Statistics say at least one third of the Indian subcontinent is “pure” vegetarian. Pure meaning vegetarians who will consume dairy but no eggs. Hmmm..one third of the people of a billion population—now that’s a lot of vegetarians!
Vegetarianism in India however was not always a common practice, as the ancient Aryans were known to sacrifice animals to the gods and consume meat. It wasn’t until the rise of Buddhism and Jainism in the 6th century BC through advocating peace and ahimsa or non-violence, that the rise of vegetarianism began to proliferate in India.
Jains being the most orthodox vegetarians in the world avoid eating root vegetables that may disrupt the soil ecosystem in the ground when harvested. Garlic, onions and in some instances tomatoes and beets are also avoided due to their resemblance to the flesh of an animal.
It was Gandhi, also a strict vegetarian who once said, “I do feel that spiritual progress does demand at some stage that we should cease to kill our fellow creatures for the satisfaction of our bodily wants.” Gandhi’s teachings of ahimsa supported vegetarianism in India.
Most packaged food products and menus in India are denoted with this green vegetarian-friendly symbol while the red denotes non-veg. Clever system, so vegetarians can avoid animal by-products that are commonly found in so many products.
Whole Foods Market Oakville presents a community long table dinner on May 5th, 2011 in support of Be Kind To Animals Week benefitting the Oakville & Milton Humane Society. My mother Arvinda and myself, along with Chef Michael Kilip of The Twisted Fork are preparing a mouth-watering, decadent vegetarian meal that evening. We’ve added one of my favourite dishes to the menu – Vegetarian Makhani Kofta Curry ~ steamed cabbage and vegetable dumplings immersed in a creamy spiced velvety sauce.
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