Coming soon 🙂

Coming soon 🙂

Continued from Volunteering at Peepal Farm part I…

Going by the rules, the large animals (bovines/equines) and the small animals (dogs/cats) are housed in different enclosures. However, it’s not uncommon to see some of the dogs and cats lazing around in the large animal section, interacting or playing with the baby calves or the sheep, basking in the sun, or “helping” out the vet and his staff in caring for the large animals.

“This looks and smells horrible!” Jim exclaims, with an exasperated look on his face. I look at the mound of gooey, stinky, greenish-yellow dog poop inside the enclosure we are supposed to clean and nod in affirmation. Jim, a soft-spoken gentleman in his mid-40s with fine brown hair and eyes of the same color, is from the UK. His eyes, usually sparkling with kindness, are now crinkled with disgust. Yes, we are both revolted, but we are also determined to not let this repulsion get in the way of our task. We think of the dogs who need clean kennels to stay in, and the task no longer feels “undoable.” It’s 9:45 am and we are engaged in one of the first jobs that need to be done at the animal recovery center: scooping up all the poop from the various enclosures that house dogs.

Update: This method works well with Sofit brand of soy milk as well. Use the plain unsweetened version for the best result. 

Note: This post is NOT sponsored by Soy Sipp/Soy Life! It’s just that I personally like this brand of soy milk and believe it has the potential to make the lives of vegans across India easier 🙂

Right now, I’m sipping on a cup of masala chai made with Soy Sipp milk and thinking how much the vegan scene in India has changed over the past few years! While I’m personally not much into using store-bought dairy alternatives, I do acknowledge these ready-to-use products have made the lives of vegans in India a lot more convenient. One such product I have recently discovered is this Soy Sipp milk! I was never a fan of store-bought soy milk, but this one is different. Compared to other easily available soy milk brands, this one has a more neutral flavor and is perfect for making tea, coffee, smoothies, milk-based gravies, soups, sweet dishes, etc. It’s reasonably priced as well. And the best thing? It yields such lovely curd 🙂

Hey folks, here’s yet another variety of vegan curd starter that is super-easy to make 🙂 !! It’s also neutral in flavor—a big advantage! The idea for this post came from a comment on a Facebook thread on plant-based curds by my friend Poonam Dhup Juneja ji (yeah, the Vegans in India group on FB is my favorite place for learning new tips and tricks related to vegan foods!!) She wondered if we could just soak moong dal in water for a few hours and use that water as a curd starter, would it work if we tried the same soaking method with cooked rice? I tried, and yes, it does work 🙂 Yayy!!

I’m visiting my hometown after a while. “We are having idli for dinner tonight,” announces dad.

“IDLI?! Really?? OMG thank you so much!” I shriek in delight, “where’s the batter? Show me the batter?!”

Dad looks at me with a surprised look, “I had NO idea you love idli so much!”

“The batter, dad, the batter! That’s what I’m so excited about! I need that to make curd!!”

My parents exchange knowing glances. Their “vegan” daughter is up to yet another weird food experiment.

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Yes. I said “Chai Tea.” Sorry if that offends you, but I’m not sorry! I find the term “chai tea” extremely cute and will use it. Learn to live with it lol 😀

My dad is a pro when it comes to making vegan masala chai. He uses homemade cashew milk to make me cups of strong and fragrant masala chai. Check out his method here. On the other hand, my mother gets a bit nervous while making “vegan” things for me. So, her approach to making tea is a bit different. She’s more cautious coz “vegan milk is so delicate!” I feel I should share her method as well as it’s a foolproof one! In this method, the risk of milk splitting is almost nil. Even if you have never tried making vegan chai before, this is something you can try confidently. It works so well 🙂 !!

Note: I was inspired to try this combination after coming across the image of a bowl of perfectly set peanut-cashew curd while browsing through Instagram a few months ago. Unfortunately, I have since deleted my account and don’t remember the name of the lady whose post inspired me in the first place 🙁 If *you* are reading this please let me know so I can credit you!

The world of plant-based curds is so, so vast! While I had already tried a few “combos” like peanut-rice, cashew-rice, soya-cashew, and coconut-cashew curds, it would have never occurred to me by myself to marry peanuts and cashews to make yet another version of vegan curd! It’s probably one of my favourite ones at the moment! It looks exactly like the dairy curd we all grew up eating and has a pretty neutral taste. The peanut flavour is well-masked by the addition of cashews, and since we are using just a few cashews per batch, the overall cost of preparing this curd remains nominal.

Love DIY projects? Then you’d definitely like this super-easy homemade tooth powder recipe. There are several varieties of vegan toothpaste and tooth powders readily available—including the popular brand Vicco—which you can simply buy off the shelves in any general store in the Indian markets. However, if you’re someone who enjoys making your own stuff, then this toothpowder is a must-try!

When I was young, my dadi ji used to say that massaging your teeth and gums with tooth powder was the ideal way of cleaning your teeth. She didn’t really believe in toothbrushes and paste! Now that I have been using this homemade tooth powder from the past three years or so for brushing my teeth at night, I can attest.