What is a Vegan diet?
A vegan diet is a diet that’s getting popular year by year, this particular way of eating habit strive to exclude all forms of animal exploitation and cruelty. The whole practice of veganism is not only in the case of food, it varies from food to clothes to any livelihood purpose. To put it in simple words vegans are completely against any harm to animals.
If you have a vegan friend, boyfriend/ girlfriend, or any significant person in your life who is suddenly practicing veganism then it is important to strictly follow the two basic rules when you invite them over. First of all, they can consume food from plants. Secondly, they cannot consume food from animals including the typical ingredients like eggs, cheese, milk, and honey. Follow these two basic rules to help them follow veganism.
Folks choose to be a vegan because of their personal preference and judgment has no place here. Everyone is free to have their style of food, let it be meat or meatless, vegan or no vegan. But some people choose to be vegan because of health reasons. We can improve our health and lower our risk of certain diseases. Another reason is simply that they love animals and is against cruelty. They support and hug the environment just by choosing the consumption of plant-based food.
What do Vegans eat?
Vegans follow a plant-based diet which includes fruits and vegetables, legumes such as lentils, beans, and peas, nuts, seeds, loaves of bread, rice, pasta. In the case of dairy products, they use ingredients like soymilk, coconut milk, and almond milk, and vegetable oils for cooking.
What do Vegans don’t eat?
Vegans don’t consume beef, lamb, and any other red meat, chicken, duck, and any other poultry. They can’t eat fish or shellfish like crabs, clams, and mussels and also don’t consume eggs, cheese, butter, milk, cream, ice cream, honey, and other dairy products. Make them happy and acknowledge by following these basic vegan rules.
Indian Vegan Food
Finding plant-based food is not very difficult in India. Many people with diverse beliefs exist here, they eat different food from North to South. Some strictly follow vegetarian diets due to their religious beliefs but pure vegans are hard to find in India.
The practice has grown to be accepted by Indians as well as for the sake of Vegan tourists. But be careful of the dairy products in use because the food uses it occasionally in different dishes. Some are obvious like the yogurt on top of the chaats but on the other side, it is not evident like melted ghee, cream, and butter on curries. So we advise you to enquire and request in change of the ingredients before eating the delicious food. You can make the vegan version easily at home. Indian vegan food gives you a unique taste of the cuisine, it is both heart and belling filling. We will mention some of the famous ones in this blog.
Some mouth-watering vegan foods
Dal Chaawal
Dal Chaawal is a perfect Indian combination of lentil and rice. It is one of the famous homely dish and tastes great with both rice and roti which is an Indian flatbread. The dish is quite popular in Indian homes than restaurants but if you visit a restaurant you can get two types of Dal which are Dal Fry and Dal Makhani. The former is prepared with yellow lentils and the latter the name Makhani itself means butter.So Vegans, please note that the usage of ghee, butter, and other dairy products is popular while serving lentil soup, ask and remove them from your Dal Chaawal for a tasty experience.
Crispy Samosas and Pakora
These are popular snack items for vegans to munch on without worrying much about the ingredients. Both of them are plant-based by default. Samosas are crispy, triangle-shaped pastries that are filled with a tasty vegetable mix. Pakoras are deep-fried vegetables coated with spicy chickpea flour batter. Pakoras are always vegan while you can opt for a vegetable version of samosa because some people prefer meat in it. They are given with a combination of chutney and sometimes spicy chickpea curry for samosa to dip.
Kofta
Kofta, the word itself means a meatball but for us, we can opt for the vegetarian version which consists of lentils, potatoes, and sometimes a spicy mix of vegetables. Indians use a variety of types of gravy while serving Kofta. Creamy-based gravies are loved by Indians as we are diary lovers but you can always ask the restaurant manager to swap the creamy gravy for a vegan-friendly one.
Vegetable Biriyani
Biriyani gives out an exotic explosion of flavors that the experience can’t be put into mere words. Biriyani came from the Middle East and some other places to India through Muslims. The fragrant Basmati rice is a mix of vegetables, fish, or meat but for vegans, you can opt for vegan version. Making biryani is a complicated process but trust us the result is amazing. The main spices used are cinnamon, star anise, and mace. The dish is very popular when it comes to weddings because the dish is quite on the expensive side and is the best when people cook it in large batches.
Aloo Gobi Masala
Aloo Gobi masala is an unbreakable tasty friendship between Aloo that translates to potato and Gobi which is cauliflower. The aroma is undeniable for vegans as well as non-vegans when it slowly cooks in spicy tomato gravy. It is a very simple yet heart-filling recipe with onion, tomato, ginger-garlic paste, and other spices as the base but the hero and heroine are potato and cauliflower. Foodies enjoy it with hot plain rice, jeera rice, roti, or naan. A must-try item from Masala Mantra as we provide the gluten-free version for vegans.
Chana Masala
Chana Masala is a protein-packed dish that is beautifully flavored chickpeas curry. The dish is a North Indian dish by default but South Indians use it widely as breakfast. The preparation of ingredients starts a day before the actual cooking process, the raw chickpeas are soaked overnight then cooked with onion, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, and of course the wonderful Indian spices. This is specially dedicated to vegans as it is vegan and gluten-free. Team it with rice, flatbread, or maybe both because why not?
Bindi do pyaza
Bindi do pyaza, originally a Mughal cuisine also known as Okra fry, Bhindi fry, Bhindi masala. It is a famous North Indian dish in which ladies finger is cooked with peppers, onions, and spices. “Bindi” means okra and “do” means twice and “pyaza” means onions. So technically this dish is an incredible mix of fried ladies’ fingers in double the amount of spicy onions. It’s not the deep-fried okra but just a stir fry Okra dish. The consistency is between the dry and gravy side. Serves the best with Indian bread that is roti or naan and basmati rice. Also, try it along with Jeera rice or turmeric rice for another flavor experience.
Vindaloo
Vindaloo is a Goan dish that is cooked in a spicy, tangy, tomato chili sauce to perfection. People love meat in their Vindaloo but for us, vegetables are the stars of the dish. Firstly, a lovely spicy paste is made by throwing in couples of Indian spices. Then it is cooked after the pop of mustard seeds and sauteed onions over hot oil. Later we add and cook peas, tomatoes, and other vegetables to perfection. Perfectly cooked Vindaloo serves the best over a bed of white basmati rice. The sight is so mouthwatering to hesitate a bite.
Manchurian
Craving for an Indo-Chinese dish? Delicious fried veggie balls cooked in a spicy yet sweet and tangy sauce? If it sounds good then Manchurian is a perfect Vegan option for you. Veg Manchurian is served in two types either with gravy or as a dry version. The gravy version goes well with fried rice, schezwan fried rice, or simply plain rice which is perfect as the main course. If you prefer the dry version, then it acts as an excellent appetizer or a side dish with Hakka noodles.
Vegan Mantra
What is Vegan Mantra? The name itself excites and arouses curiosity among our vegan customers at first but later it turns into a must-try recommendation for their fellow vegans. It is a tasty combination of tofu, eggplant, and potatoes cooked in an appetizing coconut curry sauce. This Masala Mantra classic is a killer experience specially reserved for you to not miss. Come visit our restaurant in Cape Coral or order online to get a unique Vegan mantra flavor.