I am originally from India, now residing in United
States. I became a vegetarian after coming to this country.
My parents were shocked when I told them I was a
vegetarian. They thought it would be very hard for me
to practice vegetarianism, in a land where most of the
people thrive on non-vegetarian food.
Becoming a vegetarian gave me an opputunity to explore
the wide variety of fruits, vegetables, greens and
lentils.
I thrived on staple Indian dishes such as rice along
with Sambar (a curry brimming with vegetables and
lentils), and when I wanted a change I cooked Roti and
Sabji(vegetables medley). Even though Indian
vegetarian cuisine has fabulous vegetarian recipes, I
simply became bored with rice based dishes. I really
missed fresh Indian vegetables.
Here, I shop for groceries once every two weeks, and I
have started to like Brocoli and Bok Choy.
I have explored variety of ethnic cuisines such as
Meditteranean, Mexican, Chinese and Thai. I
now cook a variety of simple ethnic dishes regularly.
The variety of simple ethnic vegetarian
dishes that can be cooked in a snap is really
amazing.
Vegetarian food can be very interesting, if you
incorporate ethnic dishes in your daily meals.
Since I consume a wide variety of greens, beans, fruits
and vegetables, my health is perfectly okay.
I think eating ethnic dishes regularly is a must for
both vegetarians and vegans.
Some tips to make ethnic cooking easier
Rice Cooker: If you like Indian-based
food, then I think you should have a rice
cooker. Cooking rice in a rice cooker is really very
easy. I also use rice cooker to steam
idlis (lentil-rice balls).
I regularly cook rice and usually have left-over rice.
The left-over rice usually gets converted into fried
rice, bubbling with veggies such as
Brocoli and Snow peas. I use rice cooker to cook
variety of rice dishes.
I cook Vegetable Pilaf and Green rice in the rice
cooker. I use the skillet to fry spices, onion and
vegetables. And after adding rice to the skillet, I
transfer it to the rice-cooker to complete the process
of cooking. Make sure the rice gets soaked in water
for 15-20 minutes before turning on the rice cooker.
The process of soaking rice will ensure fluffier
cooked rice.
Slow-cooker or Pressure cooker:
A pressure cooker is also a must-have kitchen
appliance to cook beans and lentils. Since I regularly
cook Sambar (lentil curry like), with a pressure cooker
the lentils get cooked within 20 minutes. On a
stove-top, the cooking of lentils can take about two
hours. Lentils can also be cooked in slow-cooker.
Fresh Spices and Herbs:
If you have spices more than one year old, it is
better to toss it. Fresh spices really enhances the
taste and flavor of even simple dishes. Visit
www.ethnicgrocer.com if you
intend to buy fresh spices online.
Garnishing food with fresh herbs also enchances the
flavor and taste.
Trying new products
I am now planning to become a Vegan. I am bombarded
with wide variety of products in the supermaket.
I now buy one new product in a month or two. I
recently tried soy milk, and liked it very much.
It is very easy to get overwhelmed by the new products
entering our supermakets daily. It is a good idea to
try one new item at a time.
Shopping
If you regularly cook India cuisine, then head to
Indian stores to buy spices and lentils. It is cheaper
to buy these in Indian stores than in supermarkets.
Likewise, if you regularly cook Mediterranean cuisine,
head to middle-eastern market.
I love to shop in Trader's Joe. They have wide array
of ethnic products at a resonable price.
visit http://www.traderjoes.com to find out more about
the store.
Books and Magazines
The number of books and magazines geared towards
vegetarians and vegans is growing fast. Madhur
Jaffrey's “World-of-the-East Vegetarian Cooking” is a
flooded with vegetarian recipes from the east.
Vegetarian Times and Veggie Life are my favorite
magazines which contain innovative recipes of ethnic
cuisines.
Internet
Surveys have shown that the number of Vegans is
increasing at a high rate. I stongly feel this is
because of the internet.
I think internet is a wonderful technolgy for
Vegetarians and Vegans to discuss and search thousands
of recipes.
I think the website you are now reading is one of the
best website for both vegetarians and vegans. The
articles are full of
useful information.
http://vegetarian.about.com/ is another great website
to discuss about vegetarian and vegan cooking.
http://www.happycow.net/ is a wonderful website which
lists vegetarian and vegan restaurants all over the
world.
Recipes
Spicy Cabbage
6 cups of chopped cabbage
2 tbsp peanut oil or vegetable oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp crushed red pepper
1/8 tsp turmeric powder(optional)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp of chopped cilantro or unsweetned coconut
flakes for garnishing
Method
1.Heat oil in the large skillet under medium heat,
add cumin seeds, crushed red pepper and turmeric.
2. Add chopped cabbage and fry for 20 minutes or till
tender.
3. Add salt and mix well.
4. Garnish with chopped cilantro or unsweetened
coconut flakes.
Simple Tomato Rice
2 cups of cooked rice
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped tomato
1 1/2 tbsp peanut oil or vegetable oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 coriander powder
1/4 cup chopped dill, cilantro or unsweetened coconut for garnishing
salt to taste
Method
1.Heat oil in a medium size skillet
2. Add mustard seeds, add cumin seeds whem mustard
seeds crackle.
3. Add crushed red pepper , coriander powder and
turmeric powder.
4. Add chopped onion and saute for 4-5 minutes.
5. Add chopped tomatoes , and saute for 4 minutes.
6. Add salt to taste , and mix this mixture with the
rice.
7. Garnish with dill, cilantro or unsweetened coconut
flakes.
Kumudha Venkatesan is a freelance writer living in Michigan.
