Global Vegan

Milk Documentary

2012-02-14T16:38:00.000-08:00

Cows across the world suffer every day to produce milk. People think that milk is very nutritious.
Studies have shown that milk causes many diseases ,everything from Diabetes to Asthama.

Got the facts on milk , is a milk documentary by Shira Lane. You will stop consuming dairy once you see this eye-opening documentary.
I have been telling my friends and relatives about this wonderful documentary.

Bhagvad Gita and the Dairy Milk

2012-01-26T20:47:00.000-08:00

Millions of people across the world refer to Bhagvad Gita every day. Reading Bhagvad Gita gives me inspiration, and it is a sort of fuel for my soul. I strongly believe our world will be a better place if every one reads Bhagvad Gita.

Bhagvad Gita is a doctrine of universal truth. Sri Krishna who is the creator of our universe explains men everything from our duty to behavior in Bhagvad Gita. Gandhi considered Bhagvad Gita as his mother.

Sri Krishna was a cowherd. During Sri Krishna's time cows were happy. Sri Krishna loved eating butter, and milk based sweets. During
Sri Krishna Janmashatmi, birthday of lord Sri Krishna, milk sweets and butter are offered to lord Sri Krishna.

Recently I was seeing the divine Abhishekam of lord Sri Krishna in a temple. The idol of lord Sri Krishna was poured with milk, yogurt and ghee during Abhishekam. It was very disturbing for my soul to see the Abhishekam, as the images of milk producing cows, which are treated as machines came to my mind. I'm sure even lord Sri Krishna did not like the Abhishekam...

I wonder what lord Sri Krishna feels when he sees - thousands of cows eat plastic bags in Indian streets , when cows are injected with harmones such as oxytocin to produce more milk . I wonder what lord Sri Krishna feels when priests pour gallons of milk on idols, during Abhishekam, in Hindu temples across the world. I wonder what lord Sri Krishna feels when millions of people still think that milk is pure and cruel -free food.

I'm sure that lord Sri Krishna feels that , both MILK and MEAT cause pain and suffering for the cows and other animals. In short milk and milk products is as bad as meat.

Good Indian Food at Udupi Palace, Artesia

2011-11-19T02:06:00.000-08:00

I love going to Artesia in Southern California. Artesia is brimming with Indian stores and
Indian restaurants.

Udupi Palace is a vegetarian restaurant in Artesia. Dosas (rice and lentil pancakes) are really good in Udupi Palace.
Usually vegetable oil is used to make dosas, but sometimes ghee or butter is used to make dosa.
I once had masala dosa, and the waiter confirmed the cook used vegetable oil to make dosa. If you are a vegan, make
sure you say that ghee and butter are not used for making dosas.

Last time, I ordered Channa masala(Garbanzo beans gravy) . Channa masala came with a bowl of rice, chapathi(pita like flat bread) . Channa masala was not spicy, even my toddler son ate some chapathi with Channa masala.

Coming to desserts, everything from kheer (pudding made from rice or semolina), to halwas is made from milk based
products such as ghee and butter. If you are a vegan,
you can't have these desserts. However, if you like Indian sweets, you can veganize most of Indian sweets.
The recipes for Indian sweets and other indian recipes can be found in blogs such as Vaishali's holy cow
In short, Udupi Palace is a great restaurant for Indian food.

If you visit,

Udupi Palace
18635 Pioneer Boulevard
Artesia, California 90701

Phone 562-860-1950

Tasty Brand Organic Fruit Snacks

2011-10-21T22:55:00.000-07:00

My three year old son loves to eat Tasty brand organic fruit snacks. A couple of days ago my son gave me one fruit snack and I just adored the taste.

Fruit snacks or gummy snacks usually contain gelatin, high-fructose corn syrup, and corn syrup.

Tasty brand organic fruit snacks does not contain artificial colors or preservatives.They are vegan, so it does not contain
gelatin.

I found these yummy snacks at Costco and at Whole Foods Market. Even if you don't have kids, I highly reccomend that
you buy these tasty fruit snacks.

1-866-luv-tasty

www.tastybrand.com

A Vegan in India

2011-01-14T22:57:00.000-08:00

I'm off to India, to visit family and friends. India is a paradise for vegetarians, and I hope India will be a "vegan paradise" in few years.

In India, the concept of vegan food is in initial stage. India is a land where milk and milk products are not only used for making sweets and some popular dishes such palak paneer(spinach with Indian cottage cheese) and Mutter paneer(peas with Indian cottage cheese), but it's also used for religious ceremonies like abhishekam(cleaning the idols).

If you are a vegan and planning to visit India, then it's really possible to explore the wide variety of beans, lentils , vegetables and spices in Indian cuisine. Just make sure not to order any of the dishes which contains the words, paneer(Indian cottage cheese) , dahi (yogurt), thayir (yogurt in tamil language) and malai(cream). Most of the Indian sweets which you get in restaurants is made up of milk or milk products, so the sweet which you get in the vegetarian thali(complete meal) is not suitable for vegans.

If you are visiting India and you are a vegan, then the blogs - Vegan India! and Mumbai vegans will be very useful. The webpage in the website, indiamike is also very useful for vegans visiting India. Peta India's website lists all the vegan snacks available in India.

5 Vegan Food Blogs Every Foodie Should Read

2011-01-07T14:06:00.000-08:00

What do VEGANS eat?, is the most popular question vegans hear. Thanks to the internet and so many vegans, who post recipes and food pictures on their blogs. There are so many great vegan food blogs, but I feel everyone who is into good food, should read these vegan food blogs.

1. FatFree Vegan Kitchen : FatFree Vegan Kitchen written by Susan Voisin is brimming with delicious food recipes and breathtaking food pictures. You can find tasty and nutritious recipes for everything from muffins to scones and soups to stews. If you are not a vegan ,but toying with the idea to become a vegan, then this blog will help you to become VEGAN!

I always make sure to send Fatfree Vegan kitchen's blog link to my new friends.

2.Urban Vegan : Dynise Balcavage's blog - The Urban Vegan, is all about wonderful vegan stuff - Vegan recipes, vegan cosmetics, vegan bakeries, vegan-friendly restaurants, travel, vegan ethnic dishes, local harvest, fruits and vegetables. Dynise has also written a book, The Urban Vegan: 250 Simple, Sumptuous Recipes, From Street Cart Favorites to Haute Cuisine.

3. Holy Cow!Vegan Recipes: Vaishali's blog Holy Cow! Vegan Recipes is brimming with tasty vegan recipes. If you like Indian cuisine, then this is the blog for you. I just adore her writing style and superb food pictures in her blog. It's a piece of cake to thrive on a plant-based diet if you like Indian cuisine .

If you like Indian cuisine, then Indira's blog Mahanandi is also another great vegetarian blog, awash with many vegan recipes.

4.Vegan Dad : Vegan Dad, is written by vegan father in Ontario, Canada. Vegan Dad makes amazing dishes for his family. You can find recipes, everything from pancakes to pilafs and cupcakes to curries. People who wonder what vegans eat every day, should just take a look at this great blog.

5.Post Punk Kitchen :The blog Post Punk Kitchen is written by the famous cookbook authors - Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. You can find recipes for everything from burgers to soups, and curries to cupcakes in this amazing blog.

Happy Cow

2010-12-28T22:01:00.000-08:00

Even though the number of vegetarians and vegans is increasing every day, it's hard to find a vegetarian or a vegan friendly restaurant, if you are visiting a new city.

Before visiting a new city, I always make it a point to visit the wonderful website Happy Cow.

Happy cow lists all the vegetarian and vegan restaurants when you enter the zip code of the place you are visiting. Happy Cow also lists all the health food stores, vegan-friendly and vegetarian-friendly restaurants.

So even if you're not a vegan or a vegetarian, visit Happy Cow - amazing website to find good food.

Happy Little Vegans

2010-12-24T21:03:00.000-08:00

Today I read a wonderful vegan blog - Happy Little Vegans filled with vegan recipes and tips.

Saravana Bhavan in Vancouver

2010-12-17T14:43:00.000-08:00

During summer my family and I had the wonderful opportunity to visit Vancouver and Victoria, in British Columbia.

British Columbia is a beautiful province with pristine lakes and mountains.

During our stay in Vancouver, we had lunch at Saravanaa Bhavan. If you like South Indian food, then you will surely like this restaurant. Some of the items in lunch buffet were Rasam(lentil soup), Idly(steamed rice and lentil cake), Medhu Vada,(lentil fritters), Sambhar(lentil and vegetable thick soup), Poriyal(vegetable fry), Kootu(vegetable with lentils), Kolumbhu(thick gravy, eaten with rice), Potato Masala(Potato with spices), Chana Masala, Paneer Butter Masala(cottage cheese dish), Palak Gobi(spinach with cauliflower), Rice, Special Rice, Bisibelebhat(lentils ,rice and vegetable in a spicy sauce), Curd Rice(yogurt rice), Raitha(curds with spices), Papad, Coconut Chutney, Tomato Chutney, Lemon Pickle, Payasam(pudding made with diary milk), Rava Kesari(contains butter), Masala/plain Dosa, Poori & Naan .

Indian cuisine is very vegan friendly. So, I was able to relish almost 90% of the tasty dishes in this restaurant. The only item I was not satisfied was the masala dosa. The masala dosa which should look crispy was soggy. It looked and tasted as if it was made from all purpose flour. Masala dosa is made with fermented rice and lentil batter. Sometimes, a dollop of butter or ghee(clarified butter) is drizzled on Masala dosas, so make sure you tell the waiter about it. And if you see the words -paneer (indian cottage cheese), dahi (yogurt) , or thayir (yogurt), then you should avoid it if you are a vegan! If you are a vegan, then you can't eat any type of sweet in Indian restaurants, as they are made with diary products such as milk, cream and ghee.

Near the counter, trays of delicious burfis and halwas and deep-fried snacks such as samosas, adorned the shelves. I asked the person behind the counter, if there were any sweets made without diary products. Unfortunately, only one sweet was vegan. That sweet was kaju katli(cashew fudge). I love Indian sweets, everything from halwas to burfis and kheers, and I make these tasty items using earth balance(replacing ghee or butter) , and almond or soy milk (replacing diary milk).
If you want to make Indian sweets, then you should visit Vaishali's blog Holy Cow

In short, Saravana Bhavan is a great restaurant if you like Indian food.

Saravanaa Bhavana
955 West Broadway
Vancouver, BC V5Z 1K3, Canada
(604) 732-7700

Oats and Rice Idli

2010-12-13T15:13:00.000-08:00

Idli is a very popular breakfast item in southern parts of India. Traditionally idli is made from ground fermented rice and urad dal(lentil) batter. I recently made idli using rolled oats as one of the ingredients. Oats idlis tasted so YUM!

I followed the oats idli recipe from the blog - Priya's Easy and Tasty Recipes. You should visit this wonderful blog to find so many plant-based(vegan) dishes

I'm sure I will be making these idlis regularly, as they are not only filling, but also nutritious.

Thanks again Priya for the wonderful oats idli recipe.

Oats Crepe

2010-11-30T13:25:00.000-08:00

Dosa, Indian crepes is a very popular breafast item in India. I love to eat dosa with spicy coconut chutney or tangy tomato chutney. Dosas(Indian crepes) are usually made with fermented white rice and lentils batter.

I recently made oats dosa which does not require the process of fermentation. Thanks to the wonderful blog by Sharadha, I found out the recipe for oats dosa.
In the recipe, ghee is one of the ingredients. You can use corn oil or Earth balance instead of ghee. Sharadha also asks to put sour curd to the dosa batter. Well, I did not add the sour curd to the dosa batter, but the dosas were tasty!

My toddler also liked it! I have made oats dosas a couple of times in a span of two months.

Healthy Vegan Diet

2010-11-23T14:17:00.000-08:00

Whenever I tell people that I eat vegan food every day, they assume that I'm health concious and come to the conclusion that vegan diet is always nutritious.

I may be a vegan, but my food is not nutritious on some days. I eat chips and drink coke - vegan food. In short, a bag of chips and and a bottle of coke is vegan, but it's bad for your body.

If you want to eat nutritious food, which is good for you body and the planet, then you should read the book - The Kind Diet. I recently read the book - The Kind Diet written by Alicia Silverstone. The book - The Kind Diet was very interesting.

Alicia's writing is so good. It will inspire you to become vegan. Even if you are not keen on becoming a vegan, you will learn so much from this great book. You should read this amazing book if you want to be healthy and strong for a very long time.

It also has some great recipes. I made Moroccon couscous with Saffron , and Chocolate peanut butter cups from this book. They were so tasty.

Vegan Recipes

2010-11-08T21:18:00.000-08:00

Vegetarian Times is a food magazine brimming with vegetarian recipes. If you are planning to make a couple of vegetarian or vegan dishes for the Thanksgiving dinner , then you should visit the website - Vegetarian Times

Vegetarian Awareness Month

2010-10-26T13:39:00.000-07:00

October is Vegetarian Awareness Month. These days everyone wants to consume more plant based food, as its good for the health of human beings and also for the welfare of our wonderful planet - Earth.

If you have decided to eat plant-based food regularly, then you should visit some amazing food blogs. Fat free vegan kitchen, Holy Cow ,The Voracious Vegan and Vegan Dad

Increasing Vegans in India

2010-10-05T20:50:00.000-07:00

Milk and milk products(ghee, paneer and yogurt) is the epicenter of lavish Indian cuisine. Milk is used to make coffee and tea . South Indians consume rice and yogurt every day. If you drink black coffee in Indian homes, people will think something is really wrong with you. In short, milk and milk products are omnipresent in Indian kitchens.

These days there is some change.

Thanks to Peta and other organizations, for exposing the heart wrenching condition of the milk producing cows across India. Farmers in India give the harmone Oxytocin to cows, to increase the production of milk .

Some Indians are becoming vegans. They are thriving on a vegan diet. It's really easy to thrive on a vegan diet in India, if you don't like dark chocolates, cakes, icecream and baked goodies.

Hats off to vegans in India. It's really hard to become a vegan in India, because the supermarkets are not flooded with yummy dark chocolates and varieties of non-diary milk.

Here is an article which says about the growing vegan interest in India.

Carrot - Cashew Payasam

2010-09-04T20:41:00.000-07:00

Payasam is an Indian dessert and is popular across India. Payasam is also called as "Kheer". Milk plays an important ingredient in many Payasams. I recently made Carrot-Cashew Payasam from Nupur's amazing blog One Hot Stove.

I used rice milk, as the recipe called for dairy milk. The Carrot-Cashew payasam was superb! It was tasty but watery .The next time I made this Payasam with the combination of soy milk and rice milk. Nupur says to boil the milk until it reduces to half the original volume. I just boiled the soy milk and rice milk and then added the carrot-cashew paste along with the sugar.

This is a wonderful dessert if you like carrots. I like to enjoy this dessert when it's warm. My toddler also loved it.

Vegan Majjige Huli

2010-08-23T12:30:00.000-07:00

Majjige huli(saucy yogurt with vegetables) is a classic recipe from South India.
I grew up eating Majjige huli with hot rice in Bangalore. Now, I'm a vegan and I make Majjige Huli with Soyogurt. The key to make delicious vegan Majjige huli is to use unsweetened soy yogurt. I use wildwood Soyogurt(high fibre unsweetened plain). This soyogurt is so much like Indian yogurt - a bit sour.

I made Majjige Huli by following Ramya's blog Mane Adige. The Majjige huli was so yummy.

Vegan Hayagreeva

2010-08-21T20:58:00.000-07:00

Indian cuisine is flooded with sweet dishes. And it's so easy to veganize the recipes.

Hayagreeva is a common sweet dish in some Hindu temples. Yesterday I made Hayagreeva by following Meera's hayagreeva recipe in Kalpavriksha Kamadhenu blog.

Since Meera used ghee, I used Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread in the recipe. Hayagreeva was so delicious. And I'm sure I will be making this yummy sweet regulary.

Vegans in India

2010-08-04T18:05:00.000-07:00

Milk and milk products such as buttermilk and ghee play an important role in Indian cuisine. Whenever I visit India, and when I say that I don't consume milk and milk products, everyone feels that something is seroiusly wrong with me...

While it's very common to be a vegetarain in India, the concept of vegan lifestyle is still in an initial stage. Thanks to Peta and other organizations, people are now starting to think about the cruel production of milk in India. Oxytocin harmone is induced to cows to produce more milk in India.

I read a wonderful article about the growing number of vegans in India in Outlook magazine. Read the article - Sylph O’ The Green here .

The American Dietetic Association states that "appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life-cycle including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood and adolescence and for athletes."

So go ahead and try to become vegan! Vegan diet or plant-based diet is not only good for your health but also great for our beautiful planet - Earth.

Vegan Pantry

2010-07-30T22:20:00.000-07:00

Vegan diet is not only good your health, but it's also great for our beautiful Earth.

You don't have to shop at Whole Foods Market to thrive on a vegan diet. You can get most of the vegan food staples such as - Brown rice, oats, quinoa, pasta, fruits, vegetables, soy milk, rice milk, almond milk, peanut butter, nuts and cooking oils in Costco or in your regular supermarket.

If you have decided to become vegan , then I think this blog post - Stocking a Vegan Pantry will be very useful.

Teapot Vegetarian House

2010-07-21T13:07:00.000-07:00

I was in Seattle for a couple of weeks, and I frequently enjoyed eating in one of the best vegan restaurants in Seattle - Teapot Vegetarian House . Seattle has many great vegan restaurants, but the food at Teapot Vegetarian House was so good, that my husband and I did not feel like eating at other vegan restaurants.

My favourite dish was Thai green curry and my husband's favourite dish was Curried vegetables. The taste of these curries with brown rice was superb! I also liked spring rolls, Kung pao vegetables, Tempura , and Vegetable Chow Mein . Once I also ate Vegan Tofu Cheesecake, and I somehow did not like it.

If you crave good food, I highly recommend that you eat at Teapot Vegetarian House when you are in Seattle.

Ananda Mela in Seattle

2010-06-22T15:41:00.000-07:00

"India is, the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grand mother of tradition. our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only." - Mark Twain

If you want to know everything from Indian culture to Indian cuisine, then you should visit Ananda Mela in Seattle. Ananda mela is on June 26 and June 27.

To know more about this wonderful cultural festival of India, visit Ananda Mela website

Ecos Laundary Detergent

2010-06-17T12:51:00.000-07:00

These days I love to smell my washed clothes as I use Ecos Laundary Detergent. Ecos Laundary detergent is plant-based and is free of all the nasty chemicals.

Ecos laundary detergent is not only great for the environment, it's also good for you as it's free from chemicals. Animals are also happy of this wonderful laundary detergent because the laundary detergent is not tested on animals. We buy this wonderful detergent in Costco.

Ecos makes many eco-friendly cleaning products . Ecos products are non-toxic and plant-based. Ecos products are free of phosphates, chlorine, petroleum chemicals and a variety of other harmful ingredients. They are 100% biodegradable and the containers are easily recycled.

Ecos is a wonderful company keen on making our environment free of chemicals. To know more about this company visit Ecos

Oats Upma

2010-05-17T13:38:00.000-07:00

Upma is a traditional South Indian breafast item made with sooji(cream of wheat).

Oats is so nutritious. I often make Oatmeal for my toddler. After seeing Oats Upma in so many food blogs, I decided to make Oats Upma yesterday.

I made Oats Upma, following Oats Upma recipe in Indira's blog, Mahanandi.

Oats Upma was so delicious. Both me and my todder enjoyed eating it . I ate it with soy yogurt and ginger pickel.

Simple Indian Lentil Soup

2010-05-11T15:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I cooked tuvar dal with fenugreek leaves(methi), chopped onions and tomato. Well, I followed Indira's recipe for Menthi Kura Pappu.

The dish was pretty simple to make, but tasted great. Until now, I rarely used fenugreek leaves for cooking. My toddler son also enjoyed this dish with rice.

If you're looking for simple Indian recipes, you should visit Indira's blog Mahanandi

Vegans in India

2010-05-07T15:40:00.000-07:00

If you are a vegan, and visiting India or presently residing in India, then you have to visit the blog - Vegan India .

Vegan India! is a great blog with information about everything from vegan restaurants to vegan sweets and vegan cosmetics to vegan gifts.

India is a beautiful country. You have just seen the colors black and white if you have not visited India. Visit the website Incredible India to get more info about India.

Whacky Vegan Chocolate Cake

2010-04-13T19:31:00.000-07:00

I love Madhuram's food blog - Eggless Cooking . It's filled with delicious cakes, cupcakes, and cookies recipes. I made Whacky Vegan Chocolate Cake and it was so YUM!

Krishna Catering & Restaurant

2010-04-10T20:24:00.000-07:00

If you are in Detroit and love Indian food, you should go to Krishna Catering & Restaurant . I simply adore the food at this simple restaurant.

Dishes and chaats(Indian street food) from various cuisines across India are available in this restaurant .Chole bhathure (deep fried bread with saucy garbanzo beans) , idli-sambar(steamed rice cakes with thick lentil soup), dosa(thin rice and lentil crepes), and pav bhaji(bread with saucy vegetables) are some of my favorite dishes from this restaurant.

The food is rich in flavor. They use less oil . And for rotis(Indian bread), they ask if you want the bread to be drizzled with -oil or butter. I feel as if I'm eating homemade food while I'm enjoying food in this lovely restaurant.

They also sell variety of snacks such as shakarpara(deep fried cookies), samosas, and chaklis(deep-fried snack). Other than sweets and some dishes(palak paneer and matar paneer), everything in this restaurant is vegan.

Recently this restaurant was recently voted the best vegetarian restaurant in Metro Detroit by Channal 4, WDIV. Visit Krishna Catering & RestaurantIf you visit,

Krishna Catering & Restaurant
28636 Ford Road
Garden City, MI 48135
(Between Inkster and Middlebelt)

PHONE: 734.513.FOOD (3663)

Vegan Yogurt

2010-03-19T20:10:00.000-07:00

I used to love yogurt during my pre-vegan days. I loved eating yogurt mixed with rice and pickles. In restaurants I always relished eating dahi vadas(deep-fried lentil dumplings).

Once I became vegan, I was not happy with the soy yogurt. All the soy yogurts which I tried were very sweet. I never cooked any Indian recipes which had yogurt in it because, of the sweet taste in yogurt.In short, I longed for soy yogurt which was a bit sour in taste, almost like the yogurt we get in India.

Recently I tried Wildwood Probiotic Soyogurt Unsweetned Plain. The yogurt was perfect! I love to eat it with rice and pickles. I have used this wonderful yogurt in making tasty mangalorean dishes -menthi tambli and spinach tambli. I'm so happy to find this great tasting soy yogurt.

Unfortunately this delicious yogurt is available only in selected stores across the country .I bought this soy yogurt in Whole Foods.

Vegans in Mumbai

2010-03-03T20:03:00.000-08:00

In India it's very easy to be a vegatarian, but it's challenging to be a vegan.
For many peaople in India, the word vegetarian is synonymous with the word "vegan".

Milk and milk products such as ghee and yogurt are considered to be very nutritious. In short milk and milk products play an important role in Indian cuisine.

During my recent visit to India, I did not meet a single vegan. I recently came across a blog - Mumbai Vegans. It's so nice to see that the vegan lifestyle is spreading across India.

Vegan Himalaya Toothpaste

2010-02-25T13:19:00.000-08:00

For years I used Colgate or Close-up toothpaste to brush my teeth. I have been using Himalaya Dental Cream ever since I became vegan.

I look forward to brush my teeth every day ,ever since I started using this flavorful toothpaste. Himalaya toothpaste is brimming with natural items such as pomegranate , and neem . On the package it says, "100% vegetarian" , even though Himalaya toothpaste is vegan .

I purchased Himalaya toothpaste in India. In United States you can buy online or in some stores. Visit Himalayan United States website.

Do you want to watch Himalaya toothpaste ad? See this ad on youtube

Haldiram's Vegan Sweets

2010-02-22T16:17:00.000-08:00

I love Indian sweets. Growing up in India, I used to devour made with "pure ghee".
Once I realized that everything from butter to pure ghee and yogurt to cream, causes pain to the innocent cows, I decided to thrive on a plant-based diet - vegan diet.

I still enjoy delicious sweets. During my recent trip to India I found badam halwa and soan papdi from Haldiram's to be vegan. Haldiram also makes many spicy and tangy snacks, which are vegan. I purchased Haldiram sweets in Food World .

You don't have to visit India, to savour these sweets and snacks. Visit Indian grocery stores in your area to find Haldiram's sweets and snacks. Just check the expiration date on sweet boxes, because Indian stores keep snacks and sweets past the expiration date.

Vegan Crayons

2009-12-20T14:14:00.000-08:00

The crayons found in regular supermarkets contain tallow (animal fat). I recently found out that Melissa and Doug company makes vegan crayons, which are non-toxic.

I wanted to double-check, so contacted Melissa and Doug company to find out if the crayons are vegan. They replied quickly and said that "Our crayons do not contain any animal products" .

I'm so happy that I purchased these cute crayons for my toddler. The moment I gave these crayons to my toddler, he put it right into his mouth!

I purchased these cruel-free crayons at Whole Foods. You can also buy it through Amazon or Melissa and Doug website.

Alicia Silverstone

2009-11-30T21:35:00.000-08:00

Alicia Silverstone's blog - The Kind Life , is filled with ideas, tips and recipes to make our beautiful Earth happy.

Alicia Silverstone recently wrote a vegan cookbook - The Kind Diet . The Kind Diet vegan cookbook is filled with nutritious and tasty cruel-free recips.

If you want to protect our Earth, and if you want to lead a healthy lifestyle , you should read the wonderful blog - The Kind Life

Turmeric Milk

2009-11-21T21:18:00.000-08:00

While growing up in Bangalore, whenever I was suffering from cold and cough, my mom used to give me some hot dairy milk to which a dash of turmeric, salt and crushed black pepper was added. I used to feel so nice drinking hot turmeric milk. Turmeric milk used to provide so much relief for my sore throat.

I guess the magic ingredient "Turmeric" was the key to give me such a relief from the cold. Turmeric is commonly used in Indian cooking. I always use a dash of turmeric in my curries, and sambars.

I no longer get terrible cold and cough, as I don't consume dairy milk. I still love to drink turmeric milk when the weather turns cool. I often make turmeric milk with rice milk.

Visit here to find recipe for Turmeric milk.

Vegan Diet

2009-11-14T21:31:00.000-08:00

Decades ago it was considered that meat is absolutely required for a healthy body. Vegetarians were considered to be pale and sick. Everyone from doctors to dieticians discouraged people not to be a vegetarian.

These days everyone seems to endorse vegetarian and even vegan diet. Vegan diet is not only good for you but it also helps our beautiful planet - Earth. Vegan diet is considered to be "Green"

The American Dietetic Association states that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life-cycle including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood and adolescence and for athletes.

Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

2009-11-07T13:47:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time since I made some cookies. Today I made some vegan oatmeal raisin cookies. These cookies were so crunchy and tasty. I felt as if I was eating delicious coconut cookies from Bangalore bakeries.

Madhuram uses flax seed meal as one of the ingredients. I did'nt use it in the recipe since I don't buy flax seeds.

Madhuram's blog Eggless cooking is filled with numerous delicious vegan recipes - cookies, cakes, breads and muffins.

Incredible Vegan Carrot Cake

2009-10-31T23:20:00.000-07:00

I start to bake cakes and cookies once the weather turns cold. I recently baked Incredible Vegan Carrot Cake from Vegweb website. The cake was spongy and delicious. I'm sure I will be making this cake atleast a couple of times in the coming months!

Vegetable Puff

2009-10-17T21:47:00.000-07:00

Growing up in Bangalore, I frequently enjoyed eating savory vegetable puffs from bakeries. Vegetable puffs are very popular across India.

I often make vegetable puffs using Pepperidge farm puff pastry. The vegetable puffs are really a breeze to make using puff pastry. If you are looking for a quick Indian snack , I think you should try this.

You can find many great recipes for the vegetable puffs on the internet. You can find my favorite vegetable puff recipe here.

Fatfree Vegan Kitchen

2009-06-25T13:55:00.000-07:00

According to some surveys the number of vegans is increasing every year. I sometimes feel Susan's delicious vegan blog, Fatfree Vegan Kitchen is the reason for increase in the number of vegans.

Fatfree Vegan Kitchen is a vegan food blog brimming with yummy and nutritious recipes.

Recently many bloggers made vegan dishes - soups, salads, side-dishes, appetizers and desserts, by following the recipes from Fatfree Vegan Kitchen.

Visit Vaishali's blog - Holy cow , to see tasty vegan dishes. You can get all the recipes at fatfree vegan kitchen

Eating Vegan Food Every Day

2009-04-22T13:10:00.000-07:00

After celebrating Earth Day, everyone from kids to adults want to go green. Eating vegan food everyday is a great way to go green.

Thriving on a vegan diet every day is not only great for our beautiful Earth, but also great for our health.

How can vegan diet help the Earth?

A UN report, Livestock's long shadow reports that animal agriculture is responsible for 18% of total greenhouse gas emissions, more than all transportation in the world combined. Visit here to read more about this report.

Thousands of people in many countries die every day because of hunger. A pound of wheat can be grown with 60 gallons of water, whereas a pound of meat requires 2,500 to 6,000 gallons . So if the number of vegans increase, the production of plant-based foods will be sufficient for the growing population.

How can a vegan diet help one's health?

According to the American Dietetic Association , vegetarians have lower blood cholesterol levels, lower rates of hypertension , diabetes, and prostrate and colon cancers.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in its webpage states that,
"Fruits and vegetables contain essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber that may help protect you from chronic diseases." American Heart Association states that, "Vegetarian diets can be healthful and nutritionally sound if they’re carefully planned to include essential nutrients."

What do vegans eat?

Vegans just don't eat salads and fruits. Most vegans love cupcakes, cookies and cakes. Once you become a vegan, each day you will explore variety of grains, beans, fruits , and vegetables.

Any blogs and websites for vegan recipes?

Internet is brimming with wonderful vegan blogs filled with delicious vegan recipes.
Fatfree vegan kitchen , vegan dad , Holy cow , Have cake will travel

Is it very hard to be a vegan in United States?

It's really very hard to be on a vegan diet in India or Pakistan, because delicious food items such as vegan icecream and vegan butter is not available. On the other hand, it's very easy to thrive on a vegan diet in United States because you can easily get variety of non-dairy milk, non-dairy ice creams and great vegan chocolates in almost all the supermarkets across the country.

Any inspiring vegan blogs ?

Urban vegan , Veganlunch box , Dinner with Dilip , Vegan doctor

Any magazines and E-zines about vegan lifestyle?

Vegnews
and Vegfamily

Himalaya Herbal Healthcare

2009-04-20T16:59:00.000-07:00

During my recent visit to Bengaluru (Bangalore), I came across numerous personal care products such as shampoo, creams, and lotions produced by Himalaya Herbal Healthcare. Even though I grew up in Bangalore, I was seeing Himalaya herbal products for the first time.

Himalaya products are made by following the ayurveda principles. Luckily, all these products doesn't contain horrible chemicals and animal products. In short, Himalaya products are suitable for vegans. According to Grace Ormstein, the Herbal consultant for Himalaya Herbal Healthcare, osteocare is not suitable for vegans.

Well, you don't have to travel to Bangalore to buy these great products. Himalaya natural personal care products are available in stores across United States. Visit Himalaya Herbal Healthcare.

VegFest in Michigan

2009-04-16T11:16:00.000-07:00

I live near Detroit, and it's easy to thrive on a vegan diet. These days almost all the major grocery stores carry vegan food itmes, everything from non-diary milk to ice cream.

If you are in Michigan and if you are interested to know more about the positive impact of plant-based diet on your health and on our planet, then you should attend the great event - VegFeast.

VegFest is organized by VegMichigan, the largest vegetarian organization in Michigan . VegFest is on April 26 in Ferndale . To know more about this wonderful event go to VegFest

PetaDishoom

2009-04-11T17:39:00.000-07:00

In India, it's very easy to thrive on a vegetarian diet. In India where milk is considered sacred , It's really challenging to be on a vegan diet. People think you are weird if you tell them that you don't consume milk and milk products.

Thanks to Peta. Peta is showing people the torture cows endure to produce milk. During my recent visit to India, I did not come across even a single vegan. But, I did see some youngsters thriving on a vegan diet in India when I visited Peta's website Petadishoom . Visit PetaDishoom if you plan to visit India to know more about vegan food items.

Cadbury's Bourville - Vegan Chocolate in India

2009-03-24T15:20:00.000-07:00

I love chocolates. While growing up in India, I used to frequently eat Cadbury's dairy milk bars. Even though you can find variety of chocolates in the market , Cadbury's chocolates are sill very popular in India.

Last year I could not find any dark chocolates suitable for vegans in India. I wondered why Cadbury's does not make dark chocolates(vegan chocolates), which not only tastes great but also good for our health .During my recent visit to India, I was surprised to find Cadbury's dark chocolates in supermarkets. I was very happy to savour delicious Cadbury's Bournville fine dark chocolate.

Cadbury's Bournville dark chocolate is available in four varieties: rich cocoa, raisin and nut, hazelnut and almond. I tasted all the four varieties, and these chocolates tastes so rich in cocoa - so delicious!

Visit Cadbury Bournville

Barack Obama and Vegan Diet

2009-01-21T16:35:00.000-08:00

Barack Obama, the young president of United States is inspiring youngsters from Boston to Bangalore. Barack Obama eats meat, but feels that plant-based diet is great for our environment and economy.

Visit youtube to hear what Obama has to say regarding vegan diet

Vegan Sweets

2008-11-07T14:30:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the internet, you can find numerous vegan recipes in many food blogs.

Vaishali, recently hosted a blog event - sweet vegan. Many bloggers have posted delicious vegan recipes. Visit the blog holy cow to see some great vegan sweets.

Thanks Vaishali for hosting, Sweet Vegan

Semolina Sweet - Rava laddoo

2008-11-03T09:54:00.000-08:00

I recently made rava ladoo, by following the recipe in aayi's blog. I used Earth Balance natural buttery spread instead of ghee.

Rava laddoo are not only easy to make, but they also taste great.

Simple Steps to Save the Earth

2008-08-28T10:18:00.000-07:00

I recently read a book, 50 simple steps to save the earth from global warming.

Step number 4 states, "Go vegetarian for a day"

How can vegetarian diet reduce global warming?

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.

A vegetarian diet devoid of animal products, is the most eco-friendly diet. A plant based diet, also known as vegan diet is not only good for our health, but also great for our planet because, factory farms intensively confine millions of animals, the toll of such industrialized practices weighs heavily on the environment, depleting resources and contaminating habitats across the world. Toxins, chemicals, gases, and huge amounts of manure from these facilities pollute the soil, water, and air, causing massive environmental degradation.

To know more about vegetarian diet visit CNN website, International vegetarian union, and Science daily

To find eco-friendly recipes visit, Fat free vegan, vegan chef , and VRG

Vegan Fruit Cake

2008-08-26T07:56:00.000-07:00

I adore fruit cakes. Growing up, I vividly remember buying fruit cake from bakeries, near my school in Bangalore. Brimming with dried fruits and nuts, fruit cakes from Bangalore bakeries were moist and very tasty. Fruit cake is also called as "plum cake" in India. Since I was not a vegan decades ago, I used to relish eating fruit cakes loaded with eggs.

Recently I saw a recipe for fruit cake in one of my favorite food blogs, aayi. I was very happy to find a fruit cake recipe which was very easy to veganize. I used soy garden natural butter spread instead of butter.

The fruit cake was delicious. I felt as if I was eating the fruit cake, from Bangalore
bakeries. I'm sure I will often make this cake.

India's Independence Day and Mahatma Gandhi

2008-08-15T13:24:00.000-07:00

To my mind the life of a lamb is no less precious than that of a human being. I should be unwilling to take the life of a lamb for the sake of the human body. I hold that the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of man.

-- Mahatma Gandhi

Today is India's independence day. Mahatma Gandhi played a key role in India's freedom struggle. The principles of ahimsa - nonviolence, initiated by Gandhi was the foundation for India's freedom struggle against the British.

Mahatma Gandhi led a very simple life. Gandhi ate simple vegetarian food. Gandhi not only worked for the welfare of human beings, but he also wanted all the living creatures across the world to be happy. To know more about Gandhi visit website1 and website2 .

October 2, Mahatma Gandhi's birthday, is also World Farm Animals Day . To know more about Gandhi's views on animals, visit website1 and website2
and website3

I sometimes feel that Mahatma Gandhi would have thrived on a vegan diet if he was alive, as you can find diary-free milk in India these days. I'm sure
there will be many vegans in India, if many diary alternatives such as rice milk, almond milk, soy butter, nut butters, vegan chocolates and vegan ice cream is widely available.

Vegan Diet and Global Warming

2008-07-30T12:09:00.000-07:00

Everyone these days is concerned about global warming. Some studies have shown that if people thrive on a vegan diet for at least a couple of days in a week, they can drastically reduce their carbon footprint. In short, vegan diet is not only good for your health, it's also great for our planet.
Read website1 and website2 to know more about the impact of vegan diet on the environment.

In western countries, you can find numerous diary alternatives and meat alternatives like soy milk, soy butter, tofu and tempeh. You can also find diary-free ice cream and chocolates in some supermarkets. In United States, Whole Foods Market, Trader Joe and Health Food Superstores carry variety of diary and meat alternatives.

Vegan Blogs: Thanks to the numerous vegan food blogs, it's really so easy to find delicious vegan recipes, tips, and reviews of vegan food items. Visit blogs such as Fatfree vegan, Urban Vegan, Vegan Dad, Dinner with Dilip, and Holy Cow to get a glimpse of vegan dishes.

Vegan Magazines : Veg News is a very popular magazine geared toward vegan lifestyle. Veg Family is an online vegan magazine, filled with numerous health articles, recipes and tips to lead a cruel-free lifestyle. There is also a discussion forum where you can discuss everything from vegan recipes to vegan friendly
restaurants.

Vegan Chocolate Cupcake

2008-07-28T11:32:00.000-07:00

I love cupcakes. Recently I made vegan chocolate cupcakes from the cookbook - Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. You can find the recipe for this delicious cupcake by visiting Chow website.

The cupcakes were moist and very tasty. I did a basic frosting consisting of sugar, soy milk and Earth Balance Soy Garden Natural Buttery Spread. The frosting was a bit mushy, but it tasted great.

Veganomicon

2008-07-22T09:47:00.000-07:00

Numerous vegan dishes made by following the recipes from the most popular vegan cookbook - Veganomicon, can be seen in many of the vegan food blogs.

Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook is brimming with so many recipes for soups, salads, and dishes made with tofu, tempeh, seitan, beans and lentils. Here are some recipes which you can try from this amazing cookbook, by visiting the website, postpunkkitchen.

Recently I made seitan, by following the recipe in Veganomicon. The taste and texture of seitan was wonderful. I also made Caramel-apple-spice cupcakes with caramel-penuche frosting. This cupcake made with tart Granny smith apples was delicious.

Trader Joe's

2008-07-15T11:14:00.000-07:00

In my local grocery store, I get most of the vegan staples such as tofu and soy milk. But, I can't find vegan dark chocolates and ice cream.

I often shop at Trader Joe's for decadent chocolates, delicious ice cream, varieties of spicy chips and salsas.

Visit Trader Joe's website to find a store in your area.

Vegan Muffin

2008-07-14T11:40:00.000-07:00

Muffins are not only easy to make, but they also taste great. I'm always looking for vegan muffin recipes, and I recently made Cinnamon Swirl Muffins from Susan's wonderful Fatfree Vegan Kitchen blog.

If you want your muffins to be on the bland side, then this recipe is really good. I like my muffins to be sweeter, so I think I will add more sugar to this muffin recipe, when I make it next time.

Local Harvest

2008-06-30T12:15:00.000-07:00

For vegans and vegetarians, vegetables and fruits play a major role in their diet. If you shop at supermarkets from greens to vegetables, chances are that your produce may have traveled thousands of miles.

Jennifer McCann, who blogs at Vegan Lunch Box, has come up with great tips to save money and the environment. Visit here to read that article.

Pav Bhaji( Spicy Vegetables and Buns)

2008-06-26T13:28:00.000-07:00

Pav Bhaji is a very popular street food in many states across India. I recently made Pav Bhaji following Susan's Pav Bhaji recipe. I just used potatoes, carrots , bell pepper along with onions and tomatoes to make the spicy vegetables. I think the key for the wonderful taste of this dish is to pressure cook the vegetables until soft.

Traditionally Pav Bhaji is served with a dollop of butter, so you can use
Soy Garden Natural Buttery Spread or Earth Balance® Margarine Natural Buttery Spread.

Vegan Pizza

2008-06-23T10:54:00.000-07:00

For many years I relished eating pizzas brimming with cheese. One fine day, when I decided to become a vegan, I realised that I could no longer eat pizzas with cheese.

As a vegan I started to enjoy eating cheeseless pizzas. Recently I came across numerous vegan blogs with vegan pizzas loaded with vegan cheese. Many vegans had blogged about the Vegan Gourmet Cheese, made by Follow Your Heart.

I recently made pizza with vegan gourmet mozarella cheese, and I was surprised to find out that it tasted so much like real cheese. The pizza was delicious! I'm so happy to find a cheese, which not only tastes great but is also cruel-free.

Where can you find this delicious vegan cheese? Visit this webpage to find stores which carry vegan cheese.

Vegan Badusha

2008-06-10T12:51:00.000-07:00

Badushas are deep-fried flaky sweets very popular in India. Growing up, I always enjoyed eating store bought Badushas, as my mom did not make these wonderful sweet at home.

Recently I came across Badushas in numerous Indian food blogs, and I decided to make it. I followed the recipe from this blog, because it was easy to veganize. I used Crisco pure vegetable oil, instead of butter and ghee. The number of ingredients required to make this sweet is less, but it takes a long time to make this sweet, since the sweets have to be deep-fried in low heat.

Vegan Restaurants

2008-06-09T09:53:00.000-07:00

These days you can find vegetarian dishes in almost all the restaurants. And it's pretty simple to get vegan fare, if you order your pizzas, burgers and salads without cheese.

Sometimes it's nice to visit restaurants where the menu card is brimming with numerous vegan dishes.

Real Food Daily, Zephyr Vegetarian Cafe, The Chicago Diner, and Ethos Vegan Kitchen are some of the great vegan restaurants where I've enjoyed eating good vegan food. I found these restaurants by visiting HappyCow

Before visiting a new city, I make it a point to
visit HappyCow's vegetarian restaurants guide. You can also find numerous vegan and vegan-friendly restaurants by visiting VegGuide , and VegDining

Good Karma Organic Rice Divine Icecream

2008-06-02T11:57:00.000-07:00

I'm always on the lookout for new dairy-free icecream. I recently came across, coconut mango - a delicious creamy non-dairy frozen dessert, from the Good Karma Foods, in Zerbos - a health food store in Detroit.

Coconut Mango icecream , is delicious. I felt as if I
was in a tropical island while eating the luscious
coconut mango icecream. My husband who is not a big fan of icecream
also adores coconut mango icecream.

Good Karma also has other interesting icecreams such
as carrot cake, mudd pie, banana fudge, and mint
chocolate swirl.

There are numerous reasons why everyone should enjoy
Good Karma products. Good Karma supports Green
Farming. Good Karma also donates a percentage of its
net proceeds to organizations which focus on ending
world hunger. Good Karma products are not only vegan,
but they are also organic, gluten free and trans fat free.

Visit Good Karma to find out which stores in your area sell Good Karma icecream.

If you are craving for homemade icecream, then you should visit the blog, A vegan ice cream paradise, for
numerous vegan icecream recipes.

Fruit Salad

2008-05-30T11:20:00.000-07:00

Fruit salad sold in busy streets across India is
spicy, and tangy. Spices such as chili powder, cumin
seeds, mango powder impart zesty flavor for the fruits
in Indian fruit salad. This fruit salad is also known
as "Fruit Chaat".

Fruit Salad

2 cups 1/2 inch papaya pieces
1 cup 1 inch mango pieces
1 cup 1 inch apple pieces
1 Tbsp agave nectar
1 Tbsp lime juice
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1/8 tsp cumin seeds or ground cumin
1/8 tsp salt

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Serve
immediately, as the salad tends to become soggy after
a couple of hours.

Use ripe tropical fruits such as guava, pineapple,
banana, and grapes to make fruit salad. Avoid over
ripe fruits to make this salad, as you don't want the
salad to be soggy.

Vegans in Bangalore

2008-05-28T09:21:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago I visited Bangalore, and everyone I met was either a vegetarian or a non-vegetarian. I wondered why there was no huge pool of vegans, in the land of ahimsa (non-violence)- India.

I'm so happy to know that they are some vegans in Bangalore after reading this article in Deccan Herald, a newspaper from Bangalore.

Vegan Mango Smoothie

2008-05-27T10:37:00.000-07:00

For me, summer means mangoes. Growing up in Bangalore,
I always looked forward for the mango season. I
relished eating mangoes every day for a couple of
months.

I recently made mango smoothie and it was delicious!

Mango Smoothie

1 cup ripe Mango, peeled and chopped
1 cup soy milk or almond milk
1 Tbsp almond meal
2 Tbsp sugar

Put all the ingredients in the blender, and puree it.
This can be served at room temperature or cold.

You could also add flax seeds to make it more nutritious.

Visit Indira's website for delicious mango recipes.

Vitamin B12 In a Vegan Diet

2008-05-21T18:02:00.000-07:00

Most of the health related vegan articles always discuss about Vitamin B12, which is present only in animal based foods, such as meat and dairy products.

I have recently started to take Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D supplement, as I don't consume fortified foods every day.

If you eat vegan food, do you take fortified foods or take Vitamin B12 supplement?

Here are some Vitamin B12 articles which every vegan should read : Vegan Health , Problems associated with deficiency of Vitamin B12 , Vitamin B12 and vegan diet

5 Tips for Vegan Travelers to India

2008-05-15T08:33:00.000-07:00

It's possible to eat colorful vegan food in India every day.
There are thousands of restaurants from Kashmir to
Kanyakumari, offering variety of vegetarian dishes.
However, you should be concerned about milk products
such as yogurt and ghee(clarified butter) in some
dishes.

The word vegan, has become synonymous with vegetarian
in India. In an Indian newspaper, I was shocked to see
many recipes with milk and milk products, which was
titled as, "Vegan Recipes". If you tell you're a vegan
in India, some people may interpret that you are a
pure vegetarian, who will not eat meat and eggs, but
will consume milk and milk products.

If you are planning to visit India, then be sure to visit websites,
Incredible india and International vegetarian union

1.Restaurants: Most of the restaurants offer
vegetarian fare. "Pure vegetarian restaurants" don't
use eggs and meat in cooking, but milk and milk
products such as cream, paneer- cottage cheese, butter
and ghee- clarified butter is used in cooking.
However, you should be able to find numerous vegan
food items in both vegetarian and pure vegetarian
restaurants. Pure vegetarian restaurants don't serve
alcohol.

Make sure not to order any dish, which has the word
"Paneer" in it. Paneer, a cottage cheese is widely
used in north indian cuisine. Most popular dishes which has
paneer are palak paneer and mutter paneer.
Also make sure not to order any dish with word
"malai". Malai means milk based cream in Hindi.

2.Supermarkets : There are numerous supermarkets
in large cities which carry array of vegan food items.
Most of the supermarkets also carry soy milk and tofu.
During my recent visit to Bangalore, I saw variety of
biscuits and cookies suitable for vegans.

All the pre-packaged food items are provided with a
list of ingredients.

3.Bakeries: Numerous bakeries adorn the busy streets
of India. You can find breads, biscuits, and savoury
snacks. However, you should question the
shop owners to confirm if the items are vegan. In
cities, most of the bakery employees can speak in
English.

4.Sweets : Most of the sweets you get in sweet stores,
everything from halwas to burfis are milk based. I was
very happy to find that one of the decadent sweet,
Kaju katli - cashew fudge, was vegan, in two of the
upscale sweet stalls. You can find the recipe for
Kaju Katli at Mumbai masala.

I also found some delicious sweets made by Haldirams
in numerous supermarkets. Most of the sweets available
in upscale sweet stalls is laden with milk products
such as ghee(clarified butter). It's really hard to
get vegan sweets in India.

5.Cafe : Numerous cafes similar to starbucks are
present in cities and towns across India. In
Bangalore, I often went to cafe coffe day. The black
coffee and the vegan shake in this cafe is great!

Barista is also very popular cafe in India.

Bangalore Photos

2008-05-08T10:59:00.000-07:00

Bangalore is a bustling city in India. For visitors, it's possible to thrive on a vegan fare where there are thousands of vegetarian restaurants.

A Vegan in India - Vegetarian Paradise

2008-04-24T12:23:00.000-07:00

For the last couple of months I was in India. While it
is very easy to thrive on a vegetarian fare, it was
really very challenging for me, to be a vegan in
India.

In India , vegetarian diet is synonymous with
lacto vegetarian diet. For thousands of years, Indians
have consumed milk and milk products such as
buttermilk, yogurt and ghee(clarified butter)
regularly. These days supermarkets across India are
not only flooded with traditional milk
products such as ghee, and buttermilk but also cheeses
and flavored milks.

My parents tried to convince me that "cow's milk" is
nutritious. They were shocked when I told them I don't
eat anything that has milk and milk products. They
were curious to know why I avoid milk and milk
products. I tried explaining about how cows are
treated as "milking machines". They just could not
understand the cruelty involved in producing diary milk. Everyone from my parents to siblings and friends to relatives considered me weird for not
including milk or milk based products in my diet.

My parents were worried and concerned about my health.
People in India believe that to lead a
healthy lifestyle, everyone should include some milk
or milk products such as buttermilk, yogurt or ghee in
their diet. I really wish if everyone could read, The
China Study to know about the negative impact of milk and milk
products on our health.

Once my mom made crispy dosa(rice and lentil
pancakes), which was laced with copious amounts of
ghee(clarified butter). She was so mad at me when I
refused to touch the dosas. My father once bought my
favorite sweet, mysore pak, from a popular sweet
store, in Bangalore. Of course, I could not eat that
sweet because the package said, "made with pure ghee".
In India, people shower you with milk based items if
they like you.

I gave my mom some tips to veganize some recipes. My
mom made Badam burfi and Mysore pak
Well, my parents were thrilled that I got to indulge
some delicious vegan sweets. They were also so
surprised by the fact that it is pretty easy to
veganize some Indian sweets.

Many people in India thrive on lacto-vegetarian fare,
because they associate only meat with cruelty.
An article about the modern production of milk in India.

I used to see old cows and bulls roaming about the
crowded streets in search of food in Bangalore. The
result of numerous bulls, is the result of the
thriving diary industry in India. I wonder why people
still don't associate "cow's milk" with cruelty.

Decades ago male cows or bulls were used to plough the
fields. But, these days tractors have replaced bulls
to plough the fields. Most of the bulls have no use in
Indian society these days.

People in India assume that milk producing cows
are well taken care by the farmers. As the demand for milk
is growing every day, farmers inject cows with oxytocin harmone,
so that they produce more milk.

Along with Peta, there are only a handful of animal
welfare organizations in India. So, people are not aware of the
cruelty involved in production of milk. The
consumption of milk and milk products by everyone from
children to adults has increased by many fold in the
past decade. In short, cow's milk is considered to be
gift to mankind.

For days I explained to my father about the cruelty involved in diary industry and the negative impact of livestock on our environment. I also discusses about
the positive health benefits of the vegan diet.

While I tried to convince my father that vegan diet is best for our health
,my father tried to convince me that diary milk is indeed good for our health.
He felt that if baby cows are allowed to drink all the milk the cow produces,
the baby cow will die by drinking huge amount of milk.
My father, who comes from an agricultural background,
felt that human beings were indeed saving the lives of
baby cows, by consuming some of the milk. The milkman
who gives milk to my parent's home, also told that
baby cows will fall sick if they drink more milk. I was
shocked to hear this new "theory".

I asked the milkman about the oxytocin harmone injected
to cows. He told that he injects his cows with
oxytocin harmone rarely. An article about usage of oxytocin harmone in cows.

My father somehow wanted me to get rid of my vegan
diet. He read some passages from hindu
scriptures, where cows are considered as mother.
Infact Hindu religious rituals often call for milk and
milk products such as ghee and yogurt. Even the
ancient art of Indian medicine -Ayurveda, considers
milk, ghee, butter and yogurt to be of great
nutritional value. In a nutshell, Indian culture
deeply revolves around milk and milk products.

The word "vegan" is not common in India. Pure
vegetarian, means a person who consumes milk and milk
products, but not meat and eggs. Visit these websites ;Hinduonnet
, IBNLIVE
, Hinduonet1 , and Hindustantimes
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=6a34a112-ac3c-4133-9295-0c52efbd980f

India is a goldmine for vegetarian food. And millions of
recipes can be easily veganized .It is possible to thrive on a vegan diet in India.
But, you can't find dairy-free icecream and
chocolates. Most of the Indian sweets in upscale
stores will be drenched with either milk or ghee.

To know more the horrible conditions of cows in India,
read article1 and article2.

Vegan Carrot Halwa

2007-12-20T10:41:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-17T07:46:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-14T12:18:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-12T10:26:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-11T13:19:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-04T08:50:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-01T12:42:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-30T12:04:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-20T12:57:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-19T14:09:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-13T17:10:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-10T14:31:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-09T18:11:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-06T12:12:00.001-08:00

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

2007-11-05T09:55:00.000-08:00

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

2007-10-29T12:34:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-25T11:40:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-23T12:20:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-22T07:02:00.000-07:00

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

Soya Chunks : Popular Soy Product Of India

2007-10-19T12:04:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-15T07:50:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-09T07:38:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-02T11:47:00.000-07:00

"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

2007-09-28T11:09:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-26T10:16:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-24T10:57:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-21T10:41:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-18T12:43:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-17T17:44:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-14T07:38:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-07T10:51:00.000-07:00

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.