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Indian vegetarian recipes

206 Indian vegetarian recipes, each written for this site and each saying what its method turns on.

• Ada, sourced from India. A rice-flour parcel steamed inside a banana leaf, which is the mould. vegan.
• Ada pradhaman, sourced from India. Rice flakes in a sauce of coconut milk cooked with jaggery. vegetarian.
• Adhirasam, sourced from India. The dough ferments for three to five days in the sun before anything is fried. vegetarian.
• Akki rotti, sourced from India. A rice-flour flatbread from Karnataka, finished over an open flame so its edges char. vegetarian.
• Aloo Chap, sourced from India. No peas in it, a batter round the outside, and puffed rice alongside. vegan.
• Aloo chokha, sourced from India. Mashed boiled potato taking its mustard oil raw, the side that goes with litti. vegan.
• Aloo Gobhi, sourced from India. Cauliflower is the other half, and turmeric is what makes it yellow. vegetarian.
• Aloo Mutter, sourced from India. The gravy is tomato made creamy, and the spicing is mild on purpose. vegetarian.
• Aloo paratha, sourced from India. A wheat flatbread whose spiced potato filling goes inside a ball of dough before it is rolled. vegetarian.
• Aloo Tikki, sourced from India. The peas go inside the potato and it is shaped into a cutlet. vegetarian.
• Anarsa, sourced from India. It is rolled in white poppy seeds and fried poppy-side down first. vegetarian.
• Ashoka Halwa, sourced from India. A Thanjavur halwa in which moong dal stands in for the wheat that was scarce. vegetarian.
• Avial, sourced from India. The vegetables are boiled rather than fried, and only crisp ones go in. vegetarian.
• Baingan Bharta, sourced from India. The aubergine is charred whole over a flame until the skin blackens, and that smoke is the dish. vegan.
• Bakarkhani, sourced from India. A hard-crusted Mughlai bread whose sheet is stretched and folded back over ghee again and again. vegetarian.
• Bal mithai, sourced from India. Roasted khoya cut into fudge and rolled in sugar-coated poppy seeds. vegetarian.
• Barfi, sourced from India. Khoa and sugar cooked to a fudge and cut cold, with nothing set in syrup. vegetarian.
• Basundi, sourced from India. It is stirred constantly so that no skin forms at all, which is the opposite of what rabri wants. vegetarian.
• Bati, sourced from India. The bread that uses the least water, which is why it keeps in a desert. vegetarian.
• Bebinca, sourced from India. Between seven and sixteen layers, each one baked before the next is poured on. Egg, vegetarian.
• Beguni, sourced from India. Aubergine cut the long way, in a gram flour batter, fried in mustard oil. vegan.
• Bhakri, sourced from India. Millet flour and hot water, flattened by hand rather than rolled. vegan.
• Bhel puri, sourced from India. Built one ingredient at a time, with no dahi anywhere in it. vegan.
• Bikaneri bhujia, sourced from India. Moth bean flour with the gram flour, which is why it is crunchier than sev. vegan.
• Bisi Bele Bhath, sourced from India. Rice, dal and vegetables cook in one pot, and the masala has its own name. vegetarian.
• Bombay mix, sourced from India. A dozen separately fried things tossed together, each kept crunchy. vegan.
• Bonda, sourced from India. A ball of filling dipped whole in gram flour batter, so the batter is only a coat. vegan.
• Boondi, sourced from India. Batter dropped through a slotted spoon, so it fries as separate pearls. vegan.
• Bread pakora, sourced from India. Triangles of white bread in gram flour batter, often with potato between two slices. vegan.
• Chadachadi, sourced from India. It comes off the heat when the charring sizzles, and the crust is stirred back in. vegan.
• Chakuli Pitha, sourced from India. Rice flour and black gram, not soaked and ground rice, and hours of fermenting rather than a night. vegetarian.
• Chana Masala, sourced from India. The chickpeas are soaked overnight and amchoor is what sharpens the sauce. vegetarian.
• Chandrakanti, sourced from India. The flour is split green gram as well as rice, and the shape is a choice the source does not make. vegetarian.
• Chhena Gaja, sourced from India. The water is squeezed out and the dough dried before it is cut into rectangles and boiled in a thick syrup. vegetarian.
• Chhena Jalebi, sourced from India. The curds are rolled into pretzel shapes and deep-fried, not piped as a batter. vegetarian.
• Chhena Jhili, sourced from India. Wheat flour is worked into the curds before they are fried, which is what makes it hold its shape. vegetarian.
• Chhena Kheeri, sourced from India. The fried cubes go into the milk and the milk is then boiled down around them to a rabri. vegetarian.
• Chhena Poda, sourced from India. It is baked for hours and its flavour comes from the sugar caramelising, with no syrup anywhere in it. vegetarian.
• Chhenabara, sourced from India. It is fried to a burnt brown crust over a centre that stays soft. vegetarian.
• Chikki, sourced from India. A jaggery syrup made with as little water as possible, rolled to six or eight millimetres. vegetarian.
• Chinese bhel, sourced from India. Fried noodles and raw cabbage, tossed the way a bhel is tossed. vegan.
• Chitranna, sourced from India. It is lemon rather than tamarind, and the seasoning has its own name. vegan.
• Chole bhature, sourced from India. The chole takes its dark colour from amla or tea rather than from spice. vegetarian.
• Churma, sourced from India. Baked bread crushed back into ghee and sugar. vegetarian.
• Curd Rice, sourced from India. The rice is cooled to room temperature before the curd goes in, or it ferments. vegetarian.
• Dabeli, sourced from India. The name means pressed, and the potato goes into the bun under pomegranate and peanuts. vegetarian.
• Dahi baigana, sourced from India. Built so it can be made without onion or garlic, for the festivals that forbid them. vegetarian.
• Dahi vada, sourced from India. Fried lentil balls dropped into water first, and only then into thick yoghurt. vegetarian.
• Dahibara Aloodum, sourced from India. The fried baras soak in water first and then in thin yoghurt for hours, and two separate curries go on top. vegetarian.
• Dal badam chakki, sourced from India. Dal flour and ground almond set as a fudge and cut in slices, which is what chakki means. vegetarian.
• Dal bati, sourced from India. A bread dough kneaded with yoghurt and rolled to tennis-ball size, with a rai-jeera dal. vegetarian.
• Dal Makhani, sourced from India. Some of the lentils are mashed as it simmers, and kasuri methi and butter go in at the end. vegetarian.
• Dhebra, sourced from India. A Gujarati pearl-millet bread fried until small brown spots appear, which keeps for days. vegan.
• Dhokla, sourced from India. The batter is rice and chana dal, fermented at least four hours before it is steamed. vegan.
• Dhoper chop, sourced from India. An egg-shaped potato cutlet in a jacket of white bread, whose name means a lie. vegetarian.
• Doodhpak, sourced from India. The milk is slow-boiled down before serving and it is eaten with puris rather than on its own. vegetarian.
• Double Ka Meetha, sourced from India. It is leavened double roti, and it soaks in sugar syrup rather than milk. vegetarian.
• Dum Aloo, sourced from India. Small potatoes are deep-fried whole first, then cooked slowly sitting in the sauce rather than above water. vegetarian.
• Enduri Pitha, sourced from India. It is wrapped in a turmeric leaf and steamed, and the leaf is the flavour. vegetarian.
• Erissery, sourced from India. Grated coconut is toasted to deep brown in the final tempering, and its article calls that the signature. vegan.
• Falooda, sourced from India. Nothing in it is cooked at the point of serving: it is layered cold in a glass. vegetarian.
• Gajar Ka Halwa, sourced from India. The carrots are grated and cooked down in milk, and the nuts are fried in ghee before they go on. vegetarian.
• Gavvalu, sourced from India. Dough rolled on a ridged tool so each piece curls into a cowrie shell. vegetarian.
• Ghari, sourced from India. A puri dough closed round a mawa filling and coated in ghee. vegetarian.
• Ghevar, sourced from India. The batter is poured into hot ghee and sets as a honeycomb disc. vegetarian.
• Ghugni, sourced from India. Coconut and tamarind go in the gravy, and it is eaten with puffed rice. vegan.
• Gulab Jamun, sourced from India. The dough is milk solids, and it fries at a low temperature. vegetarian.
• Handvo, sourced from India. There is a vegetable in the batter, which is what makes it a cake rather than a sponge. vegetarian.
• Imarti, sourced from India. The batter is black gram with saffron in it, piped as a flower with a ring in the middle. vegetarian.
• Jalebi, sourced from India. A plain-flour batter piped in a spiral, and it is eaten with curd or rabri. vegetarian.
• Jeera Aloo, sourced from India. It is dry, cumin-led, and its article says it is not hot unless you make it so. vegan.
• Jhunka, sourced from India. The gram flour paste is sauteed until it stiffens, which is what separates it from the wet, mild pithla. vegan.
• Jolbhora sandesh, sourced from India. A chhena sweet with a liquid centre of date palm jaggery, which is what the name means. vegetarian.
• Kaalan, sourced from India. Pepper leads it, and the curd is stirred one way over a low heat because boiling curdles it. vegetarian.
• Kachori, sourced from India. A round pastry with gram flour and ghee in it, stuffed with dry dal before frying. vegetarian.
• Kadboli, sourced from India. Four flours in one dough, where kodubale uses only two. vegan.
• Kadhi, sourced from India. Yoghurt and gram flour are simmered together until the gravy thickens, and it must not be allowed to split. vegetarian.
• Kahwah, sourced from India. The spices are boiled with the green tea, and the almonds go in the cup. vegetarian.
• Kaju katli, sourced from India. A single-thread syrup poured onto ground cashews and cut into rhombuses. vegetarian.
• Kakara Pitha, sourced from India. Wheat flour rather than rice, and a pinch of edible camphor in the filling. vegetarian.
• Kakinada Kaja, sourced from India. One form is a hollow cylinder holding the syrup inside it, the other a layered diamond holding it between the sheets. vegetarian.
• Kalakand, sourced from India. Two dairy preparations in one sweet: chhena kneaded soft and stirred into milk already reduced by half. vegetarian.
• Kanda kachori, sourced from India. A cooked onion filling bound with besan before it is stuffed. vegetarian.
• Kanika, sourced from India. Turmeric colours the rice and the grains stay separate, so it is not a pudding. vegetarian.
• Kansar, sourced from India. Coarse wheat flour and tepid water, with no milk and no fruit, and the sugar goes on at the table. vegetarian.
• Kesari Bat, sourced from India. Saffron is in the name and it is what colours it. vegetarian.
• Khaja, sourced from India. The dough is layered like pastry before it is fried, and the syrup is called paga. vegetarian.
• Khaman, sourced from India. No rice and no fermenting: the lift comes from lemon juice and curd. vegetarian.
• Khandvi, sourced from India. The batter is cooked to a paste, spread thin and rolled tight while it is warm. vegetarian.
• Khatkhate, sourced from India. At least five vegetables, and tirphala -- Sichuan pepper -- is what makes it. vegan.
• Kheer, sourced from India. The rice goes in whole and the grains stay visible in the finished pudding. vegetarian.
• Khichdi, sourced from India. Rice and lentils boiled soft together until they lose their shape. vegetarian.
• Khichu, sourced from India. An alkaline salt goes in, and that is what makes the dough stretch. vegan.
• Khira Sagara, sourced from India. The chhena marbles are not fried at all: they go into the thickened milk raw. vegetarian.
• Khoya Paneer, sourced from India. Thickened milk goes into the gravy as well as the cheese, and it is meant to be hot. vegetarian.
• Koottu, sourced from India. The lentils and the vegetables are cooked separately and then combined, thicker than sambar and looser than a stir-fry. vegan.
• Kozhukkatta, sourced from India. A steamed rice-flour shell round coconut cooked in jaggery syrup. vegetarian.
• Kulfi, sourced from India. It is never churned, and the slow cooking browns the milk before it is frozen. vegetarian.
• Kuzhambu, sourced from India. A tamarind broth with fenugreek and toor dal, thin as a broth or thick as a gravy. vegan.
• Laapsi, sourced from India. Broken wheat rather than flour, cooked in milk with dried fruit in it. vegetarian.
• Laddu, sourced from India. Something already cooked bound into a ball with syrup, and the name means small ball. vegetarian.
• Lassi, sourced from India. Yoghurt let down with water and blended, served in a clay cup. vegetarian.
• Laung lata, sourced from India. The fold is pinned shut with a clove, which is what the name is. vegetarian.
• Litti, sourced from India. A wheat ball stuffed with sattu and roasted on hot charcoal. vegetarian.
• Lyangcha, sourced from India. Fried hard, boiled in hot syrup, then left for hours in cold scented syrup until it goes soft. vegetarian.
• Makhan Bada, sourced from India. A maida dough deep-fried in ghee and then dipped in sugar syrup. vegetarian.
• Malpua, sourced from India. The batter stands for hours and is spooned into the fat as a pancake with crisp edges. vegetarian.
• Manda Pitha, sourced from India. A steamed rice-flour shell around a coconut filling, and a fried semolina one in the west. vegetarian.
• Manda roti, sourced from India. A bread rolled so thin it is served folded like a handkerchief, cooked on the outside of an upturned pan. vegetarian.
• Mangalore bajji, sourced from India. A curd batter mixed stiff enough to be the ball itself, with no filling in it. vegetarian.
• Maroi Bori Thongba, sourced from India. Chives stand in for onion and garlic entirely, and the protein is sun-dried lentil nuggets. vegan.
• Masala Dosa, sourced from India. Poha goes into the batter, and the crepe is wrapped round a spiced potato filling. vegan.
• Matar Paneer, sourced from India. Peas and paneer in a tomato sauce, with the garam masala going in at the end. vegetarian.
• Mihidana, sourced from India. The batter goes through a perforated ladle so it fries as separate grains. vegetarian.
• Mirchi bada, sourced from India. A stuffed chilli fried once with the potato and then battered and fried again. vegan.
• Mirchi ka salan, sourced from India. Chillies in a ground peanut sauce that is deliberately grainy. vegan.
• Misal, sourced from India. The tarri is the heart of it, and its colour comes from the spices and nothing else. vegan.
• Mishti Doi, sourced from India. It ferments overnight in earthenware, whose porous walls both thicken it and hold the temperature. vegetarian.
• Modak, sourced from India. Two versions, one fried and one steamed, and the shell can take khoya. vegetarian.
• Mohanthal, sourced from India. A besan sweet into which a sugar syrup is poured, which is what separates it from magas. vegetarian.
• Murukku, sourced from India. Rice and urad flour piped into coils, and the name means twisting. vegetarian.
• Mysore pak, sourced from India. Steam escaping through the greased flour is what makes it porous. vegetarian.
• Nabadwip-er Lal Doi, sourced from India. The milk is boiled over wood until it turns red, three litres down to one, before it is set at all. vegetarian.
• Nankhatai, sourced from India. A shortbread of three flours: refined, chickpea and semolina. vegetarian.
• Neer dosa, sourced from India. A rice batter thinned with water and never fermented. vegan.
• Neyyappam, sourced from India. Fried in ghee, which is exactly what its name says. vegetarian.
• Noon chai, sourced from India. Soda turns it burgundy, cold water holds the colour, and the milk makes it pink. vegetarian.
• Olan, sourced from India. There is no tempering at all: the coconut oil and curry leaves go in raw at the end. vegan.
• Osmania biscuit, sourced from India. Salty as well as sweet, which is what the Nizam asked for. Egg, vegetarian.
• Paddu, sourced from India. An idli batter cooked in the indentations of a special pan, so each one is a ball. vegan.
• Pakhala, sourced from India. Rice washed or lightly fermented in water, and the liquid is the dish as much as the rice. vegetarian.
• Pakora, sourced from India. Whatever is dipped, the batter is gram flour, sometimes cut with rice flour. vegan.
• Palak Paneer, sourced from India. The spinach is boiled and pureed before anything else, and only spinach goes in. vegetarian.
• Palathalikalu, sourced from India. The strands are cooked in milk rather than water, which is what pala means. vegetarian.
• Panchratna Dal, sourced from India. Five dals in equal quantities, and the name counts them. vegetarian.
• Paneer Tikka, sourced from India. It is threaded on a skewer with peppers and onion and grilled until the surface singes. vegetarian.
• Panipuri, sourced from India. A hollow semolina puri punctured with a finger, filled, and eaten in one bite. vegan.
• Panjiri, sourced from India. It stays dry and loose, and the spices are cumin, coriander, dry ginger and fennel rather than cardamom. vegetarian.
• Panta Bhat, sourced from India. Leftover rice soaked overnight and eaten in the morning, with mashed potato beside it. vegan.
• Pantua, sourced from India. The colour is decided by how long it fries, from pale brown to nearly black. vegetarian.
• Papadam, sourced from India. Thin discs of black gram dough dried hard before they are fried or flipped over a flame. vegan.
• Paruppusilli, sourced from India. Two dals are soaked and ground rather than boiled, and the beans are cooked dry. vegan.
• Pashti, sourced from India. A rice-flour flatbread kneaded in hot water and cut into circles with the rim of a plate. vegetarian.
• Pathiri, sourced from India. A wheat flatbread remade in rice flour, which is what its name records. vegan.
• Patoleo, sourced from India. A rice paste and a coconut filling steamed inside a turmeric leaf, and the leaf is not eaten. vegan.
• Patrode, sourced from India. Colocasia leaves spread with a tamarind paste, rolled and steamed until the leaves are cooked through. vegan.
• Pav bhaji, sourced from India. Cooked and mashed on a flat griddle, with the pav soaked in butter on the same iron. vegetarian.
• Peda, sourced from India. Khoa cooked on until it browns, then pressed into thick semi-soft balls. vegetarian.
• Pesaha appam, sourced from India. A rice cake made unleavened on purpose, like the matzo it is said to come from. vegan.
• Petha, sourced from India. Ash gourd cured in lime water before it is boiled, which is what makes it crunchy. vegan.
• Pheni, sourced from India. Finer strands than seviyan, and sutar means thread. vegetarian.
• Phirni, sourced from India. The rice is ground to a powder first, so it sets smooth with no grains in it at all. vegetarian.
• Pinni, sourced from India. It is rolled into a ball and keeps for weeks without refrigeration. vegetarian.
• Podo Pitha, sourced from India. It bakes overnight and the crust is meant to come out burnt. vegetarian.
• Poee, sourced from India. A Goan leavened pocket bread fermented with toddy and baked on the floor of the oven. vegan.
• Pongal, sourced from India. The rice is cooked in boiling milk, and the name means boil over. vegetarian.
• Poornalu, sourced from India. A fried dumpling whose filling has its own name, poornam. vegan.
• Pootharekulu, sourced from India. A sheet of rice starch thin as paper, folded round sugar and ghee. vegetarian.
• Poriyal, sourced from India. It is a stir-fry, and the coconut goes on at the end as a dressing rather than into the dish. vegan.
• Pulihora, sourced from India. The souring paste is made in advance and keeps for months, then stirred through cooked rice. vegan.
• Puran poli, sourced from India. A sweet stuffed flatbread rolled out in rice flour, or in oil with no flour at all. vegetarian.
• Puri bhaji, sourced from India. Deep-fried rounds of flour with a spiced potato that may be dry or in gravy. vegan.
• Rabri, sourced from India. The skin of cream is lifted off as it forms and set aside, again and again, until the milk is used up. vegetarian.
• Ragi rotti, sourced from India. A finger-millet breakfast bread spread onto the hot griddle by hand and cooked crisp. vegan.
• Raita, sourced from India. The name is black mustard, and the mustard is fried before it meets the yoghurt. vegetarian.
• Rajma, sourced from India. The spices go in whole rather than ground, and the gravy is thick enough to sit on rice. vegetarian.
• Ras Malai, sourced from India. The discs are cooked in syrup and then lifted out of it into milk, which is what they are served in. vegetarian.
• Rasabali, sourced from India. The patties are flattened so they can absorb the thickened milk more readily. vegetarian.
• Rasam, sourced from India. The lentils are optional and the tart stock is not, which is why it is thinner than sambar. vegetarian.
• Rasgulla, sourced from India. The balls are simmered in a light syrup until it has permeated them, and are never fried. vegetarian.
• Sabudana khichri, sourced from India. Coarsely ground peanuts mixed through the drained sago before anything is heated. vegetarian.
• Sai bhaji, sourced from India. Dal and greens cooked to one smooth mass, and the name means green vegetables. vegan.
• Sakinalu, sourced from India. Rice flour alone, trailed into concentric circles and fried. vegan.
• Sambar, sourced from India. Pigeon peas and a tamarind broth, with the vegetables cooked in it rather than beside it. vegan.
• Samosa, sourced from India. A maida pastry folded round a filling that was cooked and cooled first. vegetarian.
• Sana thongba, sourced from India. A paneer curry whose gravy is milk rather than tomato or onion. vegetarian.
• Sandesh, sourced from India. The curds are tossed with sugar over a low heat and never boiled or fried. vegetarian.
• Sanna, sourced from India. It is fermented with toddy or coconut water rather than yeast. vegan.
• Sarbhaja, sourced from India. The skins of milk stacked and then fried, which is what the name says. vegetarian.
• Sarpuria, sourced from India. The same milk skins layered rather than fried, with chhena and cream between them. vegetarian.
• Sarson ka saag, sourced from India. Mustard greens cooked down in ghee with garlic, ginger and chilli, and little else. vegetarian.
• Sev puri, sourced from India. Flat papri topped with potato and chickpeas and buried in sev, served without sauce. vegan.
• Sevai, sourced from India. The rice paste is steamed as lumps before it is pressed into threads. vegan.
• Shahi Paneer, sourced from India. Ground cashews and cream are emulsified into the sauce, and no whole spices go in. vegetarian.
• Shahi Tukra, sourced from India. White bread is fried and then milk and sugar are added to it. vegetarian.
• Shankarpali, sourced from India. Semolina in the dough with the maida, which is what makes it snap. vegetarian.
• Sheer Khurma, sourced from India. The vermicelli is fried in ghee before any milk goes near it. vegetarian.
• Sheermal, sourced from India. A mildly sweet saffron bread in which warm sweetened milk replaces the water of a naan dough. vegetarian.
• Shrikhand, sourced from India. The yoghurt is hung in cloth for hours and nothing is cooked at any point. vegetarian.
• Shukto, sourced from India. Deliberately bitter, and a version without bitter vegetables uses fenugreek to keep it. vegetarian.
• Singori, sourced from India. A cone of sweetened khoya wrapped in a maalu leaf, which gives it its shape and its scent. vegetarian.
• Sitabhog, sourced from India. Pressed into threads that look like rice, with small jamun through it. vegetarian.
• Soan papdi, sourced from India. A pulled sugar dough whose name means golden flaky layer. vegetarian.
• Sohan halwa, sourced from India. A halwa set with cornflour, boiled until solid, and brittle rather than fudgy. vegetarian.
• South Indian parotta, sourced from India. Maida where the northern paratha is atta, and the dough is coiled into a spiral. Egg, vegetarian.
• Suji Ka Halwa, sourced from India. The semolina is toasted in fat before any liquid, and the sweetener can be syrup, honey or jaggery. vegetarian.
• Sukhdi, sourced from India. The jaggery goes in equal to the flour and only once the pan is off the heat, then it sets and is cut. vegetarian.
• Surnoli, sourced from India. Cooked on one side only, under a lid, so it stays yellow and full of holes. vegetarian.
• Tan ngang, sourced from India. A puri made with curd instead of water. vegetarian.
• Thalipeeth, sourced from India. The flour is roasted before it is ground, and it has legumes and spices in it already. vegan.
• Theeyal, sourced from India. The name means burnt dish, and the colour comes from roasting the coconut before grinding it. vegan.
• Tilkut, sourced from India. Sesame pounded into the sugar rather than stirred into a syrup. vegan.
• Ulava charu, sourced from India. The horse gram is boiled and then taken out, so only its broth is served. vegan.
• Undhiyu, sourced from India. It finishes dry, with every chunk keeping its shape, so it is barely stirred. vegan.
• Unni appam, sourced from India. Mashed ripe banana in the batter, cooked in the moulds of an unniyappakaara. vegetarian.
• Vada pav, sourced from India. A potato fritter in a bun cut almost through, with a dry garlic and coconut chutney. vegan.

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