Going vegan in biryani city
A vegan fiesta was welcomed by vegans and by several curious non-vegans as well
By : amrita paul
Update: 2014-11-17 00:58 GMT
Hyderabad: Hyderabad could be the city of Biryani and kebabs, but a small section of the population, consistent with their vegan habits, is moving towards a more sustainable lifestyle which does not rely on any kind of animal product to satisfy palates and produce other basic lifestyle products.
And as a proud celebration of this kind of healthy living, the city hosted its first vegan fiesta Veganiesta.
The beginning:
Veganiesta is the annual advocacy fiesta of Vegania, a virtual vegan country campaigning for animal rights and veganism. And spearheading this nation is Abhay Rangan, a Class XII student from Bengaluru.
“Around four years ago, my father who saw a pregnant cow, read about forceful impregnation of cows for milk. My parents celebrated their wedding anniversary by turning vegan and my sister and I followed suit by making it our New Year’s resolution,” he says.
Abhay started Vegania in July last year and within a year, he established vegan communities in Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi and Pune.
The Taste Factor:
Anyone used to dairy products would be concerned about the taste of vegan alternatives. Sejal Parikh, a vegan from the city says, “Tea made with cashew milk tastes almost similar to regular tea and peanut butter and oil are good replacements for butter while baking.”
Paneer bhurjee or Mac and Cheese can be made by replacing paneer with tofu and cheese can be made with milk from soaked cashew. But what about complications when vegans go out for dinner or visit someone?
Madhulika, a member of Vegania Hyderabad says, “I tell people to avoid putting cream, butter or cheese in the food. In a way veganism also promotes simple eating, so just a simple sabzi, dal, chawal makes us happy.”
Curious Onlookers!:
Even people, who are quite happy with their meat and milk visited the fair. Akila, one of the visitors says, “I am not planning to turn vegan anytime soon but it is good to see people getting sensitised to such issues.”
Solar Cooking, an added attraction:
Dr Srinivasa Ravuri’s demonstration on solar cooking was an added attraction at the venue. A nuclear physicist by profession, Dr Srinivasa had three solar energy cooking utilities on display the Family Solar Concentrator, Solar Cabinet Dryer and Family Solar Box.