HYDERABAD: What defines and distinguishes vegan food? Well, it is guilt-free, and well-being is at its heart, if not all, at least for those who are aware of the incredible impact our food choices have on our being and the health of the planet that provides for us. With this thought, celebrity nutritionist Sridevi Jasti has curated an exquisite lip-smacking, vegan brunch menu for Novotel Hyderabad.
The menu is a part of ‘Healthful Choices’, a food exchange programme by Novotel that is gearing up to have a healthy menu for all the health and planet-conscious people who are unwilling to compromise on taste. “For proteins, there are so many more interesting alternatives,” says Sridevi Jasti, the founder of Vibrant Living, who designed a menu that Novotel would serve on Sunday Brunches for the next twelve weeks. Dishes include lentil and coconut disc; beetroot infused rice paper roll, jowar pulao and coconut yogurt raita — perhaps inevitably since this establishment is in Hyderabad — and demands the flavours of Telangana.
During the menu launch last week, Sridevi organised a cooking show at Novotel Hyderabad, which saw an exciting bunch of food bloggers and health freaks. To whom she explained the nutritional values of plant-based foods, she stressed how her simple yet delicious recipes fulfil protein requirements. “It’s possible to make a coconut yoghurt raitha; it is possible to get complex proteins from lentils,” says Sridevi Jasti. “I have prepared a five-course menu. The idea is that people should enjoy the best of what is in nature.”
“Novotel and the food exchange team approached me with a request to make a menu that brings health and fitness enthusiasts. To avoid making the menu boring, we change it every three weeks. I flavoured lentil and coconut disc with lemon grass and ginger. I infused beetroot with a rice paper roll wrapped in crispy vegetables and soya tofu which we serve with almond, date and ginger sauce,” she added, speaking about the menu she curated. Desserts include Barley Malpoa, which is not fried but pan cleared.
Chef Kailash Gundupalli, Director of Culinary Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre, says, “We want to increase the number of our guests. I wanted them to opt for something healthy as well. Sridevi has shared some recipes, and we will be including those recipes in the buffet along with the regular ones. We will be doing three series of these and then filter recipes. We chose Sridevi because we wanted to offer well-curated vegan options.”
This vegan gastronomical journey curated by Sridevi Jasti will continue for three months, followed by a new menu