1.0HappyCowhttps://www.happycow.net/blogMarie Nerenhttps://www.happycow.net/blog/author/marie-neren/rich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="1ei219gyCF"><a href="https://www.happycow.net/blog/vegan-in-bangladesh/">Vegan In Bangladesh</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://www.happycow.net/blog/vegan-in-bangladesh/embed/#?secret=1ei219gyCF" width="600" height="338" title="“Vegan In Bangladesh” — HappyCow" data-secret="1ei219gyCF" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(d,l){"use strict";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display="none";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):"link"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute("src")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute("data-secret"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+="#?secret="+t,e.setAttribute("data-secret",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:t},"*")},!1)))}(window,document); /* ]]> */ </script> https://www.happycow.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Sick-Cities-A-Scenario-for-Dhaka-City.jpg940529Unfortunately, there is no magic word in Bangladesh to easily describe your dietary preferences. It is very difficult for a Bangladeshi person to understand that you do not want any meat. At least, this was my experience while trying to eat vegan food in Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, everything vegetarian will most likely be vegan too. They never use Ghee, since vegetable oil is way cheaper. This is especially true for street food–places will use mustard or corn oil. The kitchen of Bangladesh is very Indian-inspired. But where India is the master of vegetarian food, Bangladesh has a whole other (meat) culture. One important thing to keep in mind is that there will always be traces of meat in your food. Meat will typically be fried in the same oil as veggie dishes, or your vegan food will be served with the same spoon used for meat dishes. Because of this, I had a bone or two mixed into my vegan dishes. Yuk. The few times this happened, I gave away my food to a person on the street in need. Singharas and samosas are mostly vegan, but don’t trust the ones filled with onions! Sometimes I would repeat 15 times: “NO MEAT!” […]