BEST INDIAN VEGETARIAN FOOD RECIPES THAT ARE EASY TO MAKE

Asians love vegetarian food and there are numerous veggie dishes to choose from.

We searched for the most loved Indian vegetarian recipes that are quick and simple to make. Not only will they satisfy your taste buds but are very healthy for you.

Indian Vegetarian Food

Getting your five a day never got so easy!

Aloo Gobi

Aloo Gobi

This traditional dish is a Punjabi potato and cauliflower curry that is a favourite dish across India and Pakistan. The dish has many flavours and spices to it, and can be accompanied with a meat dish or eaten by itself with chapattis.

Ingredients

  • 14 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 large onion, peeled and cut into small pieces
  • 1 bunch fresh coriander, separated into stalks and leaves and roughly chopped
  • 1 small green chili, chopped into small pieces (or one teaspoon chili powder)
  • 1 large cauliflower, leaves removed and cut evenly into eighths
  • 3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into even pieces
  • 2 cans diced tomatoes
  • 1 fresh ginger, peeled and grated
  • 1 fresh garlic, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seed
  • 2 teaspoons turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons garam masala

Method

  1. Heat vegetable oil in a large saucepan.
  2. Add the chopped onion and one teaspoon of cumin seeds to the oil.
  3. Stir together and cook until onions become creamy, golden, and translucent.
  4. Add chopped coriander stalks, two teaspoons of turmeric, and one teaspoon of salt.
  5. Add chopped chillis (according to taste) Stir tomatoes into onion mixture.
  6. Add ginger and garlic; mix thoroughly.
  7. Add potatoes and cauliflower to the sauce plus a few tablespoons of water (ensuring that the mixture doesn’t stick to the saucepan).
  8. Ensure that the potatoes and cauliflower are coated with the curry sauce.
  9. Cover and allow to simmer for twenty minutes (or until potatoes are cooked).
  10. Add two teaspoons of Garam Masala and stir.
  11. Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves on top of the curry.
  12. Turn off the heat, cover, and leave for as long as possible before serving.

Chole / Chickpea Curry

Chole

Chickpeas make a perfect vegetarian and vegan friendly dish. Not only will it provide you three of your five-a-day, but will leave you wanting more.

This recipe by thespruce.com is the one to follow to achieve a great Chickpea Curry.

Ingredients

  • 2 cans of chickpeas
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 5-6 garlic cloves
  • 3-4 green cardamoms
  • 5-6 peppercorns
  • 3 large onions (sliced thin)
  • 2 large tomatoes (chopped)
  • 2 tablespoons garlic paste
  • 1 tablespoon ginger paste
  • 2 teaspoons coriander powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin powder
  • ½ teaspoon red chilli powder
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 2 teaspoons garam masala
  • 1-inch piece of ginger (julienned)

Method

  1. Grind two of the sliced onions, the tomatoes, and the ginger and garlic pastes together into a smooth paste in a food processor.
  2. Heat the vegetable/ canola/ sunflower cooking oil in a deep, thick-bottomed pan on a medium heat.
  3. Add the bay leaves, cloves, cardamom and peppercorns and sauté until slightly darker and mildly fragrant.
  4. Add the remaining sliced onionand fry till light golden in color. Add the onion-tomato paste you made earlier and fry till the oil begins to separate from the paste.
  5. Add the dry, powdered spices – cumin, coriander, red chili, turmeric and garam masala Sauté, stirring frequently, for 5 more minutes.
  6. Drain the water in the can from the chickpeas and rinse them well under running water. I like to do this in a sieve. Now add the chickpeas to the masala you fried up earlier. Stir to mix everything together well.
  7. Add salt to taste and enough hot water to make the gravy (about 1 and a 1/2 cups).
  8. Simmer and cook covered for 10 minutes.
  9. Use a flat spoon or potato masher to mash some of the chickpeas coarsely. Stir to mix everything together well.
  10. Garnish with juliennes of ginger and finely chopped fresh coriander leaves. A squeeze of lemon and a handful of very finely chopped onion tastes great as a garnish too!
  11. Serve the Chole piping hot with Poori or Bhatura.

Mutter Paneer/ Peas and Cottage Cheese Curry

Mutter Paneer is a huge favourite, and makes a great dish by itself. Perfect to serve with a chapati, paratha or Naan, and would even be great with plain boiled Basmati rice.

Ingredients

  • 500 grams paneer cubed
  • 200 grams shelled peas
  • 2 large onions, cut into quarters
  • 3 medium sized tomatoes, cut into quarters
  • 1 tbsp ginger paste
  • 2 tbsps garlic paste
  • 2 tsps coriander powder
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 2 tsps garam masala
  • ½ tsps turmeric powder
  • 2 green chillies chopped fine
  • 6 tsps of vegetable cooking oil
  • 1 and ½ cups of hot water
  • Salt to taste
  • 3 tbsps thickened/double cream
  • 1/3 cup fresh coriander leaved, chopped fine to garnish

Method

  1. Grind the onions into a fine paste in a food processor. Keep aside.
  2. Next grind tomatoes into a fine paste and keep aside.
  3. Heat 2-3 tbsps of the vegetable/ canola/ sunflower cooking oil in a deep pan and gently stir-fry the cubes of paneer till golden. When golden, remove onto a paper towel and keep aside.
  4. In the same vessel heat the remaining 2-3 tbsps of the vegetable/ canola/ sunflower cooking oil and add the onion paste. Fry till it turns light brown. You will need to stir frequently to avoid the paste burning. Also, do not over fry as it will turn bitter and ruin the curry. Another hassle-free way to do this is to chop the onions fine and then sauté till pale golden, then grind in the food processor!
  5. When the onion paste is fried, add tomato paste, ginger and garlic paste and sauté for another 2 minutes.
  6. Next, add the coriander, cumin, turmeric and garam masalapowders, the finely chopped green chillies and sauté, stirring continuously till the cooking oil begins to separate from the masala (spice mixture).
  7. Now add the peas to the masala and fry for 2-3 minutes.
  8. Then add the previously fried paneer, hot water and salt to taste, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook till the gravy thickens.
  9. When the gravy is as thick as you would like, turn off the heat and stir in the cream.
  10. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.
  11. Mutter Paneer tastes great with Chapati, Paratha, Naanand even Basmati rice.

Saag

Saag- indian vegetarian food

Saag is a curry that is a mixture of similar ‘bitter’ greens (kale, turnip greens), and spinach. It also has various spices and chillies to give it that extra kick.

Ingredients

  • 125g butter
  • 2 teaspoons cumin seed
  • 1 green chilli, seeded and diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons ground turmeric
  • 500g chopped fresh mustard greens
  • 500g chopped fresh spinach
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Method

  1. In a large frying pan or wok, melt butter over medium-high heat, and cook and stir cumin seed, chilli, garlic and turmeric until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
  2. Stir in the chopped mustard greens and spinach a little at a time, adding the tougher parts first (the stems and thicker leaves). Continue to add greens, and cook and stir until all greens have been added and all are thoroughly wilted. Stir in the cumin, coriander and salt. Cover; reduce heat and simmer until greens are tender, about 10 minutes, adding water as needed to keep the greens moist.

Yellow Lentil Dhal Recipe

Yellow Dhal

Dhal is a soup like dish, that can be served with either rice or chapattis. The recipe can be made with any type of lentils, and can have as many spices added to it to accommodate your taste buds.

Ingredients

  • 2 tbps canola oil
  • 3 tsp whole cumin seeds
  • 2 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 and 1/2 cups yellow lentils, sorted and rinsed
  • 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric

Method

  1. Heat oil in saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in cumin and red pepper flakes, and sauté 1 minute. Add onion, garlic, and salt, and sauté 1 minute more.
  2. Add lentils, vegetable broth, 2 cups water, and turmeric. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 25 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed.

Aloo Paratha

Aloo Paratha

In most Asian households, Sunday is the day where you can look forward to Aloo Paratha on the table.

Aloo Paratha is one of the most popular Paratha recipes, where a spicy potato mixture is used as a stuffing in an Indian flat bread. These go down a treat with chilled yoghurt or a knob of butter.

Another great recipe by thespruce.com.

Ingredients

  • 5 medium potatoes (boiled, peeled, and mashed)
  • 2 teaspoon coriander powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin powder
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
  • Salt to taste
  • 3 tablespoons of coriander leaves, finely copped
  • 1 piece of ginger
  • 2 cups of whole wheat flour
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Method

  1. Put the mashed potatoes, coriander and cumin powders, cumin seeds, turmeric, chili powder, salt to taste, chopped fresh coriander and grated ginger into a large mixing bowl. Blend all ingredients well by stirring. Once well mixed, keep aside for later.
  2. Put the flour, oil/ghee, and all the ingredients (except the water) into a large mixing bowl.
  3. Rub together to form a crumbly mix.
  4. Now slowly add water, a little at a time and knead well to make a smooth, pliable dough. Cover and set aside for an hour.
  5. Divide the dough into golf ball-sized portions and roll between your hands till they are smooth and without cracks.
  6. Very lightly flour a rolling board or clean counter surface and roll each ball into a 5″ circle. Now take a tablespoon-full of the potato mix and spoon it into the centre of the circle you just made. Slowly lift the edges and bring together in the centre to form a pouch. Press the ends together tightly to close the pouch. Once sealed, press down gently to flatten so that you have a flattened pouch.
  7. Lightly flour your rolling surface and roll this pouch into a 7-8″ circle. Don’t worry too much if the filling oozes out. This happens often but can be avoided by using a very light hand to roll out the paratha. Just gather up the filling and either keep aside or try to put it back into the paratha and pinch the dough to seal. Also, if you’re just starting out with Aaloo Parathas, do not worry about getting the perfect round shape as it takes a little practice to achieve. Whatever the shape, it tastes just as good! For convenience roll out as many parathas as you like, stacking them, ready to cook with a layer of cling film between each paratha.
  8. Heat a griddle and fry the parathas one at a time like this: Put a paratha on the griddle. Do the first flip when you see tiny bubbles rise on the surface of the paratha. As soon as the first flip is done, drizzle a bit of oil on the top and spread well over the surface of the paratha. Flip again in 30 seconds and drizzle oil on this surface too. The paratha is done when both sides are crispy and golden brown.
  9. Serve with chilled yogurt and your favourite pickle or chutney.

By Amy Lehal

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