A practical guide to vegetarian Indian food: the curries, biryanis, starters and dosas to order, and what vegans and people with allergies should ask.
India has one of the oldest and richest vegetarian cooking traditions in the world. On an Indian menu, vegetarian dishes aren’t side dishes: they are some of the best things in the kitchen.
On our food page you can switch on Vegetarian only to see every vegetarian dish at once.
Five vegetarian dishes to start with
- Paneer butter masala. Cubes of paneer, India’s fresh, mild cheese, in a silky tomato-butter sauce. A good first choice if you like butter chicken.
- Bagara baingan. A Hyderabadi classic: small eggplants in a tangy, nutty gravy of peanuts, sesame, coconut and tamarind.
- Hyderabadi vegetable dum biryani. Vegetables and basmati layered and slow-cooked in a sealed pot, with mirchi ka salan and raita.
- Tadka dal fry. Yellow lentils finished with a sizzle of garlic, cumin and chilli in ghee. Simple and deeply comforting.
- Gobi Manchurian. Crisp cauliflower in a sticky, spicy Indo-Chinese sauce; one of the most popular starters in India.
Paneer, and plenty of it
If you love cheese, look for paneer. It doesn’t melt, so it holds its shape in curries, on skewers and even in biryani. Our menu has it in butter masala, kadai, tikka masala, palak and Chettinad styles. Here is our palak paneer recipe.
Beyond curry
- Dosas and uttapam are made from rice and lentil batter.
- Samosas, mirchi bajji and onion pakora make easy vegetarian starters.
- Indo-Chinese dishes like chilli gobi, baby corn Manchurian and veg noodles bring heat and crunch.
Eating vegan
Indian cooking uses a lot of dairy: ghee, butter, cream, yogurt and paneer. Lentil and bean dishes like dal and chana masala, and many vegetable dishes, can be vegan, but recipes vary. Always ask your server how a dish is made.
Allergies
Many Indian dishes contain nuts (cashews are common in korma and some sauces), dairy or wheat, and kitchens handle all of these. If you have a food allergy, tell your server before you order.