Oh my, oh my…SUNFLOWER MINCE BOLOGNESE!!! What an absolute dream!
As such an old time favourite and widely adored Italian classic, traditional bolognese is one most people hate to think of giving up when they first go vegan. But fear no more! Sunflower mince to the rescue!
When I went down for one of my regular visits to my local zero waste shop Greener Habitsin Walthamstow (check them out, they’re just the best!), Hannah, the owner, mentioned this newly stocked protein and fibre packed, low fat mince alternative and I am absolutely in love! And the best thing is that you treat it just like your old meat/Quorn counterpart when you cook making this dish super easy, even for novice chefs!
Not only is it cruelty free but it’s also soya and gluten free making it a great alternative for those that struggle with allergies. It’s also got a low sodium content so it really does tick all the boxes as an all round favourite and healthy meat alternative (unlike most of the other meat replacements on the market!).
So you get it… I’m pretty excited about sunflower mince, especially when it tastes this good! Check out the recipe and remember to let me know how you get on when you try it out!
SERVES 4 – 5
PREP TIME 10 MINS(Allow 1 hour to pre-soak your lentils)
COOK TIME 35 – 40 MINS
TOTAL TIME 45 – 50 MINS
INGREDIENTS
115g sunflower mince
120g mushrooms (sliced)
100g flat bottomed squash (diced)
50g green lentils (soaked)
2 carrots (diced)
1 red onion (diced)
1 mild large red chilli pepper (optional)
2 cloves of garlic
700ml passata
250ml water (have a cup extra to hand)
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp smoked paprika
3/4 tsp white pepper
Handful of fresh basil
GARNISH
Fresh basil leaves
(If you don’t have flat bottom squash, you can sub courgette / aubergine / whatever you like instead)
STEP 1
Boil water and add to lentils in a covered dish to soak for one hour.
STEP 2
Heat a pan and add your oil. When the oil is hot, sauté the diced carrots and onions over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes.
STEP 3
Reduce the heat, add the chilli and garlic and cook for another 1 minute.
STEP 4
Add the squash and mushrooms, cover and cook for a further 5 minutes.
STEP 5
Mix in the paprika, salt, white pepper and thyme stirring the herbs and spices through the veggies thoroughly.
STEP 6
Drain your lentils from the water they were soaking in and add the passata and water to the veggies. Cover and cook for 5-7 minutes.
STEP 7
Stir through the sunflower mince and add extra water if necessary. Bring to a boil then cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
STEP 8
Mix in the fresh basil and nutritional yeast then serve over your chosen pasta and garnish.
I have travelled extensively across the last 8 years including more than one year on my bicycle and have seen some of the most mind blowing, remote and beautiful places but there was something about Meghalaya that touched my heart in a way I wasn’t expecting.
I hope this blog post gives you a tiny idea of how much this wonderful place touched my heart and inspires you to go and visit yourself because it is truly special.
More blogs to come soon with more info on specific places in Meghalaya 🙂
A fun adventure with my partner in (slow-motion) crime
I travelled the whole state with Yesenia, a Spanish woman (and fellow feminist) that had reached out to me via Instagram when I was in Assam. We’d met up and shared Christmas and New Year together in Guwahati whilst waiting for Queenie to get fixed after our little accident when I was run over by a drunk driver. As we were both cycling towards Bangladesh, we decided to see what it would be like travelling together and opted for the scenic route rather than the primary road to Shillong.
Little did we know that it would end up being more than a two week trip because we fell so in love with the nature, the people and each other’s company. That and, well, the hills were massive and we were going S U P E R S L O W . . . haha. In my defence, I had serious gear problems following my accident when I was run over by a drunk driver in Assam!
Anyway… here are some of our highlights:
Amkyrbai Lake
The first place that sole our hearts was Amkyrbai Lake. An undiscovered local tourist attraction located on the main road. We were struggling with the constant uphill climb on our first afternoon crossing the border from Assam and the sun was setting rapidly. Taking a break and a breath, I noticed a bamboo built archway. We didn’t have food or water but I just had a feeling it might be somewhere nice to camp. As we went to have a look around inside, we couldn’t believe our luck to find this beautiful and abandoned outdoor abyss; a lake surrounded by bamboo forests and what looked like an old market that was maybe active during high season.
We went on a mission to find a clean water source and made friends with the lady who worked there selling snacks, tea and rice. She spoke no English but the local priest from the next village helped to translate. They warned us against the wild elephants but we explained we knew the risks and were very happy here as it was just so beautiful. She gave us tea, rice and potatoes for the evening and they agreed to not tell anyone we were staying there.
It was perfect; we had toilets, a mini kitchen, a whole lake and a gorgeous bamboo forest with no one to disturb us! There was even shelter under one of the bamboo huts, obviously used during high season. We ended up staying 3 nights there and the few locals that visited didn’t bother us too much at all.
One woman, a lovely lady named Lily-Mary from a neighbouring town, even drove me 9kms to the next village to pick up supplies so we could camp there for longer. This meant we had three nights of almost private bliss where we cooked gourmet camp meals, played music and swam naked in the lake mostly undisturbed.
The beautiful Lily-Mary
On the road in the East Kasi Hills
When we finally brought ourselves to leave our beloved new home, we stopped by at Lily-Mary’s house in Patharkhmah to rest the next night. The family welcomed us warmly and cooked a huge spread of the most delicious food – YUM!
Continuing up the challenging and never-ending inclines of the East Kasi Hills definitely paid off because there was an abundance of charming tiny villages, friendly locals, incredible camp spots and breathtaking mountain scenery in every direction. The roads are in great condition which make life much more palatable when you’re constantly climbing and had hardly any traffic – a biker’s dream!
Married Village to Mairang
We stumbled across another outstanding camping spot in a pine forest alongside a pristine secluded river near Maroid Village. After an extremely tough day of climbing steep mountains and hungry bellies after a dissatisfying meal of rice and salt, we helped each other to carry our bikes over a small river and up onto a glorious forest path. It was just wonderful, nobody disturbed us and we stayed two nights and three days. Time flew by, washing laundry in the river, reading books, drawing, cooking, hiking – L I V I N G – it was bliss.
From Maroid Village, we cycled towards Shillong and passed through Mairang. It was a larger town on higher ground with almost no shelter from the wind making it chilly to travel in January! When we arrived, we decided to go back 15kms or so and detour to Kyllang Rock, the second highest rock and viewpoint in the whole state and camped just opposite, it was beautiful and the journey through the local villages was special, too. After ticking that off the list, it was finally time to move onto Shillong.
Waking up by the river
Cooking over open fire
At Kyllang Rock
Shillong
I had high hopes for Shillong after hearing such wonderful things but after our wonderful small-village escapades, cycling into the city was disappointing. We looked forward to the final stretch of our journey from Guwahati being a very long descent after all the challenging climbing, but that was utterly ruined by heavy traffic forcing us to hold our brakes the whole way into town. Shillong city itself is insanely crowded and not an ideal place for bicycle travel. We did coincidentally meet up with 4 other cycle tourists, (including Xavier, who was the first ever cycle tourist I’d met back in February 2019 in Vietnam! Small world!) which was a nice surprise.
We’d heard that Elephant Falls was overrated, so we gave that one a miss, but we did get to visit Laitlum Grand Canyon with local friends, Diana and MickeyDee, which was beautiful. If you’re cycling, it’s about 22kms from the centre with some healthy rolling hills and gravel roads. At the canyon, you walk down lots of steps to get a better view. You can walk all the way down to the village (we didn’t do this) but apparently that takes a good few hours down and of course, much longer up. It was hard enough climbing back up the steps from the viewpoint! A nice day out.
When two became three
Arriving into Shillong meant we finally managed to reconnect with Jestin, who I’d met at Hornbill Festival and had decided to cycle with for some time. We all headed to Cherrapunji (locally known as Sohra) together which was where I was blown away beyond words. Honestly, I knew it was going to be beautiful there but I could not have anticipated just how spectacular it was. Picturesque and smooth mountain roads delicately winding into the valley felt even more sensational than usual as my muscles smiled to have a break from climbing in this majestic setting. We didn’t get to cycle together for too long, as Jestin headed back to meet friends in Dawki, but it was a nice experience while it lasted! 🙂
The road from Shillong to Cherrapunji (Sohra)
The bone crushing factory
Throughout Meghalaya we took shelter in many places including people’s homes, at a convent and of course, outside in the most spectacular nature. Although it was never usually a challenge to seek refuge with the friendly locals, we did get caught out one night when it was dark, freezing cold and we had nowhere to go, so we slept inside a bone crushing factory to keep warm – yes, me, the vegan sleeping inside the bone crushing factory – EW! But there was beauty in abundance throughout Meghalaya and within 5 minutes from wherever you find yourself, you’re guaranteed an epic nature view.
Cherrapunji (Sohra)
Renowned as the wettest place on Earth, it was inevitable that it would be home to breathtaking natural scenes but this region exceeded all my expectations and overtook as possibly the best place I’ve ever been. Cycling into Cherrapunji was an absolute dream! From Shillong, you climb steadily for the first 30kms or so then you have a loooong, windy, gradual downhill overlooking the most beautiful mountains and valleys – you feel like you’re flying! This place is home to spectacularly huge cliffs, rich, dense jungle and the most incredible waterfalls, even during dry season, which left me speechless and humbled. What magnified the whole experience was that no one told us!! We just didn’t expect it to be so stunningly phenomenal and were left entirely blown away.Blog post coming soon on my adventures in Nongriat, highlight of my time in Meghalaya. Keep your eyes peeled!
Me and Yemeni at one of the many breathtaking natural pools at Rainbow Falls, Nongriat
Dawki
So Dawki was a place I’d massively built up in my head because of Jestin and all the wonderful things he’d said which had left me with expectations. For Yese and I, we found it another typical border town. Yes, there is ‘the cleanest river in Asia’ but honestly, I was more more blown away by other places in Meghalaya. Saying that, we arrived in the dark, on a Saturday night, so there were drunken men everywhere and we struggled to find a place.
The place Jestin had for us was too exposed and therefore unsafe (highlighting the struggles we face as travelling and camping as women in comparison to him) and we ended up staying inside an old church building after searching for hours at half past ten PM. We wanted to visit Shnongpdeng the next day which is a quieter (and supposedly more beautiful) town just 7kms uphill from Dawki, but Yese was violently ill and I’d severely hurt my knee so we couldn’t move anywhere. In a rush to cross the border, we had to miss it in the end. We weren’t too fussed.
Food
One down side to the state was the food – it was not vegan friendly at all and there were quite a few occasions where I ate rice with salt when nothing else was available. Meat and fermented fish (locals call it katung) are a huge part of their diet and culture because Meghalaya is a Christian state and therefore the vegetarian culture associated with Hinduism is not prominent.
I found myself having a lot of plain, boiled veg accompanied by dal which is common in the Northeast. A wide variety of fruit was not as readily available in the rural towns but we could usually find oranges and bananas at frequent enough intervals.
NOTE: Anywhere throughout Meghalaya, but especially in remote villages, it can be particularly challenging to get food on a Sunday as everything shuts down super early.
TOP TIP: If you’re looking to cycle through Meghalaya, take opportunities at (usually weekly) market days and stock up on easy protein-rich snacks like cooked chickpeas or nuts if you’re veggie/vegan.
There are two prominent cultures in Meghalaya: Kasi and Garo. I travelled through the Kasi Hills and I have to say that they have such a calm and loving aura around their communities. Simple living, family orientated, and what was particularly interesting is that they live in a matrilineal society.
This means that the bloodline is traced through the Mother and the family property, inheritance and responsibility falls to the youngest daughter to take care of. She stays in the family home with the parents to look after them as they age and become more dependent.
Despite this being seen as giving better rights to women, they are nowhere near equal and the ultimate decision making always comes down to the fathers, grandfathers and uncles. Women still have the responsibility of looking after the home, husband and children, and in some places even work in the fields as well. Women are still restricted with their decision making, ability to pursue careers, freedom to travel and right of public expression in society. I’m telling you, the deeper I get into this journey, the more I realise that the real superheroes of this world are the working class women of Asia.
Something else we couldn’t help but notice was the little little size of the people! We’re not sure why, but Kasi people were tiny and Yesenia and I are both quite tall so everyone found it equally amusing that we were so tall and they were so small!
Us posing as giants…
Kasi people and culture are incredibly friendly and far less invasive than other Indians in regular interactions (on the whole) and we felt that shift dramatically as we crossed the border from Assam to Meghalaya which was a welcomed and nice relief. That’s not to say that we were free of hassle throughout our journey as we still suffered unbearable attention at times and frequent selfies. The worst case was when we were invited in to stay at someone’s home after we couldn’t find a place to sleep and it had already gotten dark. There were about 50 children that all swarmed inside the house, touching and grabbing our bikes and the bags on it. They were fascinated and had never met foreigners so there were definitely no personal space boundaries but they were harmless and just excited so we didn’t mind too much!
A few shout outs/thank yous!
Ian at Pro Cyclingwas an absolute gem – he fixed all my ongoing problems from my accident before Christmas and I can very strongly recommend his shop if you’re visiting Shillong and your bike needs some TLC.
Diana went over and above to look after us in her beautiful and comfortable home in Shillong and we also had the privilege of hanging out with MickeyDee, two incredible connections and inspiring strong women made through Couchsurfing!
Orange Roots Restaurant was a delicious ‘pure veg’ restaurant (vegetarian but uses dairy products) that sponsored our meals on the way into Cherrapunji. Honestly, it was beyond exceptional – top quality food and eat as much as you like! Fantastic.
This super easy brunch dish is guaranteed to please! It’s essentially, a posh tomatoes on toast 😂 (yum!) perfect during lockdown for those peckish elevensies and it uses up last night’s leftover veggies! 🌱
This recipe feeds between 2-4 people (depending on how hungry you are, how much bread you have and how much leftovers you have from the night before!) 🌱
If you are reading this blog, you’re probably already familiar with the usual struggles of travelling as a vegan/veggie either as a cyclist or regular tourist. Yes, it’s sometimes challenging, but if we share information and prepare in advance, it’s never impossible! Hopefully this blog helps with some region-specific info.
I’ve recently spent 3 months in the beautiful Northeastern region of India, home to the Seven Sister States and a LOT of meat and fish based delicacies!
Where religion makes the difference
I travelled through Manipur, Nagaland, a little bit of Assam and Meghalaya. Assam is a culturally mixed state but still predominantly Hindu so there are lots of veg options there, especially in Guwahati which is a very built up city. Whereas Manipur, Nagaland and Meghalaya are predominantly Christian states meaning unlike many Hindus, vegetarianism is not a part of their culture at all. In fact, in rural areas of Meghalaya, meat and fish is such a significant portion of their diet, I had to eat rice with salt on several occasions – not ideal. But in general, rice and dal is always available and if you travel like me, staying with locals, they will make sure they accommodate you.
The good news is that in all of the main travel hubs most people speak English making it very easy to explain your dietary requirements. In fact, I didn’t even need to learn the local way to say I was vegan except in rural Meghalaya where things became significantly more challenging. There, the primary local language is Kasi which was brought over by the Welsh, so despite having the same alphabet as ours, the words are extremely hard to pronounce!
Here’s my phonetic (what it sounds like rather than what it’s spelled like) dictionary for useful food terminology in Kasi language:
I am vegetarian – nya bam dtang kidjar
No meat – nyam bam dhor
No fish – nyam bam dhor kaah
No milk – nyam di doodh
No egg – nyam bam pulang
No butter – nyam bam moch-un
There is a wide selection of fruit everywhere except Meghalaya (although that may be more season-based) where they have less especially in smaller towns. You can still expect to find bananas (of course!) and oranges.
Fun fact! Nagaland is made up of individual 17 tribes that all speak different local languages. That’s why a modern common language, ‘Nagamese’, was invented to help everyone to understand each other. It’s a mixture of Assamese, Bengali and Hindi. You can learn more about the tribes of Nagaland if you attend Hornbill Festival – a spectacular 10 day display of eclectic cultural heritage through food, music, art, performance and crafts held from 1st to 10th of December. It’s such an incredible experience and a must-see if you’re in the area around that time! You can read about my time at Hornbill Festival here.
Things you’ll notice
Being predominantly Christian (Meghalaya, Nagaland and Manipur), everything shuts early on a Sunday, so make sure you’ve eaten before or stocked up before you get caught out, especially if you’re camping in small villages!
Nagaland ishome to the King Chilli and Assam to the Ghost Chilli meaning you can expect to feel the heat in your food! Make sure you explain that you don’t want it spicy if you can’t handle it!
The veggies (especially in Nagaland) are often served boiled – a green, watery vegetable they call squash is most popular. This is obviously vegan and often what people assume you are able to eat (they literally cannot fathom the concept of vegetarianism!). Explain you can eat curry the same as them just no meat, fish, etc, otherwise you will be served boiled veg everywhere.
Ghee (clarified butter) is not commonly used in this region (unlike elsewhere in India) as it is expensive and not common practice in local food. If you are visiting posher type of places then it may be used although always better to ask either way!
There are an insane amount of different types of rice in the Northeast and as you travel through the region, you’ll get to experience a few varieties in the form of normal rice, rice beer, rice wine, beaten rice and all their other wonderful concoctions!
When most people think of visiting India, your mind jumps to veggie heaven but in this region, you have to watch out for FERMENTED FISH! (Ew, I know!!) It’s in almost everything that’s preprepared as a local dish so be sure to check before a nasty surprise!
TOP TIP:Get pickled! There are so many incredible and homemade pickles available that add so much flavour to your food…the perfect accompaniment for boiled vegetables eh?
A wonderful meal cooked for us at a convent in Meghalaya
Snacking Tips!
BEATEN RICE
You can just add water, wait for 5 minutes, drain it then add fruit and sugar or salt and nuts for quick energy. This is readily available at markets and can be bought without plastic. Especially good for breakfast or to take with you on a hike like I did when visiting the spectacular Dzukou Valley. (Here you can read about my incredible trip to Dzukou Valley and my blog on how to travel zero waste.)
TOASTED CHANA (CHICKPEAS), MUTTAR (PEAS) AND NUTS
Such an amazing, healthy and nutritious street food with many versions available all over the northeast. Even better, they used recycled newspaper to serve them to you so you don’t even need to have a container handy!
AMAZING FRUIT AND VEG!
If you’re a bicycle traveller that likes to camp and cook then I have good news for you! The fruit and vegetable selection is vast and super tasty (especially the pineapples!).
Epic veg display at the Manipuri women’s market
AVOCADOS
What vegan doesn’t love avocados?! Despite the meat takeover in the Northeast, in Manipur and Mizoram avocados are super cheap and much more sustainable because they grow locally. I know, you’re welcome – ENJOY!
Special mentions
Orange Roots
If you’re travelling from Shillong to Cherrapunjee then you have to pass the spectacular Orange Roots! An amazing all vegetarian restaurant that serves a wide variety of options and can tailor a lot of their menu to being vegan. The thali plate was exceptional and the best news is that it’s eat as much as you like! Not the cheapest, but up there with the best! 180 rupees for a standard thali (can be vegan) and 220 for the special thali. Divine!
Shree Monami Marwari Bhojnalaya
We found a gem of a restaurant in Shillong with super cheap and tasty food! Thalis, parathas, curries, all the usual favourites and for a fabulous price! 7 rupees per roti, 40 or so for a curry, 90 for a thali. Excellent!
