Veganism fast catching fancy of Hyderabadis

Hyderabad: Hyderabadis are warming up to vegan food and are exploring vegan restaurants like never before. Vegan cafes and food stores like Terrasen Cafe, Plantarium, Smart Alec, High on Plants, Bean me up and Bikanerwala is making a strong statement by offering a vegan-only menu.

Terrasen Café was the first fully vegan restaurant to open in Hyderabad back in 2015. The response which they are getting is immense and the popularity is going beyond vegan eaters.

Dhanesh Sharma, owner of Terrasen Cafe and a vegan for seven years, shared that there is a gradual increase in the number of people turning vegan in Hyderabad. This is because people are fed up with processed foods and also because of the awareness about the treatment of animals.

"I come from a meat-eating background and I used to love dairy products too. Soon I realised the enslavement and plight that non-human animals go through and I decided to become a vegan. I always wanted to start a food chain as I turned vegan and I decided to start a fully vegan restaurant," said Dhanesh.

"Certainly, veganism is growing big in Hyderabad, if we look at the vegan scenario in Hyderabad from the past few years veganism has gained a lot of attention and more people are willing to know what veganism is all about. We make some, like milk, curd, butter, cheese etc.

Also have participated in fairs with curd rice, millet-based dairy free sweets, cookies, health drinks like kombucha," shares Poornima Deepika Bitra, a vegan for seven years and owner of Plantarium Store which is the first vegan store in Hyderabad.

She further adds, "We have alternatives to all animal-based food from meat to dairy products. On a weekday we get around five visitors every day and on a weekend it is around 20 to 25. There are also people who order the products on call. There are two types of people who visit our store one who are already vegans and other ones who want to explore vegan food and to know more about it."