„Orient trifft Vegan“

By:
Serayi Degerli-Sezgin

8.6 / 10

Who Wrote It?

Serayi Degerli-Sezgin, the beautiful mind behind the Instagram account @orienttrifftvegan and the founder of the blog with an attached shop Serayi.com.

What's It About?

Serayi, who has been passionate about cooking and baking since childhood and refined her culinary skills in the family business, chose a vegan diet in 2015. With this decision, the question arose, "Can Oriental cuisine be vegan?" Removing childhood favorites like Sucuk, Lahmacun, Yufka, or Kebab skewers from the menu was not an option. So, she took on the challenge of veganizing the classics of Oriental cuisine. "Orient trifft vegan" is the result of these efforts and became a bestseller within just 2 months in 2021.

How Does It Look?

A large-format hardcover book, approximately DIN A4 in size. The cover features the author in Oriental attire, adorned with jewelry, a henna-painted hand, and a golden tray with Turkish Çay. The book title is embossed in gold foil print. While it may play on some clichés, the title is still appealing thanks to Serayi's smile and the harmonious color composition. The author took charge of the food photography inside, giving the book her own colorful signature. Each recipe is accompanied by a photo, an anecdote, portion and difficulty level details, preparation tips, ingredient alternatives, etc. There are separate columns for ingredients and preparation, and each recipe spans a double page to avoid inconvenient page flipping during cooking.

What Can I Expect?

67 Oriental recipes ranging from a simple Çay recipe to veganized Sucuk and pudding-filled Baklava. The recipes are categorized into chapters such as "Appetizers - Best Companions," "Main Courses - Classics from the Orient," "Childhood Favorites - Creatively Oriental," "Desserts - For Sweet Moments," and "Drinks - From Cozy Warm to Refreshingly Different."

Before the recipe chapters, there is an introduction on "Why Vegan?" and a brief guide to essential ingredients in Oriental cuisine needed for many of the recipes.

Can I Do It?

Thanks to clear indications of difficulty levels ranging from easy to medium to difficult, anyone can assess the required kitchen skills. Starting with the easy dishes and progressing would be my suggestion.

What Do I Need?

The "exotic" ingredients found in the guide at the beginning of the book are fortunately easily available in many supermarkets. When in doubt, a visit to a Turkish supermarket can help, as they often carry everything from pomegranate syrup to pepper paste.

Substitute Products?

Serayi doesn't explicitly avoid vegan substitute products, so plant-based yogurt, vegan cream, or vegan butter are occasionally used. However, many recipes do not rely on substitute products.

Who Is It For?

For those who have grown up with Oriental cuisine and now want to enjoy it consciously and without causing harm to animals, this book offers many recipes to bring the familiar dishes back to the menu in a vegan way. My partner, who fits this description, was quite impressed with the dishes we tested and often made comparisons to "mom's cooking." However, anyone interested in this cuisine will find the book equally suitable.

For those for whom calories or fat content are sensitive issues, Oriental cuisine may generally not be the most accommodating. In this cookbook, in particular, one should not be afraid of high-fat content. Serayi's second cookbook, "Orient trifft Fit," might be a better choice for such concerns. However, I haven't reviewed that book yet as I haven't got it...

Oh, and Does It Taste Good?

Admittedly, I haven't cooked through any other vegan Oriental cookbook as extensively, but as mentioned, the recipes appealed to both me and my taste tester, who often has a direct comparison. Many recipes are still on my to-do list, especially the Sucuk, which my taste tester often craves.

You can find recipe reviews for all the tested recipes on Instagram under the hashtag #VCRorienttrifftvegan.

Recipe Tips to Get Started:

Yayla Çorbası – Yogurt Soup with Rice and Mint
Tava Börek – Pan Börek (find the recipe here)
Fessenjan – Pomegranate-Walnut Sauce

Conclusion

The not-so-high score for this book is mainly due to the price, unfortunately a bit steep at €32 for 67 recipes. Apart from that, the cookbook is a successful collection of recipes in an attractive package, making it a great gift. Authentic taste definitely takes precedence over healthy eating or diet suitability. If that doesn't bother you, go ahead and indulge in the divine pan börek, even if it means getting your fingers a bit greasy.