Vegan Writer: Wandering Solo, Writing with Heart, One Story at a Time
More than 1 in 2 Gen Z consumers in India are willing to adopt plant-based foods.
Now that’s a whooping big number considering that Gen Z constitutes 27% of our Indian population. It is not only India’s largest demographic but also the most influential consumer group.
Whoever thought of making a dough, filling it with cooked chana dal and jaggery, rolling it out, cooking it on a tawa, and then eating it piping hot, was a genius.
Because I don’t know any other dish like puranpoli that’s as filling and fulfilling at the same time.
When I finally saw my favourite winter fruit with the fruit vendor, I instantly picked it up, wiped it clean on my t-shirt, and impatiently took the first bite. Yeah, yeah, I know that I need to wash it at least ten times before eating it. But some things you just can’t resist.
When I was contemplating about turning vegan, there were two things that I knew I would miss the most. One was cheese and the other was ice-cream.
Ice-cream is childhood best friend, ice-cream is the instant boost you need on a bad day, and ice-cream is the silent company that you can always enjoy.
But when I dug further into it, I found Indian brands who were making vegan ice-creams, and I let a sigh of relief.
At that point, there were just a few brands that made plant-based ice cream, but now there are a lot of other brands as well.
I’m planning to go back to Vietnam just to eat. Yes, you heard that right — I want to go to Vietnam just to eat.
Travelling to a new place for my birthday is a yearly ritual. As I sat down to research where to go this year, one country kept coming back to me — not for its beaches or bustling streets, but for its food and flavours: Vietnam.
The first time I tasted Indrayani rice, it felt like a childhood memory, warm and slightly sticky. It clung to my fingers and to my heart.
We had stopped at a dhaba on our way from Nasik to Mumbai, the kind mostly visited by travellers on route on the highway. I ordered a simple meal of rice, dal, and a sabzi. When it arrived, I frowned at the sticky-looking rice, unlike the semi-cooked basmati rice which is usually served. But my hungry hand ignored it and quickly mixed it with dal, took a bite, and then what I experienced, I can only call it rice nirvana.
What other dish sparks regional rivalry, family loyalty, and childhood nostalgia all at once? Poha does—and now it even has a global day to prove it.
When I first heard that June 7 was being celebrated as World Poha Day—or Vishwa Poha Diwas—I was surprised. Don’t get me wrong, I am the biggest fan of poha, but having a day around it was what surprised me.
I recently attended a webinar hosted by the Good Food Institute (GFI) on plant-based meat consumers in the US and I walked away with a notepad full of fascinating insights. If you’re curious about who’s saying yes to plant-based meat (and who’s still sitting on the fence), read on.
Summer is here. I squint my eyes when I look out at the sun hidden behind the bluish grey sky. I think twice before stepping out as the sun’s rays don’t seem kind. My thoughts go back to childhood summers, spent under the hot sun and I never once thought to complain. Two full months of holidays and the brightest spot of sun, but I was happy and thrilled about it. I don’t remember complaining about it like I do now. Maybe the sun wasn’t so harsh, I try to tell myself. Or maybe there were so many other things to be excited about that I barely noticed the blazing sun.
A few months back, I visited the restaurant Burma Burma and loved their vegan menu with its fusion concepts. I had a hearty, soul-satisfying meal at a restaurant after a long time. It’s a vegetarian restaurant but offers vegan options. I enjoyed the steamed curried buns, Mekong curry made with exotic spices complimented with sticky jasmine rice. But the star of the dinner for me was the Burmese dessert of vegan panna cotta with sago pearls and palm jaggery. One bite, and I knew I was in heaven.