As everyone begins their preparations for Deepavali (the Hindu-born community's "Christmas" equivalent), we've received some enquiries about whether we'll be selling the veganised cookies this year after trying for the past 2 Deepavalis. 

Initially, we had to respond with a very heavy heart that we are not able to do so this year and that we are deeply sorry for the disappointment and inconvenience caused.

But we recently managed to make some arrangements to sell vegan pineapple tarts (available from next week, yay!). So, let's not extinguish the little flame just yet despite the reduction in options now.

In addition to our pineapple tarts, we still want to inspire you to have a vegan Deepavali by suggesting some recipes by Tulsi's Vegan Kitchen. P.S.: Tulsi's Vegan Kitchen was also founded by the founders of Vegan District. ;)

Enjoy trying to impress your family and friends with these recipes.

Breakfast first

After a refreshing morning shower (and a little mandatory visit to the altar for most), fuel your holidaying body with some thosai or upma.

I'm wondering if I can turn couscous into upma in my own kitchen...

From what I know, thosai and idli are usually derived from the same batter and the only difference between them is how the batter is cooked (skilful flat pan frying for thosai and moulded steaming for idli).

Not to forget, the jug of morning coffee with dairy-free mylk (or maybe just Kopi O) for the cafeholics.

Deepavali Eve and Deepavali banana leaves

The home chefs devote a lot of time and effort to cooking 1-2 curries and several dishes for their Deepavali Eve and Deepavali feasts.

For those who didn't know, there's a prayer session for deceased family members on Deepavali Eve. Part of the prayer setup is a banana leaf meal set in front of each framed photograph of a dearly missed deceased relative.

The prayer meals are usually similar to the lunch and dinner meals on Deepavali day and will be finished by the living family members, some of whom would cry due to being reminded of their loss.

I'm sure we can all agree that the centrepiece of any Indian meal happens to be the surname of a famous NBA player - curry. Some noteworthy curry recipes by Tulsi's Vegan Kitchen include...

The awesome onion curry, which sparks tears of joy for me :') I wish all Indian restaurants have onion curry.

The humble sambar everyone adores.

 And of course, we have to veganise the meat curries like chicken curry!

Just to reiterate that no curry or dish is worth incurring any animal's suffering and death, the side dishes should be veganised too (in addition to some accidentally vegan dishes like tofu sambal, chickpea stir-fry and any stir-fried vegetable dish).

All-day party

Unless you're seriously watching your weight even during the short holiday season, what kind of Deepavali would it be if there are no snacks to get addicted to?

Some sweet coconut candy with Nature's Charm's added coconuttiness.

More homemade pineapple tarts, another reminder of our tropical gifts.

Besides the addictive smooth or mullu (thorny) murukku, one of the other variations of murukku is achu murukku, which is strangely not as twisted as the former (given the name murukku actually means twisted).

 And who can spell party without Tea?

If you wanna be extra

If you don't mind the extra effort and time spent on cooking more or your party has too many bored cooks in the kitchen, then maybe you can consider cooking more items to further spice things up.

Vadai to make your guests vaa (come) to your tea party?

If the cauliflower 65 is not enough, you can add cauliflower pakoras to your cauliflower mania. Though pakoras are more of a deep fried tea snack than a side dish for lunch.

For the tandoori lovers, the hericium mushroom is a great alternative to chicken.

Tulsi's Vegan Kitchen has many more recipes suitable for this occasion but we couldn't fit them all here. So go check out Tulsi's Vegan Kitchen for more recipes you might like!

Deepavali naal vazhthukkal

We hope that this article has lit a deepam (oil lamp) in your heart to have fun this festive season without snatching the animals' fundamental rights.

It's a simple switch to make to reunite over an annual feast without the expense of any animal's life. Because what's the point of celebrating the triumph of good over evil if evil is still a part of your family kitchen?