

Visit PCRM's website to know more plant-based foods.

Vegan Sukhadi - Fudge Like Dessert

I sometimes try new recipes.And I always prefer
recipes with few ingredients.

Recently, I tried fudge like dessert called, Sukhadi
-a traditional Gujarati dessert, from Trupti's blog

The Spice Who Loved Me

Well, I veganized this recipe. I substituted maple
syrup for jaggery(Unrefined sugar), and Earth
Balance's soy garden buttery spred for ghee (clarified
butter).Jaggery is a wonderful healthy alternative to
sugar and it is also a vegan food. I used maple syrup,
because I love to use local ingredients.

I left out the milk and cardamom powder, but followed
the same procedures of Trupti's to make these delicious fudges.

I'm sure I will prepare this sweet often, as the
recipe is pretty simple and contains only three
ingredients: Whole wheat flour, maple syrup and soy
garden natural buttery spread.

Scrumptious Vegan Cookies

I love cookies. Before becoming a vegan, I would
regularly buy cookies in supermarkets, bakeries and in
my favorite coffee shop - Starbucks.

After becoming a vegan, I'm not able to find vegan
cookies in regular supermarkets and bakeries.

During my visit to Long Beach California, last month,I
came across some cookies near the cash register ,in a
restaurant.

I found out that these cookies were vegan.
Vegan cookies made by Alternative Baking Company was
superb.I ate Double Chocolate Decadence cookie and my
husband ate Luscious Lemon Poppyseed.My husband who
normally does not like packaged cookie, was greatly
impressed by these huge cookies.

The cookies were soft and chewy, and it was hard to
believe they were made without eggs and milk.You
should be able to find to find these cookies in vegan
and vegetarian restaurants in california.

Well, you don't have go to California to enjoy these
delicious cookies.You can savor these delicious
cookies in the comfort of your home by ordering
online. You can order these cookies online at
Alternative Baking website.

Healthy Vegan Lunch

What do vegans eat? People assume vegans thrive only
on raw salads and boring vegetables.

You are bound to eat healthy and exotic food if you follow a
vegan diet, because vegan fare is brimming with whole
grains, beans and lentils, vegetables and fruits.

To get a glimpse on what a vegan kid eats for lunch,
you should visit http://veganlunchbox.blogspot.com

Jennifer McCann, a vegan, blogs about vegan fare.She
packs her kid's lunch box with yummy vegan
dishes.Visit vegan lunch box blog to see splendid
vegan lunches.

Vegan Ice Cream

I love ice cream. I guess there are very few people in the world who don't like ice cream.

It is very easy to be a vegan in America, because you get dairy free ice creams in almost every supermarket.

I recently ate vanilla almond non-diary frozen dessert, and it was wonderful. Dark chocolate and lots of nutty almonds covered the creamy vanilla soy ice cream.

It is such a wonderful feeling to indulge in non-dairy ice cream.

Let us savour non-diary ice cream and let the cows roam in green meadows.

Visit Purely Decadent to find stores which sell these wonderful desserts

Palak Paneer - Spinach with Tofu

Palak Paneer is a very popular dish from northern
sates of India. Pureed spinach with cubes of cottage
cheese taste wonderful with naan or chappathi(wheat
breads of India)

I use extra firm tofu instead of paneer while making Palak Paneer.I recently
cooked palak paneer following the recipe from
Mahanandi.Visit
http://www.nandyala.org/mahanandi/archives/2005/06/06/palak-paneersag-paneer
for the recipe.

This dish was very nice, especially with chappathis.
You can also eat with pita bread.

Mahanandi has loads of wonderful Indian vegetarian
recipes . Many dishes can be easily veganized.If you
love spicy and vibrant dishes, you should visit Mahanandi.

Guava Paste Rolls

I love to eat guavas. I vividly remember eating guavas in Bangalore. The sight of guava slices sprinkled with salt and chili powder makes my mouth water...

Here in United States, I find guavas in Indian stores. Unfortunately the guavas look pale and dry, and so I don't buy them.

I recently came across a unusual sweet - Guava Paste Rolls in Trader Joe's.The guava rolls made with guava paste, sugar , and citric acid is wonderful. Eating these sweet rolls felt as if I was munching the real guava. They were fabulous!

I love to visit Trader joe's. Visit them online at http://www.traderjoes.com