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Vegetarian Indian dinners

Dal, sabzi, curries and rice dishes for a meat-free Indian dinner. (779 recipes)

Raja mircha chutneyGhost pepper chutney

Raja mircha, the king chilli or bhut jolokia, is grown in the hills around Kohima and Dimapur and was once ranked the hottest chilli in the world. Naga households pound it with tomatoes smoked in the embers, ginger, garlic and salt into a thick red chutney that is fruity, smoky and ferociously hot. It is eaten in tiny amounts with rice and boiled vegetables, and at the Hornbill Festival there are eating contests. Chef's tip: one king chilli is plenty for this amount; wear gloves, open the window when roasting, and keep the seeds if you are brave.

20 minIndianChutneys & DipsVeganGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

BaiVegetable and bamboo shoot stew

Bai is the everyday dish of Mizoram, cooked in Aizawl homes almost daily: a stew of greens such as mustard leaves or pumpkin leaves, bamboo shoot, pumpkin and beans, boiled in water with a pinch of soda (traditionally 'chingal', an ash-filtered alkali) that softens the greens. It has almost no oil and little spice, and often a spoonful of pork fat goes in; this vegetarian version leaves it out and adds a little more ginger. Bai is light, green and soothing, eaten with rice and a chilli dip. Chef's tip: add the soda with the greens, not before, and only a pinch; too much turns the stew slimy.

40 minIndianSoupsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

NimonaFresh green pea curry

When fresh peas fill the markets of Varanasi and Gorakhpur in December, almost every household makes nimona. The peas are coarsely ground and fried in mustard oil until they lose their raw smell and turn a darker, nutty green. Potatoes are then added and everything simmers in a thin, spicy gravy. It is eaten with plain rice on a winter afternoon, and some families add fried moong dal vadis for extra bite. The most common mistake is grinding the peas into a smooth paste; nimona should have texture, like crushed peas rather than soup. Chef's tip: pulse the peas with the green chillies, ginger and garlic in short bursts, and stop as soon as they look like coarse, wet crumbs.

55 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Chhum hanSteamed vegetables with chilli dip

Chhum han is how Mizo families eat vegetables at their simplest: whatever is in the garden (pumpkin, chayote, beans, aubergine, cabbage, potato) steamed or boiled until just tender and served on a plate with a sharp dip of crushed chilli, garlic, salt and herbs. In Aizawl it is part of almost every home meal, eaten with rice and bai. The vegetables taste of themselves, and the dip does the work. Chef's tip: steam each vegetable for its own time and take it off when a knife slides in; overcooked chhum han is watery and dull.

25 minIndianSidesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Lucknowi sheermalSaffron sweet milk flatbread

Sheermal is a soft flatbread made with milk and ghee instead of water, lightly sweet, and brushed with saffron milk so it bakes to a glossy amber colour. In Lucknow's old quarters like Chowk and Aminabad, bakers still make it in tandoors each morning, and families buy it for Eid, weddings and Ramadan iftar, eating it alongside rich kormas or simply with a cup of milky tea. It sits halfway between bread and pastry. The usual mistake is adding too much flour while kneading because the dough feels sticky; a dry dough gives a tough, crumbly sheermal. Chef's tip: oil your hands instead of flouring the surface, and let the rich dough rise until it is truly doubled.

120 minIndianBreads & Parathas
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Churpi ningroFiddlehead fern curry

In the monsoon, ningro (fiddlehead fern) shoots appear in the hill markets of Gangtok, Namchi and Darjeeling, curled like violin scrolls. Sikkimese homes cook them quickly with onion, tomato and green chilli, then stir in crumbled soft churpi, a fresh, tangy cheese made from yak or cow's milk, which melts into a creamy, slightly sour sauce. It is a side dish for rice and dal, and tastes green and grassy, a little like asparagus. Chef's tip: always boil ferns for a few minutes and drain before cooking; it removes bitterness. Ricotta or crumbled feta is a fair stand-in for churpi.

25 minIndianSidesGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Muya awandruBamboo shoot with rice paste

Muya awandru is a classic of the Tripuri (Kokborok-speaking) kitchen around Agartala: tender bamboo shoot is cooked with green chilli and a rice-flour paste (awandru) until it thickens into a soft, savoury mass, a little like a porridge. Traditionally a piece of berma (fermented dried fish) goes in; this vegetarian version drops it and adds roasted garlic and a little fermented soybean for depth, as vegetarian Tripuri cooks do. It is eaten with rice, often at village feasts. Chef's tip: mix the rice flour with cold water before adding it, or it lumps.

35 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mosdeng sermaRoasted tomato and chilli relish

Mosdeng serma is the fresh relish Tripuri families in Agartala put on the table almost every day: tomatoes and green chillies roasted until blackened, then crushed with raw onion, coriander and salt. Some versions mash in dried fish; this one doesn't, and leans on a squeeze of lime and plenty of coriander. It is lighter and more salsa-like than Naga raja mircha chutney: chunky, juicy and smoky, more vegetable than chilli. Chef's tip: crush, don't blend; a few whole bits of tomato make it.

15 minIndianChutneys & DipsVeganGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

ChakhwiJackfruit seed and papaya stew

Chakhwi is a Tripuri festive stew cooked at weddings and family feasts around Agartala, where the defining ingredient is 'khar' or soda, made by filtering water through banana-plant ash. It softens vegetables and gives a smooth, gently alkaline taste. Pork chakhwi is the best known; the vegetarian version is cooked with raw papaya, jackfruit seeds, bamboo shoot and long beans, with ginger and green chilli. It is soupier than Assamese khar and has no lentils. Chef's tip: use bicarbonate of soda if you have no ash water, but only a pinch; you should be able to taste it, not feel it.

50 minIndianSoupsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Chaman kaliyaPaneer in turmeric milk gravy

In Kashmir paneer is called chaman, and kaliya is the name for a gravy coloured bright yellow with turmeric rather than red with chilli. Kashmiri Pandit cooks fry thick slabs of paneer, rest them in warm water so they stay spongy, then simmer them in milk with fennel, dry ginger and cardamom. The result is mild, sweet-scented and soothing, a dish that sits beside the fiery ones on a wedding or festival spread and is just as welcome on a weekday with rice. Chef's tip: use a generous spoon of good turmeric; the gravy should glow a deep gold, and the milk mellows any rawness.

40 minIndianCurriesGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Amritsari aloo wadiyanPotato and lentil dumpling curry

Every winter, rooftops in Amritsar's old city are covered with trays of wadiyan: little cones of spiced urad-dal paste studded with black pepper and dried in the sun until rock hard. Punjabi homes break them into chunks, fry them until they smell nutty, and simmer them with potatoes in a mustard-oil gravy. The wadiyan soften into chewy, spicy, almost meaty pieces, and the potatoes soak up their pepper. It is everyday comfort food, eaten with hot phulkas or rice and a raw onion on the side. Chef's tip: wadiyan are already salted and spiced, so add salt only at the end, after tasting.

55 minIndianCurriesVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Monji haakKohlrabi and greens in mustard oil

Kohlrabi, monji in Kashmiri, grows in almost every kitchen garden in the Kashmir Valley, and families cook the round bulb and its leaves together in one pot. Like its cousin haak, it is a dish of very few ingredients: mustard oil, dried chilli, a pinch of asafoetida and salt, simmered with a splash of water until the bulb turns sweet and tender. It is eaten through the cold months with plain rice and a bowl of yogurt, and Kashmiris will tell you it tastes best in autumn when the bulbs are young. Chef's tip: buy kohlrabi with fresh, perky leaves attached; if the leaves are tired, add a handful of spinach instead.

35 minIndianSidesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

KafuliSpinach and fenugreek curry

In the villages of Garhwal, kafuli is what goes into the iron kadhai when the terraces are full of palak and methi in late winter. The greens are blanched, ground roughly on a stone and simmered with a spoonful of soaked rice paste, which turns the curry silky without any cream. Mustard oil and a few dried chillies give it a sharp, warm edge, and the iron pan darkens it to a deep forest green. Eat it with mandua ki roti or plain rice and a dab of ghee for those who want it. Chef's tip: grind the greens in short pulses so you can still see flecks of leaf; kafuli should have texture, not look like a smooth soup.

45 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

PinniGhee wheat flour sweets

When the fog settles over Punjab in December, kitchens fill with the smell of wheat flour roasting slowly in ghee: pinni season has started. These dense, crumbly balls of roasted atta, jaggery, almonds and fried edible gum are made in big batches for Lohri, packed into tins for relatives and given to new mothers for strength. One pinni with a glass of hot milk is a classic winter breakfast. Chef's tip: let the roasted flour cool until just warm before adding the jaggery; if it is hot, the jaggery melts and the pinni set hard as stone.

50 minIndianIndian Sweets
by KrazyBadal 0 views

KhambirLeavened wholewheat bread

Khambir is the everyday bread of Ladakh: a thick, round wholewheat loaf with a dent pressed into the middle, browned on a griddle and finished in the heat of the kitchen stove. In homes in Leh and Kargil it appears at breakfast, torn into chunks and dipped into salty butter tea, or spread with apricot jam made from the region's dried apricots. The crust is chewy and toasty, the inside dense and slightly sour. Bakers in Leh's old town still sell it warm in the mornings. Chef's tip: let the dough rise until truly doubled; under-risen khambir is heavy and gummy in the middle.

150 minIndianBreads & ParathasVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Jhangora ki kheerBarnyard millet pudding

Jhangora is barnyard millet, a hardy grain that grows on the high fields of Garhwal and Kumaon, and this kheer is how most hill families turn it into something special. It cooks faster than rice kheer and ends up softer and silkier, with a light, nutty taste. Because millet isn't a cereal grain, it's eaten on Navratri and Ekadashi fasts, when you'll find bowls of it at temples and in homes from Rishikesh to Chamoli. It is just as good chilled the next day. Chef's tip: soak the millet for 20 minutes before cooking; it softens evenly and you won't be left with hard little grains in the pudding.

60 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

BabruBlack gram stuffed fried bread

Ask anyone who grew up in Shimla about babru and they will mention a paper plate of them in the Lower Bazaar, still puffing from the oil, with a ladle of dark tamarind chutney poured over. Unlike Uttar Pradesh's flaky urad kachori, babru is made from a soft, yeasted wheat dough, so it fries up light and bready, and it is pressed flat and wide rather than shaped into a ball. The filling is whole black gram, soaked and ground with ginger and green chilli. In Himachal homes it is a tea-time and festival snack, and it travels well in a tiffin. Chef's tip: grind the dal coarse and thick, like hummus; a runny paste leaks and makes the babru greasy.

120 minIndianBreads & ParathasVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kachri ki chutneyWild melon and chilli chutney

Kachri is a small wild melon that grows on its own in the sandy fields of southern Haryana and western Rajasthan. Sliced and sun-dried, it keeps for a year and has a sharp, sour taste that farmers' families grind with garlic and red chilli into this fiery chutney. A spoonful goes with bajra roti and white butter on a winter afternoon, or with dal and rice when there is nothing else in the house. Dried kachri and kachri powder are sold in Indian grocers. Chef's tip: taste a piece of dried kachri first; occasionally one batch is bitter, and that bitterness will ruin the whole jar.

30 minIndianChutneys & DipsVeganGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Sepu vadiLentil dumplings in spinach yogurt gravy

No dham in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh is complete without sepu vadi. Light urad-dal dumplings are fried, softened in warm water and then simmered in a smooth spinach gravy tangy with yogurt, until they swell up and turn spongy. The botis who cook the feast make huge copper pots of it, served on leaf plates with rice and eaten with the fingers. At home it makes a rich weekend curry with rice or chapati. Chef's tip: beat the ground dal by hand for a few minutes before frying; the air you whip in is what makes the vadi light.

75 minIndianCurriesGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Aloo ke gutkePotato cubes with mountain spices

Ask anyone from Kumaon what they miss most from home and aloo ke gutke comes up quickly. Hill potatoes are boiled, cut into rough chunks and tossed in smoking mustard oil with jakhiya, a tiny wild seed that pops and crunches like mustard but tastes more like toasted cumin. It's served at tea time with a mug of chai, on festival plates next to puri, and in local dhabas with cucumber raita. Outside Uttarakhand jakhiya is hard to find, so use cumin seeds with a few black mustard seeds instead; the dish will still taste right. Chef's tip: boil the potatoes a few hours ahead, or the night before, so they firm up and fry into crisp-edged cubes instead of crumbling.

40 minIndianSidesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

SingodiCoconut milk fudge in leaf cones

Singodi is Almora's other famous sweet, sold in the same shops as bal mithai but looking nothing like it: a soft, pale mix of khoya and coconut packed into a cone of maalu leaf and pinned shut with a twig. The leaf leaves a faint green, woody scent in the sweet, which is the whole point, and people in Kumaon unwrap them at weddings and on trips home. Maalu leaves are almost impossible to buy elsewhere, so this version uses banana leaf or fresh betel (paan) leaves; both give a gentle leafy aroma. Chef's tip: wrap the singodi while the filling is still warm and leave them in the fridge overnight, so the scent of the leaf soaks in.

45 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Daulat ki chaatSaffron milk foam

Daulat ki chaat appears in the lanes of Chandni Chowk only in the coldest months, from about November to February. Vendors whisk milk and cream through the night and leave it out under the winter dew, then skim off a foam so light it disappears on your tongue, topped with saffron, khoya, sugar and pistachios. It's sold before the sun gets high, because warmth destroys it. A home kitchen can't recreate a Delhi winter night, so this version uses very cold milk and cream whipped to a loose foam and layered with saffron. It comes close: airy, cool, faintly sweet. Chef's tip: chill everything, bowl and whisk included, for at least 4 hours; the colder the milk, the more stable the foam.

40 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Delhi-style fruit chaatSpiced fruit chaat

Delhi's fruit chaat wallahs set up their carts in the afternoons with towers of guava, papaya, apples and bananas, plus roasted sweet potato, and chop whatever you point at into a leaf bowl. Then comes the part that makes it chaat rather than fruit salad: a big shake of tangy chaat masala, black salt and roasted cumin, a squeeze of lime, sometimes a pinch of chilli. It's a refreshing mid-afternoon snack in summer, and a regular sight on Ramzan iftar spreads too. The salt and spice make sweet fruit taste even sweeter. Chef's tip: season it just before eating; once the salt goes on, the fruit starts weeping juice and goes soft within 15 minutes.

15 minIndianSaladsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Awadhi vegetable dum biryani

Lucknow's cooks built their reputation on restraint: the Awadhi biryani is perfumed rather than fiery, with no tomato, very little chilli and whole spices that whisper instead of shout. Vegetables are cooked in spiced yogurt, layered with long-grain rice that is only three-quarters done, then sealed under a dough lid so everything finishes in its own steam, a technique the city calls dum pukht. It is the dish for Eid gatherings, wedding buffets and long Sunday lunches across Uttar Pradesh, served with a cooling raita and a sliced onion salad. The common mistake is boiling the rice fully before layering; it then turns soft and sticky under the lid instead of separating into long, distinct grains. Chef's tip: lift a grain and press it between your fingers before draining; it should break into two or three firm pieces with a white core.

115 minIndianRice & Grains
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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