Even if you’re not a meat eater, you can now try out Seekh Kebabs, Rogan Josh. These faux (mock) meat startups are giving vegans as well as carnivores a chance to embrace a greener diet.
There are lot of non-vegetarians in India, who want to switch over to vegetarian but wish there was something that could taste somewhat like the real thing. A bunch of startups have been working for some time to make their dream true.
Udaipur-based GoodDot is a clean-meat startup that sells mock-meats, and the demand for thier products have been steadily rising. For co-founder Abhishek Sinha, the inspiration to sell slaughter-free meat was his love for animals.
Are you a non-vegetarian and want to check out how mock meat tastes?
- You can checkout 250g pack of Good Dot’s vegetarian meat (around 100 Rs.)
- Uncooked, it looks like a lump of solid heeng (asafoetida)
- Label says its made of soya flour, wheat gluten, gram flour, quinnoa flour, rice flour, flax seed powder, etc.
- Cooks easily without being pressure cooked; soaked in flavours of spices well, it was a bit difficult to cut with a spoon but wasn’t chewy.
In India, most people have this perception (especially the carnivore) that vegetarian food is “gaas-phoos” (not nutritious). However, that’s not true.
For example, 100 gm of Seitan (made from gluten found in wheat) contains 75gm protein. However, not many Indians are aware of it. Jackfruit, also known as poor man’s fruit, is also emerging as a popular meat substitute; its versatile and looks somewhat similar to meat.
Lot of Indians are now aware about the manner in which animals in or food chain are treated, and are looking for plant meat substitutes. Buoyed by the demand, Vegan restaurants are emerging in several parts of India, especially the metros; these restaurants make their own mock meat.
Useful Links
Why eating mock meat is a moral cop-out for any vegetarian
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