Is Indian food vegan? Bloggers answer
Food Veganism Asia India Aside from vegan curry, is Indian food vegan? Many people, in my opinion, assume that India is really vegan-friendly. The quick response is: not always. Do you know what ghee is? The common clarified butter that appears in so many vegan Indian dishes? No, I’m not vegan. Given how much they value their cows, I find it strange that Indians are also pretty fond of dairy (and don’t get why it’s not vegan!). Since visiting Goa in 2015, I haven’t gone back to India, so I’m looking forward to visiting there in a few weeks for a little getaway from the winter. In the meanwhile, I thought it would be a good idea to ask my other travel bloggers what surprises were in store for me in vegan India aside from vegan curry. I’ll be searching for the nicest beaches in Goa.
Daal Bati Churma | What Indian Food Is Vegan
An Inward Window The state of Rajasthan in North India is known for its signature cuisine, daal bati churma. This dish consists of hard wheat balls, lentils, and churma, a sweet side dish. The wheat balls are slowly cooked on upla, dry cow dung cakes, wood, or even coal. It gives the food a characteristic smokey flavor and earthy scent. Lentils are cooked and then spiced and seasoned to make daal. Crushed wheat or bajra (Pearl Millet) is combined with sugar or jaggery to make churma.
Verify that it is vegan! Ghee is sometimes regrettably applied to the baati, or wheat balls, and it can also be combined with churma. Never order without first asking!
Pani Puri
Pani Puri is just one name; others include Fulki, Golgappa, and Pani Patasha. A burst of flavors, it is a little, spherical, fried dumpling packed with a potato combination, tamarind sauce, and “tangy water.” Your thoughts can be completely blown by the flavorful filling’s mix with the chilly, flavored water as it bursts inside your mouth. Each shop offers completely vegan pani puris that can be tailored to your preferences.
Kutchi Daabeli
authored by The Crazy Indian Foodie Daabeli is a well-known vegan Indian street cuisine that originated in Kutch, Gujarat, and is a tasty, sweet, and spicy Indian burger. It consists primarily of a tangy mixture of mashed potatoes with a spicy masala (typically made with a combination of red peppers, regional spices, and crushed peanuts) that is sandwiched between Ladi Pav (local buns) and topped with fresh pomegranate seeds, coriander, tamarind and date chutney, spicy garlic chutney, spiced peanuts, and other ingredients.
Aloo Paratha
It is a delicacy that is well-liked in Northern and Western India. It comes with a variety of toppings, including chutney (mint) and raw chilli, and can be eaten with or without stuffing. When I didn’t want a particularly substantial lunch and needed a good kicker before a long hike in the mountains, I became practically obsessed with it. Even on lengthy bus travels, I observed individuals bringing it along as a meal. Don’t forget to request pickles and a dollop of non-dairy yoghurt when you order a dish of steaming aloo parathas if you ever travel alone to India in the Himalayas.
Chole Bhature
My Easy Journey One of the most well-known vegan recipes from the north of India is chole bhature. It belongs to the category of foods that are well-liked across India. This inexpensive dish combines white Chole and fried Bhature (chickpeas). Indian bread known as bhature is deep-fried and produced from dough made from fermented all-purpose flour. The dough is formed into a flatbread and fried in oil after fermentation. The fluffy Bhature is cooked after being briefly fried on both sides. Cooked white chickpeas are used to make chole. Cumin, coriander powder, red chili powder, and a specific blend of spices called Chole masala are then used to temper them. The flavor of this curry dish is often tangy. When tempering, raw mango powder or tamarind paste is used for this. Chole Bhature is the name for this dish that combines bread and chickpea curry. These come with green chili pickle, raw onions, mango or seasonal pickle, and other condiments.
To be sure, make sure to request that your food be prepared using coconut oil rather than ghee. Additionally, keep an eye out for little chunks of paneer (cottage cheese), as some restaurants include these in their chickpea curry. One of those meals that can be had from breakfast to dinner is this one.
Sarson ka Saag
Simple instructions for preparing sarson ka saag include heating some asafetida in a teaspoon of oil, adding the paste, and then whisking in some whole wheat flour paste to thicken the sauce. Sarson ka Saag is a winter dish that is typically eaten with freshly cooked crispy corn rotis. Since ancient times, Punjabi farmers have consumed this dish to stay warm during the bitter winters.
Masala Dosa
Masala dosa is most popular in Bangalore, a city known for being very vegan-friendly, and other southern cities, but you can now find it rather easily in the north as well. One of the most affordable lunches in India, it costs between 20 and 50 rupees at street food vendors. It costs just a little bit more in a sit-down restaurant.
Even though the recipe is typically vegan, there are now so many varieties that it’s a good idea to double-check to make sure that no butter or cheese has been added. Another thing to remember is that the batter may occasionally be fermented using an active culture created from a small amount of curd (yogurt).
