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Christmas is approaching; colouring streets, exciting people. These celebrations are always great excuses for people to get closer, think of each other, spend time making their loved ones happy, and share lovely moments more than any other usual day. On the other hand, some of us can spend Christmas Eve alone due to various reasons. Whether people accompany us during the day or not, it is a good idea to do something special because we do not always have the time or energy to do so. This Christmas, we decided to offer you a little spin on Christmas traditions from the perspective of naturally vegan recipes. Let’s explore the richness of festive vegan recipes in cultures from all around the world.
Maybe some have already started to plan the day or think of what to cook for the Christmas table.
It is estimated that 10 million turkeys are purchased each Christmas in the UK. Turkeys are meticulously raised and prepared for this massive consumption without thinking of the ethical and environmental consequences.
This Christmas ( and hopefully upcoming holidays as well), how about making a change?
But first, let’s talk a little about the Christmas spirit.
Christmas Spirit Around the World
Christmas is a religious-rooted tradition celebrated by various cultural groups. In European countries, Christmas markets are the symbol of celebration and attract all visiting people. But these are not unique to Europe. You can also find many of them in the Middle Eastern, Balkan, and Asian countries, which consist of culturally and religiously more diverse populations. It would not be wrong to say that Christmas brings similar experiences even if the geography changes. Sometimes, people feel the same excitement or cook the same food in places far away from each other.
Yet cultures definitely differ in many ways!!
While the similarities highlight the global impact, region and culture-specific differences also demonstrate locality and diversity. There may be culturally specific legends, characters, decorations, and food for sure!
It is hard to imagine a celebration without food, isn’t it? As a delicious part of special occasions, have you ever wondered what people from other cultures could eat? Personally, I have become curious about the vegan options in different countries due to my interest in sustainable cuisine.
There are some stereotypes that I realised against vegan food, sometimes to their taste and sometimes to their variety. This article is the proof of the reality!
- Indeed, there is an extremely abundant vegan food all over the world that cannot be found in a single article! But we would like to give you a little taste of whats out there.
- For the taste, you should try first to see if you like them or not. But believe us, you will not regret it.
Now, let’s exceed the limits and take a vegan culture feast.
Naturally Vegan Delights from Different Cultures
Rasam (India)
This traditional, flavourful soup has varieties in different regions of India. The original recipe uses Rasam powder and lentils, which adds several more processes to the recipe. Here is an easier recipe:
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Soak your tamarind in ½ cup of warm water for about half an hour. Then, mash your tamarind and strain the water.
Heat your oil, and cook 1 teaspoon of mustard seeds until it gets splutter. Add and cook asafoetida, red chillies, and curry leaves, but do not burn. Now, it’s time to add and cook chopped tomatoes until soften. After, put cumin seeds, black pepper, garlic, and turmeric powder and stir. Pour water into the mixture and previously pulped tamarind and cook everything on low heat. When boiled, cook for a few more minutes and turn the heat off. Finally, add chopped coriander leaves, stir, and prepare the soup for serving.
If you want to add Rasam powder as well, please see this powder recipe.
Falafel (Middle East)
The perfect blend of chickpeas, spices, and herbs is one of the indispensable flavours of the Middle East. Many Middle Eastern countries have their own falafel recipe with some changes and touches.
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Blend all ingredients with a food processor. You will understand the consistency and integration of the ingredients when well-mixed. Rest your mixture for half an hour. Then, prepare small balls. The original cooking type is usually frying, but using an oven is another option. If you bake, do not forget to add some oil so as not to dry them.
When it comes to serving, you can prepare a salad bowl topped with delicious falafels. Or serve it to wrap with flatbread, your favourite vegetables, and hummus. And yes, do not forget your tahini source!
Topik (Armenia)
Ingredients:
Filling
Dough
Instructions:
To prepare the filling, start by cooking your onions and garlic with oil until they soften and release water. You can add some water if needed. Then add your spices, salt, and currants and cook for a few minutes. Move this mixture to another bowl, and add tahini and walnuts. Stir until thoroughly mixed.
For the dough, cook your potatoes, take them out from the water and smash them. Then transfer your drained and peeled chickpeas to a food processor and mix until it turns out to a paste. Add your mashed potatoes to the smooth chickpea paste together with tahini and some salt.
Now, it is time to combine everything to prepare Topik. Divide the dough into 4-6 equal pieces, roll and open inside for the filling. You can make your hands a bit wet here. Add some filling, and close the dough as round. And ready. You can use walnuts, some olive oil, and your preferred spices to serve.
If you want to see the original recipe or need a detailed explanation, check out this blog, where I have used the recipe with some changes.
Nigvziani Badrijani (Georgia)
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Slice the eggplants lengthwise, 5 mm thickness and salt both sides to remove their natural bitter flavour. Rest for half an hour, wash and dry. Now, you can either drill or fry your sliced eggplants after seasoning with salt. When you are done with all the sliced eggplants, you can start preparing delicious walnut filling. Combine your walnuts, garlic, onion, coriander, cumin, paprika, salt, pepper and 1 tbsp water with a processor to make it creamy.
As the final step, roll your eggplants with some walnut filling and place them on your serving plate. To decorate, you can use some chopped parsley and pomegranate.
Tikvenik (Bulgaria)
If you like pastries, here is a Bulgarian dish for you. This traditional food is a great fit for your Christmas dinner because it is also known as a Christmas dessert in Bulgaria.
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Peel and grate the pumpkin. Add sugar, spices, walnuts and mix. Brush the first pastry sheet with some oil and spread some pumpkin mix in a row. Roll the sheet, then rotate it around starting from the middle of the pan. Apply the same process with all sheets and complete the shape of a snail shell. Brush the top with the remaining oil.
Bake at 200 degrees for 45-60 minutes or until golden brown. Cool it before adding powdered sugar to the top and cut it from the middle to the edges as big as you wish for serving. Now you have Tikvenik to serve 6 to 8 people. See the original recipe.
Naturally Vegan Christmas Beverages
There are also vegan drinks in several cultures. Some I know are Italian Aperol, Turkish Raki, and Greek Ouzo.
- If you prefer wine as a classic, remember that not all wine is vegan. Shrimp shells can be used to make the wine brighter. Better to get your wine from a local manufacturer you know well.
- If you are a beer lover, please prefer vegan-friendly brands. If you want to brew your own beer, as it was first brewed in Mesopotamia, we have a sustainable beer brewing set for you.
- If you do not consume alcohol, homemade vegetable and fruit juice is even better and is the healthiest option.
Sustainable Christmas Celebrations
Special occasions sometimes turn out to be a shopping spree. While giving sustainable and cultural vegan recipes, we want to remind you about sustainable purchases as well. Have your list prepared and try to shop only what you need.
Consider the same for your gift shopping. Or how about preparing a hand-crafted gift with unused or previously bought materials? It could be strongly meaningful for everyone. Please also read our article about green Christmas celebration for some tips.
Make a Difference
This Christmas can be different for you with naturally vegan traditional dishes. Differences and novelties are generally good and give people excitement and inspiration. Do not hesitate to add your own ideas to the recipes. Also, arrange the ingredients based on the number of people you will share the food with. Your spice and salt preferences may differ as well.
Additionally, we hope you have realised you do not have limited options in a vegan diet. Be aware that there are more and more, especially in Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and Asian cultures. However, wherever you go, we are pretty confident you will find vegan cultural food. We live in an incredibly diverse world, serving as a kitchen full of flavours.
Also, you can veganise everything you imagine. Everything.
Search and learn more about other vegan foods. While searching for those, you not only learn new food but also take a small journey to the specific cultures. Please have a look at the Recipes and Places Instagram page, where you can see several naturally vegan recipes as well as veganised alternatives.
Enjoy Christmas with delicious, sustainable food!
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