Neha and Ashwin's Jain Wedding had 75 Vegan Dishes!

Neha Jain and Ashwin Sancheti met in 2014 through a common friend in India after which he left for the USA to pursue his further studies. After two years, when Ashwin came for It was only when Ashwin came down from the USA for his brother's marriage the lovebirds met one another's family. With their family's blessings, the couple decided to get married. Neha is a Chartered Accountant student and Ashwin is pursuing his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering. The bride’s mother and her uncle, Girish Shah have been actively supporting veganism and practicing the same, since the last few years. As a result of the family’s and the couple’s mutual belief of not harming any living being, they decided to design the entire wedding in a Jain and Vegan-friendly manner.

Why a Jain-vegan Wedding?

Image Courtesy: Girish Shah

Jainism as a religion believes in the philosophy of Ahimsa (non-violence), minimizing the suffering to other living beings, which is the reason why they refrain from eating various root based vegetables namely onion, garlic, eggplant, mushrooms, cauliflower and also fermented items like pickles.

Even now, many people aren’t aware of the horrors of dairy industry or turn a blind eye since they feel it won’t be a practical option. “Initially, when we told the people around us, we received a mixed reaction. Some of them were quite supportive while many showed concern over the taste”, says Girish about the vegan menu they opted for.

The family distributed a leaflet (above) which explained their menu and also included some recipes for vegan alternatives like milk, curd, and other items. The leaflet was a great way to introduce veganism to their large wedding party.  In addition to leafletting, the family organized an outreach on the 3^rd of Feb with many vegans joining the initiative.

How did it all happen?

Image Courtesy: Girish Shah

The entire family had been engrossed in preparation for a splendid Jain vegan menu for the past 6 months. Taking help from other vegans spread throughout the country, the family decided to prepare a full-fledged 6 meal vegan gala. Apart from training the cooks to prepare vegan dishes, they continuously experimented with various ingredients and dishes to make the finest vegan versions possible. Since people were concerned about the absence of tea in a vegan wedding, Neha’s mother trained local tea vendors to prepare special vegan chai for the occasion.  

The Menu had 75 vegan dishes!

Image Courtesy: Girish Shah

The 75 item long Jain vegan menu had plenty of mouth-watering dishes namely rabri, ice cream, cake, dahi vada, pasta, cookies, coconut petha ladoo, milk badam, varieties of halwas, spinach tofu, kheer, thepla, pranthas, saag, kachori,jalebi, samosas, soups, vada-sambhar, dhokla, poori, tea, coffee, rajbhog, kulfi, fruit cream, maalpua and the list goes on! Instead of ghee, olive oil was used to cook moong dal halwa, badam halwa. Many of these recipes can be found in our recipe section, so make sure you head on there to try them out. 

While milk for tea was a mixture of cashew and almond milk, the cheena was made using Bionutrients' soy powder and Tofu. Bionutrients has been supplying raw material to various restaurants throughout the country. The company also offers other products like flavored beverage mixes and a soon-to-be-launched protein powder.

Any advice to our readers?

“People generally think it is very tough to go for vegan weddings; we served 75 vegan delicacies at the 2-day ceremony. Similarly, others can easily prepare vegan lunch and dinners”, Girish said.

For those who are thinking of going vegan for their weddings, Neha says “It isn’t as tough as it appears to be. Nowadays, various vegan alternatives are easily available in the market and the recipes can be easily made using these.”

Are you planning to go for a vegan wedding? We're excited to know. Share your stories with us.

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