When I send friends home with leftovers after a dinner party, they tell me they ate them as a midnight snack or even for breakfast. That’s the great thing about South Asian food—it tastes even better the next day. These plant-based recipes are addictive for all the good reasons. Fresh ingredients and spices will enable you to eat the rainbow.
“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” Hippocrates’ words could not be more true of Indian and Sri Lankan food. Ingredients used in South Asian cuisine—from turmeric and coriander to coconut oil—have healing properties that the rest of the world is just starting to discover.
If you’re on the road to being vegan, South Asian cuisine is the cuisine to master. I’ve done so with the help of my mother and my aunts. I am also indebted to the cookbook authors Madhur Jaffrey, Maya Kaimal, Ismail Merchant and Charmaine Solomon.
Now, I’d like to share what I’ve learned with you. I’m delighted to be part of a thriving community of vegan cooks, and I hope you’ll join me on this journey.
Chelika