Veg or Non-Veg?
Posted March 12th, 2007 by Kevin AllgoodIndia is a very vegetarian-friendly country, as you might imagine, because so many people here don’t eat meat for religious reasons. Nepal is much the same way, although I don’t think the percentage of the population is quite as high. Restaurants and menus everywhere are either “Veg” or “Veg and Non-Veg,” or are divided into sections of the same name.
There are even symbols denoting whether or not an item or entire menu or restaurant are “Veg” or “Non-Veg.” This makes things pretty easy for everyone to figure out, and must be really convenient for locals and travelers alike.
Beyond that, however, things are pretty vague. There are sometimes two soups on the menu: Veg and non-veg.. Or “Non-veg curry” and “Veg curry.” I guess it isn’t always so important exactly what ingredients make something “non-veg.” This ambiguous terminology can create some humorous exchanges. At Christmas dinner in Nepal, we overheard this conversation:
(While trying the soup)
“Excuse me, what kind of soup is this?”
“Non-veg.”
(Silence).
Most commercial products have the veg and non-veg symbols on them as well. These Lays potato chips are animal-free:
While this “chicken burger” from McDonald’s was made from non-veg ingredients:
And here’s my favorite kind of example, the completely vague:
I guess not everyone needs to know exactly what contribution to the recipe makes something non-veg, but as a general rule, I like to know!
that’s totally fascinating to me… i have nothing more to add, other than my interest.
as well as greetings and salutations to you both. always, tomo.
March 12th, 2007 | #
That sounds like my kind of country! It must be a lot easier to get a quick bite to eat than it is over here. I’ve recently started going into McDondalds and asking for a burger with no meat on it - you should see the looks I get off the staff!
March 13th, 2007 | #
I know, tomo, isn’t it interesting? Nicnac it is totally your kind of country. In one town we went to consuming meat is actually ILLEGAL. That blew my mind a little bit. Talk about veggie paradise.
March 13th, 2007 | #
Sounds like my kind of heaven! I think Matt the Great and India would get along much better than Matt the Great and Japan, where they even fuck up tofu. I mean seriously, I know you invented the stuff and all, but no need to piss all over a beautifully veg product with bonito!
March 17th, 2007 | #