SAN DIEGO, Calif.—During the six years it took to create her new cookbook, titled Armenian Vegan, Dikranouhi Kirazian insisted on telling no one about her project.
“I wanted it to be a surprise,” she said. And it was. When she finally revealed and released the book in December, family and friends alike were so excited to hear of the book that they have started cooking out of it and buying it for friends, Armenian and non-Armenian alike.
But Kirazian’s desire to write the book was to leave a legacy—to honor her mother, grandmother, and aunts who taught her so much about authentic Armenian cooking, and also to help future generations keep the heritage alive.
“It’s for my children and grandchildren, nieces and nephews, so that they will always remember,” she said.
With the help of her husband George, an author and editor, Dikranouhi meticulously prepared and wrote more than 200 pure vegan recipes using no animal products, taking pictures along the way.
The recipes include appetizers, entrees, salads, soups, desserts, breakfast items, pickles, sauces, and drinks. Vegan versions of favorite Armenian recipes like yalanchi, mante, lamajoun, pilaf, stuffed vegetables, paklava, hummus, eech, and many others are included, alongside many completely new recipes.
“Our Armenian food is very healthy. A lot of it is already vegan, but I created my own dishes as well,” she says.
Kirazian points out that for those who cannot quite make the leap to vegan eating, most all of the recipes can be made with meat if desired.
Armenian Vegan is published and available on CreateSpace at www.createspace.com/4554831 and on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1494365189/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1494365189&linkCode=as2&tag=hairenik-20. It is also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ArmenianVeganCookbook. The Twitter handle is @ArmenianVegan. For more information, visit www.armenianvegan.com.
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Vegan for two years now, I have so many times looked for such recipes!
Thank you for your effort!
Looking forward to eating Armenian hearty vegan meals…
Wow! This book seems amazing!
I thought maybe people will be interested with this article as well.
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/09/08/vegan_strongman_shoulders_550_kg_a_record_perhaps_at_vegetarian_food_fest.html
Can’t wait! My mother ordered three copies (one each for herself, my sister and me). And my younger daughter, vegan for over a year now, will be so happy.
Armenian cuisine is one of the best in the world….must have this book! Vegetarian means more lambs will not have their throats slit…!
In years past, Alice Antreassian’s classic Armenian vegan cookbook, ‘The 40 Days of Lent’ covered all the bases simply and easily, with very tasty recipes. The problem is, it’s very hard to find. More recently, Barbara Ghazarian’s ‘Simply Armenian’ offers a wide omnivore mix, with a wide selection of vegan recipes that are cleverly denoted with a small flower motif. The thing to remember is that the traditional and ancient Armenian religious calendar has 162 days requiring a vegan diet. By adopting our classic foods, we are not only being healthy on a personal level, but also helping to improve the world (raising meat contributes to global warming) and honoring our ancestors. It’s a win-win all around. Cook Armenian everyone!
Amazing cookbook God Bless your intelligence to find a healthy way to recreate our favorite Armenian recipees to live healthy with no compromise.