I am calling this “Homemade Indian Yum Yum” because it is full of spices often used in India, but it isn’t actually based on any specific Indian dish.

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The Reva Electric Car Company has announced plans to build the world’s largest factory for cheap all-electric cars, capable of a massive annual output of 30,000 units.

The Bangalore, India-based company hopes that after the Rs300m ($6.1m) facility begins production in the first quarter of next year, it will help to introduce green energy to the subcontinent’s rapidly growing automotive industry.

The Reva, a small hatchback powered by eight six-volt batteries, retails for a mega-competitive Rs350,000 in India and £7,500 ($12,200) in the UK, (where it is marketed under the G-Wiz brand), far less than most rival companies.

Speaking about the plan, Chetan Maini, Reva’s deputy chairman and chief technology officer said, “We are promoting a technology that holds the key to the global energy crisis.”

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Environmental law in India has always been a contentious issue. While the Indian government has certainly created laws that protect the massive landscape of the South Asia, they are all too often disregarded by indifferent consumers or businesses that have never bought into the concept of a corporate social responsibility.

In recent years a number of commercial enterprises have burgeoned at the cost of the environment. Agricultural land has been sold off to real estate developers and commercial enterprise who are rapidly replacing the country’s farmlands and forests with malls and multiplex theaters. Even though individuals are not allowed to purchase agricultural land unless they are farmers by occupations and can demonstrate a commitment to agricultural production, many wealthy Indians continue to buy up farm and orchard land only to convert it into private estate homes.

Beyond this, the quality of air and water has declined significantly with a rise in tourism and industrial activity over the last decade. The state of Kerala, home to South India’s famous backwaters has long been under scrutiny by the local pollution board for releasing carbon emissions thanks to gas powered houseboats that offer touists a popular way to explore its canals. Factories all over the country continue to release toxic sewage into the environment endangering the health of India’s waterways and polluting her air.

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Indian designers have announced plans to launch a laptop that will cost an astonishing $10 (500 Rupees).

A prototype of the computer, to be known as Sakshat, (meaning ‘before your eyes’), will shortly be showcased by the Indian government as the centerpiece of an ambitious e-learning programme linking 18,000 colleges and 400 universities across the sub-continent.

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More than fifteen thousand people have taken part in a mass protest in southern India, against the extension of a new reserve to protect tigers facing a very real threat of extinction.

The last count revealed that the number of Indian tigers has plummeted from around 40,000 at the beginning of last century to an all time low of just 1,411, largely due to dwindling habitats and the activities of poachers. Despite these depressing statistics, residents of India’s Chennai region are firmly against any further safeguards, fearing that they will lose their homes if an extension to the Mudumalai Wildlife sanctuary is given the green light.

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Indian company Bharat Petroleum has announced plans to bottle purified waste water from the manufacture of hydrogen fuel cells, and sell it at it’s fueling stations across the nation.

In a country plagued by poor water quality and shortages across many regions, the company is keen to exploit high demand for pure bottled water. According to some estimates, as many as 1,600 Indians die every day as a result of water-borne diseases.

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My first step though is getting rid of all of the wonderful food I’ve got stored up, but will now be eating less of, like grains, beans, and soy products. I can’t think of a more delicious way to clean house than this red lentil recipe I created last night.

I’m still stuck on what to name this dish. My husband called it “Mediterr-Indian” because of the spices that borrow from both cultures. It’s pretty low on fat, and good for people with food allergies, as it’s nut, soy, and wheat free, and of course, vegan. The recipe for the lentils, and the roasted cauliflower after the jump:

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