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.
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.