Christmas is one of my favourite festivals to celebrate. Though in Bangalore, India it’s not so cold but there are many beautiful old churches around which beautifies the city with its sheer grandeur. Having turkey, chicken or a grand meaty dinner on Christmas with family and friends is a custom in every corner of the world. So many times, the vegans or the people who just turned vegan might feel left out on this occasion. But don’t feel that being vegan means, you cannot have a good and sumptuous dinner to celebrate X-MAS. So here are my top 5 ways to celebrate vegan Christmas effortlessly at home.
1. Plan everything before:
If you are having some families and friends over for a big Christmas dinner, then planning everything before hand would be the safest option. There are many seasonal vegetables available in India during winters. You can use those vegetables to cook amazing starters, main course and desserts without any trouble. But if you are not such a trained cook or never cooked for so many people, then ordering from vegan restaurants could be a saviour. Nowadays, seeing the popularity of the plant-based diet, many restauranteurs are observing vegan restaurants as a good business venture.
2. Serve vegan wines to your guests:
Many of you might not know that fish and egg albumin are being used to ferment the wine. It helps to increase the shelf life of the wine and its a very common wine making process. Reveilo Nero d’Avolo, Sensi Campoluce Chianti Organic, Querciabella Chianti Classico 2017, Sensi Vegante Chianti Superiore and Kara Tara Pinot Nir 2019 are some of the easily available vegan wines in India. If you are planning to serve these to your guests then purchase them before hand, because they are available in limited numbers in India.
3. Vegan desserts:
When you are inviting people at home for some dinner and celebration, then you must keep some desserts ready post the dinner. A dinner party is always incomplete without a bite of delicious desserts. Many of your non-vegan guests might think that making vegan desserts is impossible. Without cow milk and cow milk solids in your desserts, the taste won’t be edible. So here’s trick for you them. Don’t mention anything and just serve them the vegan dessert post the dinner. Let them identify it on their own. Leave them hanging to their own imagination and beliefs.
4. Vegan Meat:
Nowadays, many vegan meat brands are available in India, such as, Gooddot, Beyond Meat, Hello Tempayy, MeEat, Nutriquo, Shaka Harry and the list is never ending. I prefer to buy from vegandukan website as its very reliable and all of these brands are easily available there. Your guests will figure this out when they will eat this. Seeing the mock meat, you can never figure out that its not the real meat.
5. Experiment with various flavours:
Every vegetable has a unique taste of its own. Even if you are selecting certain fruits to make desserts, that will add special flavour in your dessert. You can also make various types of salads, starters, main course and many more for your guests. But informing them before hand should be a good option. They will know what to expect. But a good suggestion is to try cooking the dishes before the Christmas Day. It could be a good trial for you and you will gain confidence as a cook before serving to your guests.
Don’t waste your time and start preparing for the vegan Christmas dinner. Not much time is left, so better you start preparing now on. Merry Christmas to everyone. Live longer and stay safe.