Ten Years as an Indian Vegan: In Conversation with Jasmine Kaur Jolly

Actions speak louder than words – that’s the best way we can think of describing our Indian vegan friends, Jasmine Kaur Jolly and her partner, Kawaljit. Both have turned 10 year old vegans this year in 2019. There is another phrase that fits them perfectly – Charity begins at home! Over the years, both Jasmine and Kawaljit have influenced many members of their family to adopt the vegan lifestyle. We thought this is a great time to talk to Jasmine about their vegan journey because ten years is a good time to gauge the impact of a kind, compassionate lifestyle.

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Vegan India! – Jasmine, you have completed 10 years as an Indian vegan this year in 2019. Many congratulations! Please tell us what inspired you to choose vegan ten years ago. How long did it take you to transition?

Jasmine – Thank you. Yes, me and my husband have completed 10 years of being vegan.

Our vegan journey began in 2009. It all started when my husband Kawaljit was researching about alkaline and acidic foods.

It was the most shocking revelation that consumption of dairy and meat are the pioneers in causing innumerable health issues. As he dug deeper in this context, he unveiled the bitter truth about the atrocities caused by the dairy industry. Although I was a vegetarian all my life and it was because of the sentiment that I cannot hurt an animal for my palate, and here we were consuming dairy in some form or the other on a daily basis. The thought itself was distressing.

After watching some heinous and disturbing videos about the truth behind these industries, it was in a very small frame of time that we made the switch to a vegan lifestyle. It was a decision taken at the time when we had no clue about how we would even survive without dairy as it was something that was embedded in our minds as the healthiest form of food.

Sometimes life can surprise us with a life altering coincidence and learning about veganism was one of them for us.

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Vegan India! – Ten years is a good time to measure the impact of a vegan lifestyle, do you agree? Please tell us what you have gained. Have you lost anything?

Jasmine – Finding this path and following it has only been a blessing, in so many ways.

A plant-based diet has nearly saved my mother-in-law as she was highly diabetic, having high cholesterol and diagnosed with diabetic neuropathy. She was on a very high dosage of allopathy medicines, insulin injections along with Ayurvedic medicines. All these medicines only kept her sugar levels in check but with time, her medication increased and her health problems persisted. As she made the switch to a vegan lifestyle, she gradually eliminated all the medications from her daily life. Today her sugar is in check and all her vitals are fine.

With a plant-based lifestyle, we have found that our energy levels have really escalated. It definitely increases our immunity in fighting the common ailments and even if we do succumb to the common colds or fever, the recovery is much speedier than before. Our regular check-ups and screenings show that all our vitals are good.

We take Vitamin D3 and B12 supplements periodically.

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Vegan India! – We would love to know whether your turning vegan influenced anyone in your family and friends circle. Do you have more members in your family who turned vegan?

Jasmine – Good things always need to be shared and a vegan lifestyle with its varied health benefits need to be passed on. Our home is completely vegan and so all our close family and friends are very much acquainted with this lifestyle. Some of our close relatives have even incorporated a plant-based diet in their life after they understood not only about its health benefits but also how a decision like this impacts the environment.

Recently, my nephew who adopted a companion dog turned vegan after he realized how similar the pain is, whether felt by a human or an animal. Earlier, he had only understood the concept of veganism, but his acceptance towards it came only after his love for his dog brought about awareness towards the suffering of animals.

Here I would like to quote Mother Teresa, she had said, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”

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Vegan India! – Like many an Indian vegan, did you face any challenge cooking and eating vegan in your initial days of being vegan? If yes, what were they and how did you get over them? Please tell us the items/dishes that you had most fun with in veganizing them.

Jasmine – Truth be told, when we turned vegan, we thought we are the only people venturing into this journey since social media was not as advanced with information as it is today. It was definitely a bit of a challenge for us. The first thing when a person turns to a vegan lifestyle is to search for substitutes. As there were hardly any options a decade back, we had to do everything on our own.

So we tried making vegan curd with various nuts, the peanut curd gave us a very similar taste and texture.

Every bakery we had visited earlier had some form of dairy in it, so with a lot of trial and error, we succeeded in making some absolutely delicious cakes and breads.

But today things are different, anyone who wants to go plant-based, has access not only to information but also dairy and meat substitutes are readily available in the market.

Vegan India! – We have heard Indian vegan nutritionists say that every person who cooks at home knows a certain number of recipes that they repeat… they also say that in turning vegan, all we need to do is replace the non-vegan recipes in that list to vegan. We can do it either by veganizing those recipes or including new vegan ones altogether to the list! In this context, since we already know you have veganized many recipes, please tell us the ones that you have created/invented.

Jasmine – Well that is true, regarding the concept of veganizing recipes, that is the first step. After that, creativity takes over and with the flood of recipes available, there is no limit to innovations. And as regards repeating recipes, we all have a tendency to eat things that we have grown so used to eating from our childhood that we sometimes tend to limit our imagination.

Well for us, we also tried to introduce gluten-free dishes in our household. One which we have named Jolly Patties, it was quite an innovation as it consists of a gluten-free flour (like jowar, ragi, bajra, and a few others) and different vegetables chopped or mashed, sprinkled with some  seasoning (cumin powder, turmeric, chili powder) and healthy seeds (sesame, flaxseed) made in the form of patties. This we have made in varied tastes and textures as there are so many vegetables available in the market. This is now our staple food instead of chapatis or parathas like earlier times.

Making different spreads like cashew cheese, peanut butter, hummus is all a matter of getting a few ingredients together. Anyone today can try making them… they are absolutely healthy, delicious, and easy to make.

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Vegan India! – In these ten years, have you organized vegan parties and get together at home? How is the food in these parties like, please tell us. Since guests may be non-vegan and your kitchen is strictly vegan, how do they respond to your preparations?

Jasmine – Anytime we have a get together or a party, it is 100% vegan and it is relished by all without any complaints about the food. In fact, they are inspired to try them at home. I have got many enquiries from friends as to how to make vegan curds and cakes at home.

In the year 2012, we had hosted my sister’s wedding, it was completely vegan, it was a challenge for the chef to come up with an all vegan menu and he justified it completely. Everybody had a great time and were pleasantly surprised by the fact that Indian vegan food is not only healthy but also delicious.

Lately, hosting an Indian vegan party has become easier, due to the availability of all kinds of vegan products like ice creams, cakes, varied plant-based butters and milks.

Vegan India! – Apart from cooking at home, do you also eat outside? Please mention some of your favourite eateries. If going to a non-vegan restaurant, how do you ensure your food is vegan? Could you please share the basic tips for our readers.

Jasmine – We mostly eat homemade food. With so much awareness happening today, mostly people are familiar with veganism and we have seen that in almost all restaurants we visit, the chefs are more than willing to cater to our needs and try their best in preparing sometimes even out-of-their-menu dishes for us.

Even during our travels, we have found the chefs to be very hospitable in customizing the menus for us. Now with the global wave of veganism, the chefs all over the world are acquainted with the vegan lifestyle.

Vegan India! – Any processed Indian vegan foods/food that is your favourite and why?

Jasmine – We try our best to consume the least possible processed food. I know in today’s fast paced life, time is of the essence, and people don’t give that much importance as to what is on their plate. But we need to connect ourselves with food… healthy plant-based food, so as to avoid suffering to our bodies and in turn, inflicting pain on animals and alongside impacting the environment.

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Vegan India! – Jasmine, veganism is a diet plus other things that fall in the non-edible zone. Please tell us how easy or difficult it has been for you to veganize clothes, shoes, accessories, cosmetics, and other articles of personal and daily use as an Indian vegan.

Jasmine – Today, the consumer market has grown to such lengths that it caters to all types of Indian vegan audiences. Apart from silk, leather, wool, jewelry like pearls we have so much to wear and adorn ourselves with, without afflicting pain to animals.

There are a plethora of brands catering to all our cruelty-free needs. Companies are getting much more transparent with their ingredient list, as a consumer we can ask questions and get the information we need, so as to make the right choice.

Vegan India! – If you have to sum up your ten years of being an Indian vegan and give a message to new vegans, what would you say in short?

Jasmine – It was a journey started with a lot of compassion and empathy, the pay-off is a very peaceful, healthy, and satisfying life.

A vegan lifestyle is like a butterfly effect, a change we feel to be so minute but with immeasurable effects on various life forms and our home, the EARTH.

~Jasmine Kaur Jolly