The one thing I get asked consistently is: “Priyanka, how can I cook vegan dishes regularly at home?”
Initially, this question would frustrate me because I’d think: “Why does everyone find it so difficult to cook vegan? I mean, what’s so difficult about eating vegetables?”
But as I grew older, wiser and more patient, I realised that upbringing, environment and culture play a huge role when it comes to one’s perspective on food. For instance, I was born and raised in New York City, but as a first-generation Indian-American, my perspective on food is heavily influenced by my Indian roots and the fact that I’ve travelled to about 40 countries.
I leverage my culture and life experiences to create a widened perspective on food and to develop original vegan recipes. So to everyone who asks me now, I say eating vegetables is a lot easier (and tastier) than you might imagine.
As a self-taught vegan and sustainable chef, here are my top hacks to make your kitchen vegan, eco-friendly and tasty.
Spice up your life
If I had a megaphone, this would be the first thing I’d yell: use whole dried spices in your food — it’s the easiest way to make literally anything taste amazing. You can cook with whole cumin seeds, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, mustard seeds, chillies … the list goes on.
Whole dried spices are packed with natural oils, flavours and texture, so adding your favourite veggies to a skillet with hot oil, whole spices, salt and a bit of garlic will make the perfect stir-fry. Many spices also have natural medical properties, notably fennel, turmeric and mustard seeds.
Don’t always try to mimic meat
Imitation meat has flooded the vegan market in recent years. While I wholeheartedly support these products and efforts, which are created from the lens of sustainability, I don’t think you need to constantly use faux meat to make a wholesome meal. Having grown up as a pure vegetarian, I can tell you the possibilities for vegan cooking are endless. If you need something “meaty” to bite into, consider a whole blistered aubergine in a miso glaze; a turmeric-marinated cauliflower steak; or a falafel pita if you’re in the mood for a hearty sandwich.
Use leafy greens in sauces
Some of my favourite pasta sauces are made with vegetables, including one of my most popular recipes — spinach jalapeno pesto. Sauces are a great way to cook and eat leafy greens, which are high in fibre, iron and other essential nutrients. The key is to blanch your greens for two to three minutes first, drop in an ice bath and blend with your favourite aromatics, such as garlic, onion, chilli and lemon.
Texture is key
Monotone dishes are boring and will not satiate complex palates. Texture is a huge reason why people will not miss meat, so ensure your dishes come in varying styles. For example, if you’re making a dish that is on the softer or mushier side, consider garnishing it with fresh chopped herbs such as coriander or sprinkle pomegranate for some crunch.
Shop local
Shopping local means you’re supporting the community and getting produce that’s in season. This is better both for the environment and our bodies, as seasonal produce tends to be higher in nutrients and is tastier too. Shopping at farmers’ markets can also help inspire recipe ideas and dishes, as it provides an opportunity to talk to local producers who know best how to use their delicious goods.
Get creative with leftovers
I am that person who packs food at restaurants, even the leftovers from the bread basket. Why? Because the majority of wasted food ends up in landfill, producing harmful methane gasses.
Packing leftovers can help alleviate this and even a slight effort makes a difference. Best of all, leftovers can be transformed into tasty options — pulse leftover white rice in a food processor with some beans, spices and potato to make a wholesome burger, or turn leftover pasta into a pizza frittata in a hot non-stick skillet.
Incorporate superfoods
Superfoods are incredibly powerful, not just for your body, but in recipes too. Cashews, for instance, when soaked, will soften and can be blended into a creamy, dreamy sauce. The same applies for a variety of nuts and seeds (sunflower seed butter, anyone?). Blueberries are high in antioxidants and when frozen, can be blended with frozen bananas to create a soft and tasty cream. So go ahead and make yours a creative vegan kitchen.
Priyanka Naik is a self-taught Indian vegan chef, Food Network champion, Quibi Dishmantled winner, TV personality and author of The Modern Tiffin. She’s put together a customised vegan and sustainable menu for W Maldives, which will be available until October 2023
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
Fixtures (all in UAE time)
Friday
Everton v Burnley 11pm
Saturday
Bournemouth v Tottenham Hotspur 3.30pm
West Ham United v Southampton 6pm
Wolves v Fulham 6pm
Cardiff City v Crystal Palace 8.30pm
Newcastle United v Liverpool 10.45pm
Sunday
Chelsea v Watford 5pm
Huddersfield v Manchester United 5pm
Arsenal v Brighton 7.30pm
Monday
Manchester City v Leicester City 11pm
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The biog
Nickname: Mama Nadia to children, staff and parents
Education: Bachelors degree in English Literature with Social work from UAE University
As a child: Kept sweets on the window sill for workers, set aside money to pay for education of needy families
Holidays: Spends most of her days off at Senses often with her family who describe the centre as part of their life too
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
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Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
Who has been sanctioned?
Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.
Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
Company Profile
Company name: OneOrder
Started: October 2021
Founders: Tamer Amer and Karim Maurice
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Industry: technology, logistics
Investors: A15 and self-funded
Black Panther
Dir: Ryan Coogler
Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o
Five stars
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
How Islam's view of posthumous transplant surgery changed
Transplants from the deceased have been carried out in hospitals across the globe for decades, but in some countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, the practise was banned until relatively recently.
Opinion has been divided as to whether organ donations from a deceased person is permissible in Islam.
The body is viewed as sacred, during and after death, thus prohibiting cremation and tattoos.
One school of thought viewed the removal of organs after death as equally impermissible.
That view has largely changed, and among scholars and indeed many in society, to be seen as permissible to save another life.
2019 ASIAN CUP FINAL
Japan v Qatar
Friday, 6pm
Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Venom
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Cast: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed
Rating: 1.5/5
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How it works
Each player begins with one of the great empires of history, from Julius Caesar's Rome to Ramses of Egypt, spread over Europe and the Middle East.
Round by round, the player expands their empire. The more land they have, the more money they can take from their coffers for each go.
As unruled land and soldiers are acquired, players must feed them. When a player comes up against land held by another army, they can choose to battle for supremacy.
A dice-based battle system is used and players can get the edge on their enemy with by deploying a renowned hero on the battlefield.
Players that lose battles and land will find their coffers dwindle and troops go hungry. The end goal? Global domination of course.
