The Food-Mind Connection Here Are Several Things That Go Into the Making Palace, Mumbai
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healthy wealthy Eat, drink SOCIAL and be slim Nandita Iyer The last three months of the year are like a merry go round of festivals. It’s a non stop Vegetating calorie binge that ends in a rude shock in the new year that your favourite jeans no longer fit you. So, a preventive strategy is needed. Before leaving for a dinner party, eat a Vegans are networking to come up healthy snack like an apple or a cup of yogurt. Also, before you start eating, drink a tall glass with interesting ways to Susmitha of water so you won’t have all that big an appetite to eat everything you want to. Try compensate for the absence of to make some of the goodies yourself and substitute with healthier ingredients. Be- meat and dairy products in their ware of the so-called welcome drinks, juices and sherbets that are served at most parties. diet, reports Shikha Kumar They are mostly colour, sugar and artificial flavour. Moreover, the mixers in cocktails are more calorific than the alcohol itself. Also, onika Siriya, 29, eagerly awaits the monthly These vegan look for nuts, dressing-free salads, vegeta- vegan potluck lunches in Mumbai. At these communities are bles, lean protein such as grilled chicken, lunches, a group of 20 vegans in the city bring not restricted to meatballs or paneer over fried stuff. Choose along a vegan food dish they have prepared, Mumbai alone. Cities any one dessert and walk away. leading to a sumptuous spread of dishes like like Bengaluru, Chennai, tofu bhurji, mock meats like sausages (pre- Hyderabad and New Delhi pared with wheat and soya), Gujarati kadhi have their own vegan groups (made with groundnut milk), baked potatoes, that interact on a regular basis. The salads, various kinds of cheese, cakes and even roots of veganism in India can be traced back CREAMY M vegan ice-cream. to 1957 when the country played host to the “At one of these lunches, someone brought first major event by the International Vegetar- VEGAN TOFU MAYONNAISE a delicious masala milk, where cow’s milk was ian Union, says Shankar Narayan, president of Ingredients substituted with milk from almonds and the Indian Vegan Society. Susmitha, a jewellery l brown rice. There is so much creativity,” she designer based in Bengaluru, is an active mem- 1 pack of silken tofu or any tofu which says. Siriya confesses that these monthly af- ber of the Bengaluru Vegans group and made has a creamy consistency (you may need fairs are a great opportunity for vegans to come the switch to veganism 9 years ago. On her blog to add soy milk to get this)l2 tbsp lemon together on a common platform. “It’s a very called blog.veganosaurus.com, Susmitha regu- juicel1 tbsp miso (white)l2 tsp of olive light atmosphere. We share tips, recipes, talk larly posts interesting recipes of dishes like oil about challenges faced while cooking, health gulab jamun made with sweet potatoes, rolls METHOD lSteam tofu in a steamer for problems, and also interact with non-vegans with spicy peanut sauce and baked akki (rice) 3-5 minutes; let it cool for a bit. Add all the in- RECIPE FOR DIWALI who are interested in this lifestyle.” rotis. The dishes made by vegans vary according gredients to your whipper and whip together. Siriya and her husband have been strict ve- to the palates of the cities they live in. Vegans The mayonnaise is ready to eat. lVariation: You OKKARAI gans for two years now and she feels that her in south India look at interesting twists to the can also 1 tsp of mustard to it to give it a twist food options are anything but restrictive. She regular curd rice and idlis. “When I turned ve- (especially good for your liver) makes all the dishes that a non-vegan would gan, my first thought was how I would survive Ingredients Courtesy: Shonali Sabharwal l1 cup chana dal l1 cup jaggery l5-6 car- eat by finding suitable alternatives. “I make tea without curd. But curd rice is a common dish damoms l1/2 cup freshly grated coconut with cashew milk. You just have to blend the at our monthly lunches. The curd in the curd l2 tbsp gingelly oil/ghee l1-2 tbsp ghee cashews with water and it tastes exactly like rice is made from peanut milk and the texture for frying cashews l10-12 cashews, halved milk tea,” says Siriya. is near-perfect, apart from the taste,” asserts l2-3 tbsp of raisins Susmitha. There are also desserts like vegan VEGETARIANS chocolate mousse, which is tofu or avocado- METHOD lDry roast the chana dal till gold- based and chocolate truffles made with dates, en brown and aromatic. Soak this roasted dal in LIVE LONGER cocoa powder and walnuts. lots of water for 3 hours or so. Dry roast the coco- Results from a new study conducted by re- Like the Mumbai group, the Bengaluru ve- nut flakes till golden and aromatic. Remove the searchers from the Loma Linda University in Cal- gan meet-up is open to everyone ranging from skin, grind the seeds along with one tsp coarsely ifornia have revealed that vegetarian Adventist vegans, vegetarians and people who would granulated sugar in mortar-pestle till you get a men live to an average of 83.3 years and vege- like to learn about veganism and sample some fairly fine powder. Heat 1-2 tbsp ghee and fry ca- dishes. “Apart from sharing experiences, we tarian women 85.7 years, 9.5 and 6.1 years, re- also have movie screenings, distribute leaflets shews till they are golden. spectively, longer than other Californians. l and discuss how we can promote veganism,” Directions: Grind the soaked chana dal, add- says Susmitha. ing as little water as possible, to get a fairly thick, Most vegans ardently take up the challenge doughy paste. Place 3 cups of water in a big pres- of working their way around non-vegan food. sure cooker/steamer. Make loose dumplings of When Rithika Ramesh turned vegan three the ground dal and place in a deep, big vessel years ago, she took her love of cooking further that fits in the cooker. Close the lid of the cooker by starting The Green Stove, a first-of-its-kind without the weight. Steam for 20-25 minutes on vegan bakery in Mumbai. “A vegan cake, that’s medium flame. Open the cooker after a few min- made without eggs or butter, tastes equally utes and let these steamed dumplings cool. delicious,” she says. Crumble the dumplings or grate them. In a large wok, heat 2-3 tbsp of gingelly (til) oil and fry the HEALTH BENEFITS crumbled / grated dal mix on a low flame for 5-7 minutes. Keep aside. lTo make jaggery syrup, Until eight years ago, macrobiotic counselor place ½ cup water in a heavy bottom pan. Add 1 and chef Shonali Sabharwal was a hardcore Chinta Siraya cup of crushed jaggery to this and let it melt on a non-vegetarian. However, she suffered from candida, a kind of yeast infection, and frequent From top: Carrot Hesarubele Kosumbari; the high flame, with constant stirring. Once the jag- spread at the potluck lunch in Mumbai gery has melted thoroughly, lower flame and MASHED AND SWEET POTATO BAKE trips to different doctors didn’t help get rid of keep stirring. The mixture will get a deep colour the problem. Her research revealed that dairy and start thickening. Keep a small plate handy, Ingredients aided candida and meat led to a lot of toxic lot of stress, just like a human mother would. and pour a drop or so of this onto it, every two l5 medium potatoesl2 sweet potatoesl1 cup spinachl10-12 buildup in the body. “Cows are given growth This stress hormone is passed on in the milk minutes. Roll this drop between your thumb and baby cornlPepper powderlOlive oillSaltlTabasco saucell hormone injections, the end products of which we consume,” explains Monika Siriya. Bread crumbsl end up in our diet,” she says. “I made the There are a lot of myths associated with a index finger. If it turns into a ball and makes a switch in phases, giving up my most favourite vegan lifestyle, especially of not getting l sound when you drop it on the plate, the syrup is METHOD Preheat oven to 225°C. Boil, peel and mash potatoes and meat first and least favourite, last.” The can- enough nutrients and vitamin B12 deficien- ready. Remove this from the flame and start add- sweet potatoes. Blanch spinach and chop roughly. Slice baby corn into dida disappeared shortly after she turned ve- cies, says Dr Nandita Shah, a vegan and found- ing the ready dal crumble in batches, giving it a rounds. Mix all the ingredients except tabasco sauce and the bread gan, apart from helping her lose a lot of weight. er of SHARAN, a non-profit organisation aimed good mix to coat evenly. Once the crumble is all crumbs. Press into a baking dish. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and press Today, Sabharwal prepares dressings like may- at spreading holistic health awareness. “B12 evenly mixed with the jaggery syrup — it will be lightly. Bake at 225 °C for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 180 °C and continue onnaise with silken tofu. deficiencies are common even in non-vegans. soft, sweet and not sticky lAdd the roasted co- baking for 30 more minutes. Let it cool in the oven for 5-10 minutes. Serve Vegans attribute a reduction in stress levels Alcohol consumption and microwaving prod- conut, cardamom powder, fried cashews, raisins hot with tabasco sauce.