The city where you can not serve meat

Kyllikki

I was just reading about Varanasi, in India.

It is not exactly the law that you can not eat meat in the whole city, but since 2019 there is a law there that you can not sell or eat meat within 250m of any temple or heritage site in the city, which kind of covers everywhere.

I like Indian food and it seems that now Varanasi has the best vegetarian food in India, since this ban, with restaurants using old family recipes that visitors would never normally get to taste, and chefs around the world visiting there to learn them.

Personally I love the idea of a city where every shop and restaurant is great vegetarian food. Not sure how the meat eaters on here would feel about it though.

Piri

Kyllikki Not sure how the meat eaters on here would feel about it though.

If it is a good dishes I believe nobody would mind!!!!

Sometimes I blame restaurants for being lazy to create a couple good vegan/vegetarian dishes. Anyway such a huge difference comparing with 5-10 years ago.

But of course India is a different thing!

But you would be surprised where you can unexpectedly find eggplant lasagne even the area is not vegetarian!

John

I've been to North East India, but didn't make it to Varanasi, India is just too far too big with far too much to see!

Really like the food from that region of India though 🙂

About 30% of the population of India is vegetarian, but only about 10% eat meat everyday, so they should be pretty proficient and producing great vegetable based dishes.

Ash

Not a fan of rules like this where they force you not to eat something but it's their rules I guess. Probably the best country to have this rule in though considering how great their vegetarian food is.

Suur Tom

Ash I agree with you, the state should have limited control over life and not control too many parts of life like the things that you are allowed to eat.

Ash

According to the meat-eaters stat posted above, I wonder if this will have a huge impact on businesses and restaurants as well. If their aren't that many in the area, I guess it won't affect them too much

John

Ash According to the meat-eaters stat posted above, I wonder if this will have a huge impact on businesses and restaurants as well. If their aren't that many in the area, I guess it won't affect them too much

Tourists eat meat though, I'm sure there will be some amount, though hopefully quite small, of people who won't go to a place where they can't eat meat.

Ash

John True. Hopefully, tourists research the area a bit before going. Otherwise, they're going to be extremely surprised when every restaurant they go to is vegetarian 😆

Piri

State usually does not regulate so much, but religion in India case a lot 🙂

But in all cases it is nice to have a plant base foodies paradise, when you don't need to read all the menu before going to the restaurant, because all places will have for sure.

It is unusual and quite unique for us because we don't have such a culture. But I image would be cool to have in Europe some sustainable food towns where all.the production/restaurants would offer just sustainable foods.

John

Ash There is that certain group of British 'tourists' who expect to get pie and chips and a beer everywhere in the world they might pitch up.

I can't see them enjoying it there, but I doubt they'd be missed either. 😁

P.S. I've picked on British people here but every nation has its fair share of bloody idiots.

Piri

John P.S. I've picked on British people here but every nation has its fair share of bloody idiots.

You are one of them 😉

When it is holiday.it is different, in all cases people need to eat. As well most of people has some kind of Indian dish they like.

Ash

John To be fair, I think those types of tourists tend to stick to the European countries like Spain. Can't imagine them going to a place like India.

John

Piri You are one of them 😉

I hope you mean a British person and not a bloody idiot?

Julie Brooks-Girskiene

Sounds great to me, I'm not good with too much spice but hopefully I could find something to eat there that wouldn't blow my head off. 🥵

I also would prefer not to have too much regulation of what you can and can't do, but we do need a lot less meat to be eaten in the world, and if you live there you can always find somewhere out of the exclusion zones to buy meat and eat it at home if you really feel that you have to have it.

Ash

Julie Brooks-Girskiene I have no idea what it's called but over here in the Indian restaurants, with certain dishes, you get a sort of yoghurt sauce/dip to help with the spiciness.

Piri

Ash yoghurt sauce/dip to help with the spiciness

Every native Indian or any Asian kitchen chef in Lithuania says that all of the dishes are much less hot or spicy in Lithuania and adapted to the locals. In UK and especially London the population of Indians is really high so of course it is more original hottnest and spiciness.

Some or maybe I should say most of the spices like cinnamon, cumin, oregano, hot chilies, garlic are great killers of bacteria. But for example ginger or per has lower properties in this area.

So historically, especially in the North of India where the water was in terrible condition (I believe still is not as good quality bas in Europe or states) they used lots of spices for the health reasons and as well to prevent food from spoiling using butter and oil, a lot of it.

It is not just in India, in many hot areas the food tradicionally is more spice or hot.

As well I noticed that most of the foods are processed in some way.

John

Ash I have no idea what it's called but over here in the Indian restaurants, with certain dishes, you get a sort of yoghurt sauce/dip to help with the spiciness.

That would be raita, I've just posted a recipe here: https://talk.ekodiena.com/d/308-thursday-kitchen-recipes-ect/38

Ash

We sometimes use these sauce bottles to cook Indian food at home. I guess those have been adapted to the folks over here as well because these bottles say it's hot as a warning sometimes but they really aren't.

Piri

Ash it is out of topic but I love Asian food stores, they usually have original products, some of them are super unusual and in some point weird and intriguing. But as well very good selection not overpriced great products. A couple times we got some instant noodles, i could not eat it at all it was at once super burning and super spicy, would kill all of the possible bacteria inside.

Ash

Piri I've been to a few but unfortunately, we just don't have one near enough to visit regularly which is a shame. It's always amazing to get some authentic Chinese products at reasonable prices.

Julie Brooks-Girskiene

Piri it is out of topic but I love Asian food stores

I ❤️ Asian food stores and supermarkets. Especially the fruit and vegetable section with all of the scary strange looking produce that you have no idea what it is.

Mushroom-King

As other people said, if you are going to have vegetarian only restaurants or cities then India is the good place for it, they have a lot of amazing vegetarian food.

It's strange that only some of the dishes that they serve are translated to the Indian restaurants in the rest of the world, I understand that they have a lot of mushroom based dishes but I never see them on restaurant menus outside of India.

Piri

Mushroom-King it is the same with Chinese. China is so big and has so different foods to offer, but in Europe all of the Chinese restaurants are the same.

Some years ago in Lisbon were running a couple of illegal Chinese restaurants (more like apartments where families from China lives, no English, no really Portuguese language so much and literally families with all kids ect. ) and all dishes were so good and different from typical restaurants.

It is interesting how the geography and climate effects wee effecting our diets, but nowadays we really eat so much less local foods.

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