Hello! I'm Vaishali, the author and recipe creator at Holy Cow Vegan, where I share tasty Indian and global vegan recipes. My recipes are designed to be alluring enough for the discerning cook but easy enough for a beginner. There are more than 1,000 recipes on this blog and I hope everyone--vegan, vegetarian or omnivore--will find something here that they will love.
Many of these recipes have featured in publications around the world but more importantly, they have been tried, tasted and loved by thousands of home cooks looking to add more plant-based food to their diets.
Here are a few more fast facts about Holy Cow Vegan and me:
- I live in Silver Spring, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C.
- I was born in Bombay (or Mumbai), India's busiest megalopolis and a salad bowl of Indian culture. Growing up in Bombay meant I had access to the many diverse cuisines that make up "Indian cuisine."
- My family is my husband Desi (also the photographer for the blog), my son Jay, and my four divine fur babies, all rescues -- Lily and Leo (dogs) and Billy and Kala (cats).
- Holy Cow Vegan was born on November 28, 2007. At the time it was the first vegan recipe blog on the web. I've been posting global and Indian vegan recipes here for more than 17 years now.
- My favorite foods are savory. And they usually have potatoes in them. French fries and samosas are especially unsafe around me.
- The foods I cook are healthy, easy and delicious and always free of animal products. Most of the recipes on this blog are kid- and adult-friendly.
- In my former life I worked as a political journalist navigating political shenanigans in Congress and the Maryland statehouse, and I've worked as a reporter in three countries--India, the United Kingdom and the United States.
- My idea of bliss is spending time with my family or relaxing with a good book or the New York Times crossword. When I cook I listen to old Hindi songs (especially by Mohammad Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar). I also love bingeing on YouTube videos about simple living and minimalism -- while I am not there yet, I hope to be some day.
- My pet peeve is when people forget the first "r" in turmeric. It's not tumeric, guys, and the first four letters are pronounced just like "term" 😉 And oh, while we're at it, I have one more --it's not a chai tea, it's not a chai latte: a chai is simply a chai. Chai means "tea" in Hindi, and in India, a chai is always made with milk. Calling it a chai tea or a chai latte is like calling an apple pie "an apple pie pastry made with apples". See? Redundant. And I don't care if Starbucks thinks "chai tea" or "chai latte" are right--they aren't.
My Story
I started to write this food blog in 2007 shortly after becoming a vegan and about four years after going vegetarian. I've loved the alchemy of cooking for as long as I can remember, and I enjoyed eating meat as much as I enjoyed using it in the meals I made for myself and my family.
That changed when Desi and I adopted our great old dog Lucy (scroll down for her picture). Loving her -- and my second adoptee, Opie, who followed soon after -- as much as I did set me thinking about the complex intelligence of animals. The more I thought about it, the less I wanted to participate in the cruelty of meat production where billions of sentient animals just as sweet and wonderful as my dogs and cats are killed every year. In 2005 I became a vegetarian and two years later I had transitioned to a fully vegan life.
Because of how much I loved food, I challenged myself to create recipes that would taste as good as anything I'd ever cooked or eaten in my past life. Because I loved to write, I thought it would be a great idea to start a food blog to share these recipes with others who were looking for ways to either cut out or cut down on meat.
Today, Holy Cow Vegan reaches millions of readers with original, fresh and healthy recipes that I cook up in my kitchen.
What you'll find on Holy Cow Vegan
- Easy, quick, healthy and hassle-free plant-based recipes, many Indian. This is food we eat in our home every day, food you can cook whether you are a novice or an expert, and food you will love whether you are an omnivore or a vegan or somewhere in between. All recipes use clean, wholesome, natural ingredients, most of which are already in your pantry.
- Recipes for special diets. More than half the recipes on this blog are gluten-free and vegan (including lots of gluten-free vegan desserts!). You will also find many recipes suited to a low-carb and keto vegan diet.
- Kid-friendly recipes. As a mom, I focus on creating recipes that are kid-friendly as well as adult-friendly!
- Global recipes. We love to travel, so I often post recipes from around the world, including Mexican, Italian, Irish, African and Mediterranean. You can also browse tons of vegan Indian recipes, from traditional and restaurant favorites like chana masala and vegan butter chicken to more modern dishes with my own spin, like this tasty vegetable curry and chickpea curry.
- Vegan baked goods. I love to bake, so you'll find lots of recipes for homemade vegan cakes, vegan cookies, vegan pies and vegan breads. I've been baking with sourdough and nurturing a sourdough starter long before it became trendy to do so.
My fur family
Desi and I have rescued nearly a dozen dogs and cats since 2002. Each of our fur kids has filled our life with beautiful memories that we hold close to our hearts. Here is our current group of four troublemakers:
Leo was rescued from a dog meat farm in Korea by Humane Society International. He flew halfway around the world to find a home with us. Lily was a street dog rescued from Puerto Rico by the Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation. Billy, our adorable tuxedo cat, was found roaming the streets of Virginia and he came to us courtesy PETA. Kala Jamoon, our resident black cat, simply wandered off the streets to settle into our hearts and home.
Frequently asked questions
I add new recipes at least twice every week. You can sign up here to get notified about new recipes by email (it's free!). Or you can follow Holy Cow Vegan on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter.
The blog's name calls out the dichotomy in the Indian diet and religious belief system. Cows are worshipped as holy but hundreds of thousands of cows are also tortured in factory farms to supply India's love for milk and milk products. I try to show, through this blog, that Indian food can be just as delicious without the dairy.
Yes! Indian food might appear difficult but there are many recipes that are quite easy and can easily be made by someone new to Indian cooking, like this basic but delicious dal or this easy vegetable curry. You will need a few spices that can easily be found at Indian grocery stores or through online retailers, including Amazon.
You can leave a comment on the recipe (it's the quickest way to get a response and I read and appreciate every comment). Or you can email me at MyVeganWorld@gmail.com. If you'd like to share a photo of the recipe please post it on Instagram and tag me @HolyCowVegan.
Useful links
Check out some of my top recipes
She passed away in 2012, but lives in my heart forever. Thank you, Lucy. I love you.
Holy Cow! has featured in:
1960s girl
Hello,
I just wanted to say thank you for the wonderful and simple Naan bread recipe (the one with baking powder) I found on your Website. I made it yesterday to go with a dahl soup as part of a vegetarian meal. I decided to start having at least 2 vegeterian meals per week. And one way to make my dahl soup more appealing to my husband was to make naan bread!
I will soon try the samosa recipe you posted this week as we love samosas but avoid those that are fried.
And I also wanted to let you know that all of the cake/loaf recipes I have tried so far are SOOO delicious that people ask for the recipes. I tell them to browse your Website!
Saipriya Jasthi
Hey Vaishali,
I am recently pondering on turning Vegan. I have been a lover of meat but recently I have been questioning it and I was searching for people like you who passionately not just practise but also out up amazing recipes to follow. I must commend you on your effort and love that you have shared with us. Thank you so much.
Joan
I love you oil free banana bread recipe but I can no longer find it on your site. I wanted to give the link to the recipe to someone on one of my FB boards who was asking for one. Can you add it back or send me a link?
Vaishali
Do you mean the banana walnut bundt cake? You can bake it up in two loaf pans as a banana bread.
Mary Jane McCord
Vaishali: Do you ever teach cooking classes? I’m a good cook. I studied cooking for 2 years many, many years ago in Paris, before I changed my way of eating. I love to take cooking classes. I also live in Silver Spring.
Love your site & recipes.
Cheers, Mary Jane
Pablo
Estimada Vaishali quiero saber si puedes enviarme las recetas en ESPAÑOL, pues no manejo muy bien el idioma inglás. Muy agraadecido
Pablo
Monica
Hi Vaishali! I'm Monica from Italy.. I don't know how I reach your blog, but I registered to your mailing list some weeks ago and I would like to thank you for sharing your recipes! I love all of them! They are very clear, easy to make, yummy and delicious! Grazie from Italy ☺
Erin Woodward
Hi Vaishali!
I didn't read through all of the comments because there were so many but I wondered if you have a cookbook out. I have recently discovered your blog and made a few recipes and loved them. I am on the email list and keep saving your recipes in my Pinterest, but would be great to have them all in one book Thank you for the wonderful recipes and for caring about animals!
Erin
Vaishali
Hi Erin, thanks for your kind words, and so happy you've made the recipes. I don't have a cookbook-- I simply haven't had the time to invest in one -- but thanks for the suggestion, and hopefully someday. 🙂
Ananda Rupini
Hi Vaishali! Love your website and thank you for all of your hard work and dedication to spreading knowledge and tasty food!
We are Bengali living in North Carolina, and we tried vegan, but ended up missing milk, yogurt and ghee, so we sourced some ahimsa milk 2 hours away. Otherwise we are vegan because of the heavy karma for mistreating animals.
Rupini
Montserrat
Hi Vaishali!
i came across your blog looking for a recipe. Love your story and you sound like a great good-hearted human being ???
I'll definitely keep an eye for you recipes and stories and I'm alredy following you in fb.
Best wishes!
Montserrat
Lakshmi Nair
Dear Vaishali,
Can you give a recepie on vegan yogurt. I am. Converting in to a vegan from tomorrow. I Wil kiss yogurt though. Thanks for all the great recepies.
Vaishali
Hi Lakshmi, search for my cultured vegan recipe and an Instant pot version by typing "yogurt" in the search box!
Manu Madhvani
Hi Vaishali:
Wonderful website! with loads of lovely mouthwatering recipes... Thank you. 🙂
Suggestions if I may... you may wish to keep the comments in reverse order...so the latest will be at the top...and LEAVE A REPLY to be at the top too perhaps?
Best wishes to you.
Sinorita
Hii Vaishali,
Ever since my supervisor has suggested to follow your blog, it has been an amazing experience. the recipes are simply amazing. I am working on Indian food and the culture. I hope to connect with you some day. 🙂
Thanks
Kevin McLaren
Enjoyed the recipe. Made some modifications, added kale and mustard greens, and roasted the potatoes. Can't find scotch bonnets here in WA, but I used a powdered version which I picked up last time I was in the Caribbean.
Ravi
Hi Vaishali -
I love your website and get a lot of tips from your website. I am South Indian vegetarian trying to go vegan and your vegan yogurt rice recipe (a staple of south indians) was my introduction to your website and I am hooked.
I was just curious to know if it were possible to contact the blog service provider to remove the meat based food ads that seem to be interspersed with the articles. Any other advertising would have been okay but to have meat based ads on a vegan website runs against the basis of the website 🙂
Thanks
Ravi
js
Hi, Vaishali, Happy New Year! I'd love it if you wrote a post on what you feed your dogs. From the comments here, I gather they're not vegan or vegetarian. My dog eats regular kibble, but I'm always looking to try new brands or even cook vegetarian food for him. His vet didn't seem to take to the idea of homemade food, and the research online is so confusing. I'd love to know what other vegans feed their dogs. Thanks!
nat
Hi! Great job you're doing here, I've been following you for some years now. Would be great if you published a book!