Tag: vegan writer

Vegan Innovations that made me go ‘Wow’

I think there are more innovations happening in the plant-based industry than in AI. Okay, maybe I am exaggerating a bit. But if you follow plant-based news, you’ll constantly come across groundbreaking developments. Terms like precision fermentation, extrusion technology, and plant cell culture are becoming more common, signalling how food and sustainability are evolving. Here are a few vegan innovations that truly made me say, “Wow!”

Rise of Plant-Based Milk in India – What’s Fuelling the Shift?

Recently, when Instamart was out of my favourite brand of Oat milk for two days in a row, I quickly checked Amazon Fresh. (How can one live without coffee, right?) I was pleasantly surprised to see not only my usual brand but also many new plant-based milk options. This is a big change from a few years ago when I became vegan. This piqued my curiosity, and I went down the rabbit hole to find out what had caused this rise of vegan milk in India in the recent years. Read on if you are curious about it too.

One Cook and Five Knives

One cook and five knives. No, that’s not the title of a murder mystery. It is the state of my kitchen. I cook and I have five different knives. Well, it was not intended to be a collection but somehow it has become one. 

Shojin Ryori in Kyoto: An Unforgettable Vegan Dining Experience

The burst of red, orange and yellow autumn hues is the first thing that caught my eyes at the Tenryu-ji temple premises. I had come to taste the Shojin ryori vegan cuisine, which was served at the Shigetsu restaurant inside the temple premises. But I got caught in the beauty of the Zen Garden around it. The autumn trees accompanied by a peaceful pond in front of it and the Arashiyama mountains standing tall behind it were picture-perfect from all sides.

Vegan Food in Kerala: Long Before It Had a Name

When I tell people I am a Mallu (Malayali), and a vegan, people look at me with suspicious eyes. Yes, Kerala cuisine is popular for its variety of seafood and meat-based dishes being a land surrounded by the sea. Yes, Kerala is a state which leads in non-vegetarian food consumption in India. Yes, I am the only vegan in my entire family of 200 people. But trust me when I say this that Mallu cuisine (as I would like to call it) is one of the best cuisines to be vegan as it naturally has a lot of variety of vegan dishes.

When Modak meets Kozhukatta

Modak, which is made in Maharashtra, is the same as Kozhukatta, which is made in Kerala. For the unversed it is a steamed rice dumpling with the filling of coconut, jaggery with a hint of cardamom. When you take a bite of this piping hot Kozhukatta, you first taste the soft mildly salty taste of the steamed rice covering and then tumbles out of it the moistened juicy coconut and jaggery mixture slowly revealing its richness.

Remembering my trip to Uttrakhand

Don’t make plans, just live in the moment, that’s one of the lessons that the pandemic has taught us in big bold letters. But the heart still longs, you can’t stop it from longing. Longing for beauty and experiences that have touched its heart while travelling.

The humble vada pav

I had just completed a project which had taken me out of the country for a month and I was landing in Bombay close to around midnight. I got into the taxi with my luggage and after telling the taxi driver in which direction to head, I told him that he will have to first stop at any vada pav stall that would be open on the way. He turned and looked at me and gave me a smile and without any questions, he took me to one. I packed two hot vada pav and relished it in the back seat. I felt happy and content. 

Do you see what I see?

Do you see what I see?… was the caption that came instantly to me, when I saw these three young student monks busy looking at the view through the binoculars. This was in Mandalay, where I had gone on top of a hill to get a panoramic view of the city. It was interesting to watch them…

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