My teenage niece defines my life aesthetic in three words. ‘Maasi, you have a “that girl vibe”,’ she told me once over mugs of almond milk matcha. I immediately Googled “that girl” to understand how a kid from generation Alpha viewed me. #ThatGirl is a more sustainable version of the hustling #GirlBoss from the last decade: she represents a community of women engaged in mindful productivity, is committed to self-betterment, thrives on effective routines, eats in season and cooks wholesome meals. A few scrolls later, I was convinced, that #ThatGirl does dress, cook, and eat like me.

I understand why my niece looks at me that way though. For a year before I landed this cookbook deal, I was tremendously inspired to follow a vegan diet on a whim. I read umpteen articles and studies, and watched documentaries that convinced me that in order to feel better, I had to add more whole foods, grains and plants in my meals. Being born in a Gujarati family, I have been a vegetarian all my life, but veganism was a new beast even for me.

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My journey began with cutting the cord with yoghurt, an ingredient I had been obsessed with all my life. I ate a yoghurt bowl for breakfast, drank chaas after lunch, and had raita at dinner. Yet somehow, I didn’t know it wasn’t working for my body type, not until I tried a vegan diet. The next step included letting go of animal milk and instead glugging glasses of iced lattes made with fresh coconut milk: I made bliss balls with nut milk remains, ate more fruits and greens than ever before, and the result was me feeling like the best version of myself.

At first, lunch and dinner meals were full of ad-hoc solutions like “No paneer? Just add tofu. No cheese? Just add vegan parmesan”, but when I was given an opportunity to write a vegan Indian cookbook, I knew the rules had to change. I knew I didn’t want to write a book that simply called for “vegan substitutes” of meat or dairy, a complaint I had with several vegan recipes, but instead I wanted to make a record of Indian recipes that were vegan by nature and could be found in every single part of India.

For a country with a 39 per cent vegetarian population, this wasn’t too hard. Personally for me, not
only did I follow a predominantly plant-based diet, I had also written two Indian food books – Tiffin: 500 Authentic Recipes Celebrating India’s Regional Cuisine and Whose Samosa Is It Anyway? – which broadened my understanding of the nuances of Indian regional cooking. Through these books, I realised that from the Malvani cuisine that originates on the banks of the Arabian Sea on the west coast of India, to Bengali food in the east, to Rajasthani food, Indians have been savouring plant-based textures in place of meat for over several decades. Take for instance a dish called “kele ki machli”, which literally translates to “fish of raw bananas”. This is a Kayasth preparation from the northern region of India, and comes from the kitchens of a cultural sect that originally mingled with the Mughals and therefore needed to cook and eat food that resembled the diet of the court rulers. Similarly, the Bengali “dhoka’r dalna” is an intrinsic part of their niramish, no onion, or garlic repertoire. The word “dhoka” here means “betrayal”, signifying fooling the family into eating a vegetarian meal and tricking them into believing that the lentil cakes are in fact chunks of meat.

These are just two examples of how beautifully Indian cooking utilises ingredients such as raw bananas, their stems, the insides of a plantain flower, raw jackfruit and sometimes chickpea flour dough instead of meat. Like pieces of mutton or fish, these vegan ingredients are cubed and marinated, or minced and added to gravies and curries. Interestingly, Indian faux meat didn’t come around as a plant replacement for meats, but has always been an intrinsic part of our cuisine, to be eaten on days when one had to disguise vegetarian food to look like meat, or to make vegetarian food exciting on days when Hindus fast. The Indian Vegan contains essential recipes that will come in handy, if you are committing to this lifestyle.

Mini papad and potato-avo canapes

I’ve pushed the envelope of Indian cuisine, slightly, with this recipe. I prefer using the Coorg or Kodaikanal avocados that are not as buttery as Californian ones, but are firm and textured enough for this recipe. They add a lot of body to the topping and the deep-fried potato adds to the richness.

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Ingredients:

Oil for frying
1 potato (finely chopped)
7 baby papads
1 Indian avocado (finely chopped)
1⁄4 onion (finely chopped)
1⁄4 tomato (finely chopped)
1⁄2 green chilli (finely chopped)
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp chaat masala
1 tsp cumin powder
Black salt as per taste
Coriander for garnish

Method:

• In a pan, heat oil and deep fry the chopped potato pieces and keep them aside.
• Deep fry the papads and keep them aside.
• In a bowl, mix the finely chopped avocado with the onion, tomato, green chilli, lemon juice, chaat masala and cumin powder. Season with black salt and add the potatoes to the mixture. Toss it well.
• To serve, spoon the filling onto the papads and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve immediately.

Excerpted with permission from The Indian Vegan: Easy Recipes for Everyday Cooking, Sonal Ved, HarperCollins India.