New Delhi, March 9, 2013- Nearly 50 leading names from the world of Bollywood, fashion and music have shared their kitchen secrets in a book on how to keep their celebrity status intact by incorporating a delicious healthy vegan diet with no cholesterol.
Dilip Kumar, Saira Banu, Om Puri, Anupam Kher, Hema Malini, Mahesh Bhatt, Sonam Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha and Vidya Balan are just a few who have contributed their recipes which include no animal products.
The book The Vegan Kitchen: Bollywood Style!, published by Westland, is authored by Anuradha Sawhney.
With forewords from renowned doctors Esselstyn Caldwell and Neal Barnard and fitness expert Mickey Mehta, who explain how a nutritious vegan diet can help reverse heart disease, manage diabetes and reduce obesity, as well as promote fitness, the book is a cocktail of taste, glamour and health in truly vegan style.
It has a collection of healthy vegan (vegetarian recipes which do not use any milk or milk products) dishes from around the world and from different parts of India.
‘Bad man’ Gulshan Grover gives a recipe for Brown Rice Poha.
“This is a dish that I started to eat because of my son Sanjay. He made me aware of the fact that by having poha made of brown rice flakes, I was consuming fibre which is good for health, yet not compromising on taste,” he says.
Om Puri has a recipe for Palak Raita, saying, “I love palak in any form Sometimes, if I feel like eating the raita with chappatis, I boil potatoes, break them with my hand and add them to the palak raita.”
Model Yana Gupta also contributes a recipe that has palak as an ingredient- Coriander Spinach Brown Rice. “I love this dish simply because I am obsessed with palak in whatever form.”
Mahesh Bhatt has this to say about his recipe of Spinach, Onion and Carrot Soup: “This is a great soup. Often I just dont feel like eating a heavy dinner and Soni makes me something light like this soup and a salad. This also goes well with light pasta and its full of nutrition.”
Dilip Kumar enjoys eating vegetarian dishes and the recipe he contributes is that of Aloo Mattar. Wife Saira Banu gives a vegan recipe of Bhavnagiri Mirchi aur Aloo.
Other recipes include Rajma (Sonakshi Sinha), Drumstick Sambar (Hema Malini), Sookha Aloo or stir fried potatoes (Sonam Kapoor), Kerala Pachadi or red pumpkin with coconut (Vidya Balan) and Kashmiri Dum Aloo (Anupam Kher).
Pickled bamboo shoot, a delicacy from Assam and a favourite of late singer-composer Bhupen Hazarika, also finds a place in the book. His long-time companion Kalpana Lajmi also has a recipe to offer – Mango Curry.
Actress-model Dipannita Sharma teaches how to cook Boror Tenga or Assamese tomato curry with lentil dumplings.
Every recipe has been contributed by top celebrities from Bollywood, the world of fashion, television and even music.
“These celebrities may not necessarily be vegetarian or vegan themselves, but they took time out to share their favourite vegetarian, non-diary recipes,” the writer says.
“Some of them sent me their own recipes, some of them who do not cook, asked their friends and family or recipes of the vegan dish they love best to eat… they made a serious effort to get the recipes.”
Whole grain, oil-free, plant-based diets are quickly becoming essential in todays age of high cholesterol, obesity, lifestyle-based cancers, hypertension and adult onset diabetes. The recipes in the book fit the bill of being nutritious, whole grain and plant-based to a T! Every dish is delicious, nutritious and absolutely cruelty free. And an added advantage: almost every dish can be made without using any oil.
