Right now, I’m sipping on a cup of masala chai made with store-bought soy milk and thinking how much the vegan scene in India has changed over the past few years! When I went vegan in 2014, dairy alternatives weren’t so readily available in the market as they are today. 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. And the best thing? Packaged soy milk (sometimes called “soy beverage” on the carton) 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!! You can also use poha instead of cooked rice.
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.
Masala chaach is pretty much a summer favorite in most Indian households across regions, and it’s not at all surprising that many miss gulping down glassfuls of this mildly spiced, refreshing, and hydrating drink on a hot day after going vegan.
But guess what? Vegan versions of chaach can be easily made at home! The most obvious way would be to substitute dairy curd with a non-dairy one in your regular chaach recipe, but what if you don’t have any non-dairy curd on hand? Still no worries, we’ve got you covered, read on 🙂
In India, one of the first questions people—especially “grown-ups”—ask on learning about veganism is, “Fer chai ka kya?” I was like that too! Even though I shifted to black tea when I stopped consuming dairy, I eventually learned that you could make delicious “regular” masala chai with cashew/almond/soy/coconut milk. Check out my non-vegan approved cashew milk tea here.
When it comes to non-dairy milks, there are numerous types we can make at home that can be used to substitute dairy milk in different recipes.
It’s summer—the perfect time to make and enjoy vegan versions of refreshing curd-based items like meethi lassi, masala chaach, raita, fruit yogurt, curd rice, etc. Here are 5+ easy, tried & tested variations of plant-based curd you can make at home.
Start off with making a starter culture—choose any of these 5 types of vegan curd starters—and you’re ready to go ahead and make yourself a bowl of rich and creamy vegan curd that can be used in place of dairy curd in any recipe.
Today, 23 March, is International Atheists’ Day 🙂 A big shout-out to all of you awesome vegan atheists over there!
I am personally non-religious and identified as an atheist for a while. However, over a period of time, I started believing in “imaginary” and mythical creatures like God, angels, unicorns, and good men. I’m still pretty much allergic to organized religion and get a lot of flak for that from my family.
I was never a “cheese person” so I never missed it after going vegan. However, my best friend, who once *loved* cheesy pizzas and pasta, definitely did. I started experimenting with cashew cheese recipes so that they could have an alternative. After a few trials (and some “errors”), this recipe happened which finally earned my “picky eater” friend’s vote of approval: “Tum aaj kal achcha cheese bana leti ho!”
Yayy 🙂 Thanks, sweetheart, for kindling in me a love for vegan cooking!
From what I remember, this cashew cheese spread has a texture and flavor that kinda reminds me of the “garlic” and “pepper” variants of Amul cheese spread. It’s smooth, creamy, savory, and so easy to make!
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About Me
Namaste, I'm Namrata :)
Glad to see you here at my little blog Of Donkeys & Dhokla which is all about living a happy & fulfilling life as a middle-class vegan in India.
Here you will find easy recipes and useful DIYs made with ingredients that are affordable and readily available.
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