Skip to main content

MEET & GREET

Hello there,

Welcome to Vegetarian Zest, a place of home-style vegetarian cooking.

I’m Srivandya, the cook, the writer, photographer of this blog. I live in Johannesburg with my family & surrounded by trees & never ending winter. I’m originally from New Delhi, India & work full time as a business analyst.

 I’m constantly trying to feed my family healthy and fresh vegetarian food. I'm also in the process to teach my four year old about vegetarianism. She constantly asks me questions like: why she gets a special lunch in her school, why she can't eat chicken, why her best friend has also opted to eat vegetarian meals in the school or what happens to animals when they go into her friend's stomach?
 Cooking has always been a stress buster for me but there are days when I have no energy or desire to cook and I end up firing up a frozen pizza. Or days when my kid refuses to put anything in her mouth and I get to hear ‘yucky’ so I dish out a p & J sandwich. It’s fine! We all have such moments!

When I have time and energy, you might spot me around Joburg with my daughter and husband, mostly in a coffee shop trying to take that perfect shot. I also have an OCD for organizing &  love buying stationary and shoes...we need inspiration!

My husband, Anand, he is the other force behind this blog, he’s the taste tester, IT genius & last but not least, my biggest supporter & pillar of strength. He is the one, who takes me around and inspires to taste unusual combinations. The latest was wasabi filled doughnuts.

Why Do I Blog?

Vegetarian Zest is written to learn new techniques, explore unfamiliar ingredients, & discover new recipes (but I will always have a soft spot for mom-made rajma chawal – red beans curry &rice).

It also works as a food journal that reminds me of my successes, failures, document my memories of home, comforts & brings back old memories from childhood to good times with friends & family.

Recipes

I’m a firm believer that food should taste good & cooking should be enjoyable. This blog is all about making that happen!

A vegetarian blog with Lacto-Ovo recipes traditional,authentic, Indian &world recipes that are heirloom, experimented, tried & tested. All the recipes are tweaked or modified to suit the taste.

You’ll find home style vegetarian recipes, calling for seasonal & naturally grown vegetables (mostly) & minimally processed ingredients.

More About me…

Some of my favorite things in life are Thai food, my camera, sunrises, breakfast dates with my husband & meaningful convos with my 4 year old.

On a more personal level, I’m constantly trying to learn how to be better at things that really matter, living life fully, forgiving &  appreciating people.

Long story short, Thanks for visiting!!! Do come by now & then for new recipes & to give your feedback.

Once again, I’m welcoming you into my Jozi Indian kitchen where we unfold the recipes & share a cup of hot cappuccino with a drizzle of cinnamon.

Comments

  1. oooh a food writer....wow!! I wish i could be one too....you never told me this! Amazing maan...this is soo coool! Dudes and dudettes out there....she's the best food writer ever.... :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey Vandi...
    As always its a great pleasure reading your blog. I feel surprisingly full after I read yours. I usually try your salads and soups. Keep writing.
    Nimmy

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Vandi,

    As always a pleasure to read your blog. I usually try your soups and salads. Keep writing. I can still taste the momos you bought to office.

    Nimmy

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Dear Readers,

Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment.
I do read each comment and greatly value the feedback from readers. If I delay in replying to your comments, please bear with me.I will try to respond as early as possible.

Please note that comment moderation has been enabled to keep the website free of inappropriate comments.So keep it clean. Stay on topic. No spam.

Cheers!
Srivandya

Popular posts from this blog

Punjabi Karela Sabzi

Here’s this bitterly sweet recipe that I've been dying to share with you. As a kid there was this one veggie that I have always found super intimidating was – Bitter Gourd. As years have grown by, I have started liking mom’s Punjabi style karela recipe. Mom was behind me to use it on a regular basis as it helps in controlling blood sugar levels. Did I ever mention that she made me drink bitter gourd juice every morning on an empty stomach to control my blood sugars? Actually it helps. It has plant insulin which brings down your sugar levels. Back to the recipe…I saw it…I grabbed it....and then I got home, and didn't really know what to do with it. I have always eaten at my Delhi home but never made it myself. Googled but wasn’t very sure. One international call, jotted the recipe on back of the grocery bill and decided to make it instantly. --> Ingredients Bitter Gourd/ Karela 2 Chopped onions (1 medium size) Chopped tomatoes (2 medium size) Crus

Diabetic Friendly Eggless Chocolate Cake

After visiting a sugar free chocolate studio, I was really inspired to bake something on my own. Chocolate cake seemed to be the best way to start. Ditching the traditional way of making sweets and savories for Vijaya Dashmi, I baked a cake for hubby and a small group of Indian friends.   Ingredients All purpose flour 1 cup Salt ½ teaspoon Baking powder 1 teaspoon Baking soda 2 teaspoons Unsweetened cocoa powder ½ cup Sugar substitute – 6 teaspoons Vegetable Oil – 1 cup (I used sunflower oil) Milk – ½ cup Vanilla Extract – 1 teaspoon White sugar free chocolate 1 slab Method Preheat the oven to 160C Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa and sugar substitute into a large mixing bowl. Add vanilla extract, oil and milk. With an electric mixer, beat at medium speed for 3 to 4 minutes. Grease the baking pan with oil and flour. Pour the batter evenly into the baking pans. Place the pan on the middle shelf and bake for 20 to 2

Smoked Vegetable Biryani

I have to admit that when I’m cooking something new, I aim to post the recipe here. But luck doesn’t always favor. Either the picture is not satisfactory or we are too impatient to wait for the photo session to get over or the dish itself disappoints me. I have to admire the food bloggers, who are so regular in posting new recipes with beautiful looking pictures. Anyway, I’m glad to post a new recipe here after getting convinced that this biryani is the best that I have ever made.  The biryani features many of the same ingredients that I have used all these years but the end result is entirely different. I thought it would be fun to show that with the simple addition of charcoal, you can take the recipe to an entirely new direction. This recipe is my aunt’s, who learnt it ages ago while doing her home science course. She then passed the recipe to all her sisters and that’s how I got to learn how to cook vegetable biryani. The only change/ addition that I made was th