Messy Cooking, Always Vegan: Vacation Vegan (Eating Vegan in Goa)

Look! It's a Vegan on Vacation!

Good Day Gooses!

Today I have you some visual treats. I just went to Goa with my partner Indra. It was a much needed break from intense work and the hardships of being doggy parents. Oh whatever, it was a break from our privileged urban lives, who am I kidding.

Goa has always had many culinary connotations to it. From pork vindaloo and Bebinca to batter-fried calamari and masala king fish. The list was never ending. It was one of those places that brought up that old cliche- Goa it's a foodies paradise. Now let's talk about this goddaman 'foodie' business.

What the fish is a 'foodie' anyway? And why does it mean that vegans can't be 'foodies'. I assert my clucking rights- I am a vegan and a Goddamn Foodie. In fact, I'll argue that being vegan makes you even more of a foodie than the non-vegan counterpart. Oh please, stop rolling your eyes. Think about it. When you live in an essentially non-vegan world, you have to actually work with food differently. You have to think about textures, tastes, mixtures, and combinations far more intricately than the average non-vegan. Being vegan doesn't mean you eat apples all day.

That said, nothing wrong with eating delicious fruit all day. Here's a fruit cup at breakfast.

So this was my first time to Goa as a vegan and it wasn't very hard at all. You have to bug the waiters a tiny bit, and hunt for local jaunts that are taking the Vegan Movement ahead in the country. Did you know there are 3 fully-vegan cafes in Goa ( Bean Me Up, Maa Cafe, and Shantaram)? There might be more and all places can offer vegan food if you just think through some of the standard vegetarian fare. For example most places offer a vegetarian Mushroom Xacuti ( a classic Goan curry) that is default vegan, well, because coconut.

Mushroom Xacuti with Rice and Salad

Order some rice, mushroom Xacuti, and a side salad. You got some spicy-good vegan lunch!

In the city we found a small darshini near the bus station. We asked if he could do a pav-bhaji without butter. He nodded and made sure I didn't want any butter on the Pav either. And there you have it, vegan Pav-Bhaji!

No Butter Here!

Gobi Paratha for Breakfast. Say NO to Curds and YES to pickle!

A simple salad at a shack. Fresh Vegetables dressed up with olive oil, lemon salt, and pepper. So good!

We went to Maa Cafe (Ashwim Beach) which is a raw-vegan cafe, yes, that means not only is it vegan but it's all uncooked food. And boy was it delicious. Here's where the creativity kicks in - using dehydration techniques you can make 'chips' and even sprouted 'breads' that involve no baking. In fact we had to-die -for chocolate pancakes with bananas, strawberries and coconut cream. We washed it down with a green avocado smoothie with a hearty amount of soaked chia seeds in the bottom- it was like pudding, for real.

Maa Cafe Goods. See how BOMB it looks?

Raw-vegan by itself can be more of a lifestyle thing, but being vegan (regular cooked food and not using any other animals products or by-products like leather, or gelatin) are at its a core an ethical movement. This was my guiding factor- I know why I am vegan, so the questions of being 'tempted' didn't arise. Of course I am prone to getting crabby when I am at a restaurant with very limited vegan options, all I want to do is go home and cook myself a grand vegan meal at home. Most of our food can be easily veganised, the more demand there is outside, the more the economy will follow it.

Bruschetta Toast Thingie. Just tell them 'Skip the Cheese Kind Sir'

Anyway, instead of going on and on, I hope you enjoy all these pictures of what I ate in the land of sea, sand, and regrettable speedos.

We ended up eating mostly beach shack-food. Look out for Hummus, toast without butter and ask them to add toppings like mushroom, tomatoes, or baked beans.

Down below are some more Maa Cafe treats. We had Raw burritos with mushrooms and avocado, a mushroom 'burger' with raw sprouted bread and coconut 'ice-cream':