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Vegetarian Indian dinners

Dal, sabzi, curries and rice dishes for a meat-free Indian dinner. (880 recipes)

Moong thalMoong dal flour fudge

Moong thal is a Diwali tray sweet of Bikaner and Marwari homes, made by roasting coarsely ground moong dal in a generous amount of ghee, then setting it with sugar syrup and mawa and topping with nuts. It is richer and grainier than besan barfi, with a deep, toasty flavour. Marwari families in Kolkata and Mumbai still make it for Diwali boxes. The common mistake is under-roasting the moong, which leaves a raw, beany taste. Chef's tip: roast until the mixture turns light and frothy and the ghee releases from it; that is your sign it is cooked through.

60 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bellam paramannamRice and moong dal jaggery pudding

Bellam paramannam is the naivedyam of Telangana and Andhra homes, cooked for Sankranti, Ugadi, Varalakshmi Vratam and almost any puja, a soft rice-and-moong pudding sweetened with jaggery and glossed with ghee. Its colour is a warm caramel and its taste deeper than a sugar kheer. The classic mistake is adding jaggery to milk that is still on a high boil, which can split it; take the pot off the heat, let it stop bubbling, then stir the jaggery in. Chef's tip: roast the moong dal in a spoon of ghee until it smells toasty before cooking; it gives the paramannam its homely flavour.

45 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

ManganeChana dal and sago pudding

In Goan Hindu homes, especially around Ganesh Chaturthi, a pot of mangane is cooked for the naivedya and handed round warm after the aarti. Soft chana dal and glassy sago pearls sit in a thick, caramel-coloured sauce of coconut jaggery and fresh coconut milk, scented with cardamom and studded with cashews. The common mistake is boiling the dal hard after the thick coconut milk goes in, which splits it into oily curds; once the first milk is added the pot should only steam gently. Serve it warm in small bowls, or cool so it sets a little and spoon it up like a soft pudding. Chef's tip: soak the sago only until the pearls just give when pressed, or they melt into glue in the pot.

55 minIndianIndian SweetsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Khajur pakDate and nut fudge

Kutch grows some of India's best dates, and in Bhuj and Anjar homes khajur pak is the sweet made for Diwali boxes and for Ekadashi and other fast days, since it needs nothing but dates, ghee, nuts and coconut. The dates melt in warm ghee into a sticky paste, the nuts give crunch, and the log is rolled in poppy seeds and sliced into neat coins. The common mistake is cooking the dates too long, which dries them out so the log cracks when you slice it. Chef's tip: for a harder winter version, swap a third of the soft dates for chopped kharek (dry dates) soaked overnight in a little milk.

30 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Churma na ladvaWheat crumb and jaggery balls

Churma na ladva are the laddus that sit beside Ganesh at Chaturthi in Kathiawad and fill the sweet course at Gujarati weddings, big rough-edged balls with a sandy crumb and a coat of white poppy seeds. Coarse wholewheat dough is shaped into fist-pressed muthiya, fried slowly in ghee until crisp right through, ground to crumbs and bound with jaggery melted in ghee, nutmeg and cardamom. The mistake that ruins them is frying the muthiya too fast: the outside browns while the inside stays doughy and the crumbs turn gummy. Chef's tip: break one muthiya open before you take the batch out; it should be dry and biscuit-like right to the centre.

70 minIndianIndian Sweets
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Rasam sadam for babiesRasam rice for babies

Rasam sadam, hot rice with a thin, tangy tomato and lentil broth, is everyday lunch in Tamil homes from Chennai to Madurai. When a baby joins the meal at around nine months, many mothers ladle off a mild rasam for the little one before the pepper, chilli and salt go into the family pot. Mashed into soft rice with a spoon of ghee, it is tangy, warm and gently fragrant with cumin and coriander leaf. It contains milk (ghee). We leave out asafoetida, which is often cut with wheat flour, so it is gluten free, and it has no egg, nuts, soya or sesame. Chef's tip: use the ripest, reddest tomato you can find; its natural sweetness replaces the tamarind and jaggery of the grown-up rasam.

40 minIndianRice & GrainsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Hmarcha rawtRoasted green chilli relish

No Mizo table in Aizawl is complete without a small bowl of hmarcha rawt, the sharp relish that goes with plain rice, boiled vegetables and bai at almost every meal. Green chillies are charred over a flame or on a dry pan, then pounded with raw onion, ginger and salt. The mistake is to blend it smooth; it should be coarse and juicy, with bits of charred skin. Chef's tip: roast the chillies until blistered all over, not black, or the relish turns bitter.

13 minIndianChutneys & DipsVeganGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Koinar saagKachnar leaf greens

In Jharkhand's spring, as the kachnar (Bauhinia) trees put out pale tender leaves, Santhal, Munda and Oraon families gather them for koinar saag, a slightly tangy, earthy green cooked with lots of garlic in mustard oil and eaten with rice and dal or with madua roti. Some households dry the leaves to use through the summer. The usual mistake is using older, darker leaves, which stay tough and fibrous however long you cook them. Chef's tip: blanch the leaves first and squeeze them hard; it softens the faint astringency and the saag absorbs the garlic oil better.

25 minIndianVegetarianVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mava ni boiFish-shaped milk sweets

At Parsi weddings and navjotes in Surat, Navsari and Mumbai, the boi, a fish, is a symbol of good luck, and a tray of small pink mawa fish travels with the sagan gifts. There is no fish in them at all: they are a simple sweet of fresh mawa cooked with sugar, tinted the palest pink and pressed into carved fish moulds, with a raisin or a silver ball for the eye. The common mistake is cooking the mawa too long, so it turns crumbly and cracks in the mould instead of taking a clean imprint. Chef's tip: lightly grease the mould with ghee and dust it with a pinch of icing sugar so each fish slips out with sharp scales and fins.

35 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Dhana ni panjiriRoasted coriander and coconut sweet

At midnight on Janmashtami, when Gujarati and Rajasthani families sing to baby Krishna, the prasad handed round is this fragrant panjiri of ground coriander seeds roasted in ghee and mixed with powdered sugar, coconut, makhana and dry fruit. Because it contains no grain, it is also eaten by those who keep the Janmashtami fast. It tastes warm, sweet and surprisingly floral. The common mistake is roasting the coriander powder on high heat; it burns in seconds and turns bitter. Chef's tip: grind the seeds yourself just before roasting, and stop when the kitchen smells like warm citrus, not toast.

20 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

SingalFried semolina and banana spirals

Singal (also called singhal) are sweet, spongy spirals from Kumaon, fried for Diwali, weddings and the Harela festival and offered at the temple before the family eats them. A thick batter of semolina, ripe banana, curd and sugar rests until the semolina swells, then it is piped or poured in a spiral into hot ghee or oil. The outside turns crisp and the inside stays soft like a doughnut. The common mistake is frying straight away; unrested batter spreads into flat, greasy shapes. Chef's tip: the batter is right when it falls from a spoon in a thick ribbon that holds its shape for a second.

75 minIndianIndian Sweets
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mizo panch phoran tarkariMixed vegetables with five spices

Mizo cooking uses very little oil and few spices, and this Aizawl tarkari of pumpkin, potato, brinjal and beans is a good example: a few seeds of panch phoron bloom in a spoonful of oil, the vegetables steam in their own juices and dinner is ready. It is eaten on weekdays with rice, dal and a sharp chilli relish. The common mistake is stirring too often, which mashes the pumpkin; turn it gently only once or twice. Chef's tip: cut everything about the same size so it cooks evenly.

32 minIndianVegetarianVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kudrum chutneyRoselle chutney

Kudrum is roselle, the red-calyxed hibiscus that tribal households in Jharkhand grow round their homes, and in the post-monsoon months its sour fleshy calyces and leaves are cooked into this bright red chutney. It is eaten with plain rice, dhuska or pitha, and a spoonful wakes up a simple meal of dal and saag. A frequent mistake is leaving the hard green seed pod inside each calyx, which makes the chutney woody; split each one and pop the pod out. Chef's tip: dried hibiscus flowers sold for tea make a good stand-in; soak them 20 minutes in hot water first.

25 minIndianChutneys & DipsVeganGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

PappchiFried wheat and rice biscuits

Pappchi are little scalloped discs that Chhattisgarhi families fry in large batches for Teeja, Diwali and weddings, made from wheat flour and rice flour, fried slowly and then turned in sticky sugar syrup until they wear a thin white glaze. They snap cleanly and keep for weeks in a steel tin. A common mistake is taking the syrup too far, so it crystallises into lumps; you want a one-string syrup that dries to a matt coat as it cools. Chef's tip: press the edge of each disc with a thimble or bottle cap to make the frilled pattern, which also helps them fry crisp.

60 minIndianIndian Sweets
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kozhikode halwaCoconut oil halwa with cashews

Walk down SM Street, 'Mittai Theruvu', in Kozhikode and you pass shop after shop stacked with jewel-coloured slabs of halwa, which Malabar families have bought for Eid, weddings and visits since the Arab trading days. The classic is made from wheat-flour milk (or plain flour) cooked for a long time with sugar and coconut oil or ghee until glossy, chewy and translucent, studded with cashews. The common mistake is rushing the cooking: the halwa must be stirred until it stops sticking, turns transparent and the fat seeps out at the edges, or it sets soft and cloudy. Chef's tip: add the oil a spoonful at a time only after the mixture thickens, so it is absorbed rather than floating.

90 minIndianIndian Sweets
by KrazyBadal 0 views

BekangFried fermented soybeans

Bekang is the Mizo name for soybeans boiled and left to ferment in leaves until sticky and strongly savoury, and fried bekang is one of the most loved sides on the Aizawl table, spooned over plain rice. To ferment your own, keep the wrapped, drained beans at 30–40 °C for 2–3 days: they are ready when coated in sticky white threads and smell of ammonia and nuts. Throw them out if you see black, green or pink mould or they smell rotten. The common mistake is frying on high heat until the beans scorch and turn bitter. Chef's tip: bought kinema, axone or natto work in place of homemade bekang.

17 minIndianSidesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

PabaRoasted barley and pea dough

Paba is the plain, sustaining staple of Ladakhi farm kitchens, especially in Zanskar and the Nubra valley, where roasted barley, dried peas and wheat are ground together and stirred into hot water with a little butter. It is eaten at lunch with tangtur, the cool curd-and-greens side, or with a thin vegetable soup, pinched off by hand. The texture is dense and earthy, with a nutty taste from the roasting. The most common mistake is adding the flour all at once, which leaves dry lumps in the middle; sprinkle it in while stirring hard. Chef's tip: toast the flours in a dry pan until they smell like biscuits before you start, even if the bag says roasted, because fresh toasting makes all the difference.

20 minIndianBreads & Parathas
by KrazyBadal 0 views

TangturCurd with greens and chilli

Through the short Ladakhi summer, when the fields around Leh are green, tangtur is on the table at almost every lunch: boiled leafy greens chopped into thick, cool curd or buttermilk with raw onion and green chilli. It is served beside paba, khambir or rice, and cuts through anything rich or spicy. In villages the greens may be wild ones gathered from field edges; spinach, mustard or radish leaves work well at home. The mistake to avoid is adding the greens while still hot, which splits the curd; cool them completely first. Chef's tip: squeeze the boiled greens really hard in your fist so the tangtur stays thick instead of watery.

15 minIndianSaladsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bhure chawalRice with ghee and sugar

Bhure chawal is about as simple as Haryanvi village cooking gets: steaming rice tossed with plenty of desi ghee and bura, the fine, fluffy sugar sold in Haryana, and sometimes a few chopped nuts. It is the treat grandmothers make after the evening milking, at a new daughter-in-law's first meal, or on cold nights when something sweet is needed fast. Use fragrant, well-cooked rice and good ghee, as there is nothing to hide behind. The common mistake is adding the sugar to lukewarm rice, so it stays gritty instead of melting into the ghee. Chef's tip: no bura? Blitz ordinary sugar to a powder and add a pinch of cardamom.

25 minIndianRice & GrainsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Goan tendli bhajiIvy gourd stir-fry

On an everyday Goan plate of rice, fish curry and a vegetable, the vegetable is very often this quick tendli bhaji. Thin rounds of ivy gourd are softened with onion and green chilli in coconut oil, then tossed with fresh grated coconut just before serving, so they stay crunchy-tender and sweet. Hindu homes make it without onion on fasting or puja days. The mistake to avoid is cutting the tendli thickly and covering the pan for too long, which gives grey, soggy rings; thin slices cooked mostly uncovered keep their green colour. Chef's tip: pick firm, bright green tendli and discard any that are red inside, as they are overripe and slimy.

25 minIndianSidesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mirchi thechaPounded chilli, garlic and peanut relish

Thecha is the fiery pounded chilli relish of rural Maharashtra, from the Desh villages around Satara and Kolhapur, eaten with jowar bhakri and a raw onion at a farmhand's lunch and now a fixture of Pune's Marathi restaurants. Green chillies and garlic are blistered in a pan, then crushed with peanuts in a stone mortar. The common mistake is blending it smooth in a mixer; thecha should be coarse and rustic, so pound it or pulse briefly. Chef's tip: wear gloves or oil your fingers when handling this many chillies, and wash the pan straight away.

15 minIndianChutneys & DipsVeganGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

KhurchanScraped milk skin sweet

Khurchan means 'scrapings', and in Mathura and the sweet lanes of Old Delhi it is made by simmering milk in a wide iron kadhai and lifting off the skin that forms, layer after layer, then stacking the sheets with a sprinkle of sugar and cardamom. It is a winter sweet, sold in small squares, and offered at Janmashtami in Krishna's town. It takes patience, not skill. The common mistake is letting the milk boil, which breaks the skin; keep it just steaming, never bubbling. Chef's tip: fan the surface of the milk gently with a paper plate between layers; the cooler air makes the skin form faster and thicker.

125 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Lauki koftaBottle gourd balls in gravy

Lauki kofta is how North Indian mothers in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh smuggle the humble bottle gourd onto a party table: the gourd is grated and squeezed, bound with gram flour, fried into soft balls and slipped into an onion-tomato gravy. It is a Sunday-lunch and dinner-party curry with phulka, jeera rice or laccha paratha. The classic mistake is not squeezing the lauki hard enough; wet mixture splutters in the oil and the koftas fall apart. Chef's tip: save the squeezed lauki juice and use it in place of water in the gravy, so none of its flavour is wasted.

65 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Shev bhajiGram flour shev in spicy gravy

Shev bhaji comes from Khandesh, around Jalgaon and Dhule, where dhabas and homes make a gravy black with roasted onion, dry coconut and a dark Khandeshi masala and drop in thick, crunchy shev just before serving. It is eaten with jowar bhakri or chapati, often at roadside eateries in the winter. The mistake almost everyone makes is adding the shev too early; it swells and turns to paste, so add it at the table. Food note: shop-bought shev can contain wheat or regular hing, so check the packet if you need it gluten free. Chef's tip: roast the onion and coconut until truly dark brown, but not burnt; that is where the colour comes from.

45 minIndianCurriesVeganSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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