Meera Sodha: ‘I’m thrilled to have new ingredients in the kitchen’

Meera Sodha: ‘Veganism has made me a better cook and it’s been fun along the way.’ Photograph: Elena Heatherwick/The Guardian. Hair and make-up: Jo Clayton.

I’m like a giant panda in that 98% of what I eat comes from plants. It’s a long story, but the short version is that I love animals alive and vegetables on my plate.

If I think about who I am and how I eat, I am built from Gujarati ingenuity and Lincolnshire produce when it comes to putting vegetables at the centre of the table. While I eat mainly plants, I do leave a little room in my diet for other things that I enjoy – a fish curry shared with my husband, Hugh, an omelette for a quick dinner, or tidying the edges of a hunk of manchego – and three of my cookbooks, Fresh India, East and Dinner, overall reflect that way of eating.