Thursday, Sep 28, 2023

A delight for vegans in Hyderabad

E’woke café-cum-store in Sainikpuri serves some amazing vegan haleem, pizza, burgers, pasta and desserts

By Shweta Watson

Updated On - 01:15 AM, Sun - 15 August 21

A delight for vegans in Hyderabad — Photo: Surya Sridhar

Hyderabad: Are you a vegetarian trying hard to become a vegan? Then we can definitely understand your struggles in finding a decent place to eat with your loved ones. Every time you go to a restaurant or a café, you will find hardly any good vegetarian options to choose from. Leave alone vegan. On the other hand, your meat-eating friends will gladly order a variety of food items. They will even take a bite or two from what little veg you managed to order.

However, all your problems end here. There’s a new vegan store cum café at Sainikpuri. Called E’woke, it is one-of-its-kind in the city. You can enjoy a variety of vegan items on the menu such as vegan haleem, chilaquiles, mushroom burger, vegan Bolognese pizza, lasagna, vanilla ice cream and zucchini brownie etc.

What’s even better is that you can shop for some vegan groceries such as cheese, milk, mock meat, butter and snacks before you leave. Started by Nikhil Kumar and his friends Mohan Choudhary, Anil Choudhary and Ved Mohan just over a month ago, the café is already a hit among the vegan community in the city and anyone who enjoys good food and ambience.

Photo: Surya Sridhar

“I turned vegan three years ago after looking at all the atrocities happening to animals in the name of food. If you look at how dark the meat and dairy industry is, you will be motivated to turn vegan too. I’ve also been an animal rescuer for almost 10 years and animal rights activist for three years,” shares Nikhil, a pharmacy graduate.

The 28-year-old worked on E’woke for almost two years before things got kicking. “The response has been good so far, and a lot of vegans come and interact with me. Vegan haleem is the biggest seller right now, apart from the zucchini brownie. Coming to our chefs, they are from the Culinary Academy of India and are whipping out mind-blowing vegan dishes. One of the chefs even turned vegan after joining us,” shares Nikhil.

The vegan products at the store are mostly imported from the US, Italy, Malaysia and Thailand, among other places. Another beautiful thing about E’woke is that it is even pet-friendly! People at E’woke hope more vegan places open up in the city, because “saving the planet is more important than business and competition”.