3 Simple Vegan Recipes To Try In The Monsoon Season

From etvbharat.com

Vegan food is the perfect choice to eat healthy in the rainy season. Chef Shailendra Kekade shares three simple but delicious plant-based recipes

Vegan cooking earns its place in rainy weather. A steaming bowl of dal, a peppery mushroom stir-fry, smoky roasted corn rubbed with chilli and lime, or a plate of hot pakoras made with fresh seasonal vegetables feels perfectly at home. Plant-based meals are often lighter than rich meat-heavy feasts, yet they're packed with beans, lentils, vegetables and whole grains that deliver fibre and nutrients. When humidity already leaves you feeling sluggish, that balance can make the difference between feeling satisfied and wanting an afternoon nap.

But the real beauty of vegan food is that it understands the season. Monsoon markets overflow with fresh greens, gourds, corn, mushrooms and herbs, begging to be cooked simply rather than hidden under complicated sauces. Add ginger, garlic, pepper and turmeric, and every meal feels like it was built for grey skies and overflowing teacups. Chef Shailendra Kekade, Head Chef, Sante Spa Cuisine shares three easy-to-cook that would fit right in. With over 25 years of experience in the food industry, Chef Shailendra is a recognized chef and food stylist across the F&B industry.

1. Berry Bloom Bowl

                                                                 Berry Bloom Bowl (Courtesy Sante Spa Cuisine)

INGREDIENTS

80 ml almond milk, 50 ml soya milk, 60 gm roasted beetroot, 40 gm raspberries, 60 gm strawberries, 15 ml coconut milk

FOR GARNISHING

15 gm pomegranate seeds, 8 gm pumpkin seeds, 8 gm almond flakes, 8 gm chopped cashews, 1 sprig of mint leaves.

METHOD

Blend almond milk, soya milk, roasted beetroot, raspberry, strawberry and coconut milk until smooth and creamy. Pour into a serving bowl. Garnish with pomegranate, pumpkin seeds, almond flakes, cashew nuts and mint sprig. Serve chilled.

2. Konkani Coconut Saar With Indrayani Rice

                                                    Konkani Coconut Saar With Indrayani Rice (Courtesy Sante Spa Cuisine)

INGREDIENTS

2 pieces of ginger, 2 cloves garlic, 2 green chillies, 100 ml fresh coconut milk, 25 ml kokum agal, 20 gm chopped tomatoes, 5 gm jaggery, 5 ml coconut oil, 2 sprigs of curry leaves, a pinch of cumin seeds, mustard seeds and turmeric powder, salt to taste and 150 gm cooked Indrayani rice.

METHOD

Heat coconut oil; add cumin seeds, mustard seeds and curry leaves. Add ginger, garlic and green chilli. Sauté lightly. Add chopped tomato and turmeric powder; cook until softened. Add coconut milk, kokum agal, jaggery and salt. Simmer gently. Cook Indrayani rice separately and place it in the centre of the serving bowl. Pour hot Konkani Coconut Saar around the rice. Finish with mustard tadka and serve hot.

3. Chilli Coconut Sundal

                                                       Chilli Coconut Sundal (Courtesy Sante Spa Cuisine)

INGREDIENTS

180 gm boiled Kabuli chana, 10 ml coconut oil, 0.5 gm hing (asafoetida), 2 gm dry Kashmiri chillies, 10 ml lemon juice, a pinch of mustard seeds, a pinch of salt, small bunch of coriander leaves (dhaniya).

FOR GARNISHING

10 gm fresh grated coconut, 2 gm coriander leaves, 1 lemon wedge

METHOD

Heat coconut oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and allow them to crackle. Add hing and dry Kashmiri chilli; sauté briefly. Add boiled Kabuli chana and salt. Toss well on medium heat. Add grated coconut and coriander; mix gently. Finish with lemon juice. Serve in a bowl and garnish with fresh coconut, coriander leaves and lemon wedge.

(All recipes courtesy Chef Shailendra Kekade, Head Chef, Sante Spa Cuisine)

https://www.etvbharat.com/en/lifestyle/vegan-monsoon-recipes-enn26072702443

Climate Cookbook: Vegan Asian Street Food

From bluedotliving.com

In Yang Liu’s new cookbook, she takes you on a sustainable tour of street food markets from Shanghai to Bangkok

This winter, my kitchen was filled with the sputter of zucchini fritters, the scent of sweetened coconut cream in Vietnamese coffee, and the crunch of tanghulu — or fresh fruits coated in a glass-like glaze of almost colourless caramel. I was cooking my way through Vegan Asian Street Food: Over 80 Plant-Based Recipes for Every Occasion, the latest cookbook from Yang Liu, who also jointly runs the popular Instagram account @littlericenoodle with her partner, Katharina Pinczolits. The recipe collection, photographed by Pinczolits, is remarkable for its breadth and for the simple way it swaps typical meat ingredients for effective, lower-carbon stand-ins like mushrooms, tofu, or plant-based ground “beef.”

Globally popular and regionally specific dishes rub shoulders in the cookbook, which has chapters on China, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, South Korea, and Japan and which reflects Liu’s lifelong love of sprawling markets and tiny roadside stands all over the continent. Liu spent her early years living in different parts of China, where she remembers the hot breakfasts and cool snacks that fuelled her: During summers in Hunan, she and her cousins would wake up early to buy spicy rice noodles for breakfast from a vendor on their street. In Guangzhou, she’d buy pan-fried dumplings filled with garlic chives on the way to school and fortify herself with bubble tea during breaks. After she became vegan as an adult and travelled through other parts of Asia, her love of street food spiralled outward.

By veganizing many of the original recipes — swapping kelp and shiitakes for mackerel in Malaysian asam laksa soup, reinterpreting Korean fried chicken as fried tofu — Liu puts a sustainable spin on meat-heavy dishes. She also points out that Asian street-food cultures come by some sustainability naturally: Vendors commonly source ingredients seasonally and are scrupulous about finding a purpose for every useful part of an ingredient. Indonesian longtong, or rice cakes, for example, are boiled in a casing of banana leaves that impart a distinct flavour; banana leaves also serve as compostable plates for pad thai.

What makes Vegan Asian Street Food such fun to cook from is Liu’s deft scene-setting at the top of each recipe. When I shallow-fried sizzling tofu, my stovetop speckling with tiny droplets of oil, I could almost hear the crackle and pop from the iron plates she describes the vendors using, and see the steam billowing up at a Chinese night market in winter, the scent of cumin and chili offering heat, of a kind, just as they did in my Brooklyn apartment.

RECIPE: SCALLION PANCAKES (CONG YOU BING)

• Author: Yang Liu
 
•  Yield: Makes 4

Scallion pancakes are loved for their crispy, flaky layers and savoury flavour. Easy to make, they’re the essence of comfort food and are just right for breakfast, lunch, or a late-night snack. The dough is rolled out thinly, brushed with oil, and sprinkled generously with chopped scallions, then folded and rolled again to create multiple layers. Once cooked on a hot griddle, the outside becomes golden and crispy while the inside remains soft and chewy, with the scallions adding extra aroma and taste. They’re an example of how basic ingredients can be transformed into something truly delicious.

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INGREDIENTS

UNITS SCALE

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1 tsp salt, divided
• 5 oz (1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp) water
• 3 1/2 Tbsps canola oil
• 6 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp Chinese five-spice, divided
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• 
  
• INSTRUCTIONS

1. Mix the flour with a pinch of salt and the water, and knead to form a dough. Put the dough in a bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside for 30 minutes.
2. Heat the oil in a small saucepan over high heat until the oil reaches about 456°F. To check whether the oil is hot enough, hold a wooden chopstick in the oil. If it is immediately surrounded by tiny bubbles, the oil is ready to use. Place the scallions in a small bowl and pour the hot oil over the top to make scallion oil.
3. Divide the dough into 4 portions and shape each into a round. Using a rolling pin, roll out one round on a lightly floured surface until very thin. Brush with scallion oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and five-spice.
4. Carefully roll up the thin dough round, pull the roll a little longer with your hands, then encircle the roll around one end to form a dough spiral that resembles a cinnamon roll. Flatten the spiral with your palm to make a round pancake. Repeat with the remaining dough portions.
5. Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat until hot. Add a pancake, reduce heat to low and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until one side is golden. Flip and repeat to cook the other side. Repeat with remaining pancakes.

RECIPE: Guoba Potato (Guoba Tudou)

RECIPE: Guoba Potato (Guoba Tudou)

RECIPE: Guoba Potato (Guoba Tudou) 

• Author: Yang Liu
 
•  Yield: Serves 2

Guoba potato is a widely loved street food from Sichuan. “Guoba” normally means “rice crust,” but it can also refer to other crusty or crispy foods. In this dish, the potatoes are first boiled, then deep-fried, resulting in chunks that are crisp and golden on the outside, but soft and tender inside. Once you mix the potatoes with the sauce, the dish has many layers of flavour and texture.

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INGREDIENTS

SCALE

• 1 3/4 lbs potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 3 Tbsps cornstarch or potato starch
• 2 Tbsps all-purpose flour
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp cumin
• 1 tsp ground Sichuan peppercorns
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp chili flakes or ground chili
• 1 Tbsp toasted white sesame seeds
• ~2 1/2 cups canola oil
• 3 Tbsps soy sauce
• 2 Tbsps You po la zi (Sichuan chili oil; see note)
• 2 scallions, sliced
• Cilantro leaves, to garnish

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

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INSTRUCTIONS

1. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook for 10 minutes. Drain, then return the potatoes to the pan, add the cornstarch or potato starch and flour, and mix well to combine.
2. Mix the garlic, cumin, Sichuan peppercorns, salt, chili flakes, and sesame seeds in a large bowl.
3. Heat the canola oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. To check whether the oil is hot enough for deep-frying, hold a wooden chopstick in the oil. If it is immediately surrounded by tiny bubbles, the oil is ready to use. Keep the oil temperature steady for deep-frying.
4. Carefully spoon about 2 tablespoons of the hot oil over the garlic and spice mixture. Add the soy sauce to the mixture.
5. Add the potatoes to the remaining hot oil and fry for about 15 minutes until golden and crispy. Remove the potatoes with a slotted spoon or a sieve and transfer to the bowl with the spices. Add the chili oil, scallions, and cilantro, and mix everything well.

NOTES

Chili oil: You po la zi, or Sichuan Chilli oil, can be made using the recipe in Vegan Asian Street Food or this recipe.

https://bluedotliving.com/climate-cookbook-vegan-asian-street-food/

Plant-Based Food Innovation in Asia: Niche, Culturally-Rooted Alternatives to Mainstream Veganism

From ainvest.com

Summary

- Asia's plant-based food market thrives on cultural/religious traditions, not Western vegan trends, with innovations rooted in local diets and spiritual practices.

- Indian start-ups reimagine meatless biryanis and vegan sweets, while Indonesian tempeh is transformed into burgers, leveraging centuries-old culinary heritage.

- Halal-certified plant-based meals in Korean universities and Buddhist-inspired vegetarian festivals in Southeast Asia highlight religiously aligned market growth.

- Asia-Pacific plant-based protein market projected to grow at 14.92% CAGR to $19.77B by 2033, driven by 3.68M vegetarians and rising health consciousness.

- Underrepresented regions like Philippines and Laos show potential through culturally specific innovations, blending plant-based food with spiritual merit-making traditions. 

Asia’s plant-based food market is undergoing a quiet revolution, driven not by global vegan trends but by deeply rooted cultural and religious traditions. While mainstream plant-based diets often emphasize Western ideals of health and environmentalism, Asia’s innovations are uniquely tailored to local tastes, spiritual practices, and centuries-old culinary heritage. This alignment with traditional diets and religious dietary laws is creating a fertile ground for niche plant-based alternatives that are both culturally resonant and economically scalable.

The Religious and Cultural Foundations of Plant-Based Innovation

Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam have long influenced dietary practices in Asia, providing a natural foundation for plant-based food innovation. In India, where vegetarianism is tied to the principle of ahimsa (non-violence), start-ups like GoodDot and SoftSpot are reimagining traditional dishes such as meatless biryanis and vegan sweets, blending ancient recipes with modern convenience. Similarly, Indonesia’s tempeh—a fermented soy product with centuries of culinary history—is being repurposed into plant-based burgers and meat substitutes, leveraging its cultural familiarity to drive adoption.

Buddhist traditions in Southeast Asia and China further reinforce plant-based eating. In Thailand, Buddhist monks and lay communities have historically embraced vegetarianism during religious festivals, a practice now mirrored in plant-based snack bars that use local ingredients like coconut and jackfruit to cater to health-conscious consumers. Meanwhile, the Hani people of Yunnan Province in China have developed ethnobotanical rituals using 36 plant species for spiritual and agricultural ceremonies, demonstrating how indigenous knowledge can inform sustainable plant-based practices.

For Islamic communities, halal-certified plant-based alternatives are gaining traction. In South Korea, universities like Yonsei and Korea University have introduced halal-compliant vegan meals, including plant-based meat patties and tandoori-inspired salads, to meet the dietary needs of Muslim students. These innovations align with the growing global halal food market, which is projected to grow at a 10.5% CAGR from 2023 to 2030, driven by the 1.9 billion Muslim population in Asia.

Market Growth and Investment Potential

The Asia-Pacific plant-based protein market is expected to surge from USD 5.66 billion in 2024 to USD 19.77 billion by 2033, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.92%. This growth is fuelled by religious demographics: over 3.68 million vegetarians in the region, coupled with rising health consciousness and ethical concerns, are reshaping demand. For instance, Indonesia’s plant-based food market is forecasted to expand at a 9.18% CAGR, driven by innovations in soy-based dairy alternatives and meat substitutes.

Underrepresented Innovations and Regional Opportunities

Beyond the well-known markets of India and Indonesia, underrepresented regions are emerging as hubs for culturally specific plant-based innovation. In the Philippines, 83% of consumers plan to increase plant-based food consumption by 2025, with local start-ups like WTH Foods creating plant-based versions of traditional dishes such as tapa and sisig. In Laos and Cambodia, Buddhist-inspired vegetarian festivals and food charity practices are fostering demand for plant-based meals that align with spiritual merit-making traditions.

Sikhism’s langar—a communal, lacto-vegetarian meal served in gurdwaras—offers another unique opportunity. While traditionally prepared with ghee and butter, modern adaptations are exploring healthier, plant-based alternatives to address rising chronic diseases like diabetes. This shift not only aligns with religious values but also taps into the growing global interest in sustainable, community-driven food systems.

Conclusion: A Strategic Investment in Cultural Resonance

Asia’s plant-based food innovations are not just about replacing animal products—they are about reimagining diets through the lens of cultural and religious heritage. By leveraging traditional ingredients, religious dietary laws, and local culinary practices, these niche alternatives are creating a competitive edge in a market that values authenticity and sustainability. For investors, the key lies in supporting start-ups and supply chains that bridge ancient wisdom with modern innovation, ensuring that plant-based food becomes both a spiritual and economic cornerstone in Asia’s future.

https://www.ainvest.com/news/plant-based-food-innovation-asia-niche-culturally-rooted-alternatives-mainstream-veganism-2508-22/