Indian food is one of the easiest to make vegan, as it uses cheap easy-to-find natural ingredients (vegetables, grains and lentils) plus spices and no fake meats or cheeses. Flavours vary but don’t worry, not all Indian food is very very spicy, if you prefer milder tastes! Here are some of the best recipe books to have fun with. Also find affordable vegan curry recipes.
Never eat rice after 24 hours (a good poison hazard). Keep these recipes away from young children and pets due to unsafe ingredients like onion, garlic and strong spices. Read more on food safety for people & pets (many foods are unsafe near animal friends).
Plant-Based India is a wonderful book by Dr Sheil Shukla who learned to cook traditional Indian food from his grandmother over summers in Mumbai, and now combines his talents with medical knowledge to produce healthier plant-based versions reinvented for the modern age, to manage chronic illness.The 100 recipes include shak (spiced vegetable dishes), dal (legume stews), rotli (flatbreads), bhat (rice). enjoy:
- Palak tofu
- Vegan nan
- Festive Navratan rice
- Dal Makhan
- Chocolate chai mousse with berries
Dr Sheil Shukla is an internal medicine physician and food artist, who is passionate about both. He loves exploring food cultures and his culinary creations have over 60,000 followers on Instagram.
Vegan Treasures of India is a highly-reviewed book of 60 delicious unique recipes. Linger over hearty vegetable Ishtoo or share the iconic Vada Pav with loved ones. Spice up weeknights with robust Kadala curry or indulging in a treat like cooling kesar kulfi.
a book of 100 homemade vegan Indian recipes
The Essential Vegan Indian Cookbook offers tips on traditional cooking techniques along with a shopping guide, before learning how to cook regional favourite and traditional dishes. Recipes include:
- Eggplant (aubergine) lentil curry
- Tofu saag
- Cauliflower tikka masala
Priya Lakshminarayan is from Mumbai, and lives in Florida, USA. She is the creator of an award-winning recipe blog and enjoys creating recipes from scratch using fresh ingredients, whilst listening to Bollywood music!
where to buy plant-based Indian meals
If you have days when you don’t fancy cooking from scratch, you can find many Indian meal choices at online vegan meal delivery services like Root Kitchen and Allplants. If you find them a tad expensive, you can always half the quantities and bulk up with potatoes and veggies, then eat the other half the next day.
Chef Akila is a company run by a GP and his Indian grandmother, who brought family recipes with her to England. This highly-reviewed range of meals delivered to your door (keep dry ice away from children and pets) includes a vegan curry box (7 items each for 2 people) and individual meals like:
- Tikka masala
- Kadala curry
- Aubergine Gothsu
- Spinach dal kootu
- Mum’s masala potatoes
- Vegetable dum biriyani
COOK (sold online or in many farm shops and stores) offers good vegan Indian meals. The range (all prepared by professional chefs) includes:
- Roasted cauliflower & aubergine dhal
- Roasted vegetable & chickpea curry
- Onion bhajis
- Bombay potatoes
- Tarka dal
- Garlic & coriander naan
- Peas pilau
plant-based Indian restaurants & takeaways
England has a growing number of vegan Indian restaurants and takeaways. One is Vegan India (Bristol) that is the city’s first. And in Newcastle, Karma Kitchen Cafe delivers incredible plant-based food throughout the northeast, made with locally sourced fresh ingredients. Or simply collect from the city centre. It also offers ‘Karma Boxes’ with nationwide delivery containing a selection of curries, rice and naan.
Nelly’s Delhi (Wolverhampton) offers affordable vegan street food (just 13 miles from Birmingham – birthplace of the Balti Curry!) And further south, you’ll find Delhish (a rated Oxford vegan Indian restaurant).
a plant-based Ayurvedic recipe book
Eat Feel Fresh is a lovely uplifting book by a beautiful young woman who also is trained in the Indian medicine of Ayurveda. Discover your ‘dosha’ then find holistic healing recipes to help. The difference is that Sahara Rose has omitted the usual butter and ghee, replacing with plant-based versions. So now you can help animals and your health. Always consult your doctor before taking Ayurvedic or any other herbs, due to contraindications.
Recipes include:
- Chakra smoothies!
- Sweet potato pesto pizza
- Rose Cardamom latte
Sahara Rose is ‘an ancient soul in a modern body’ who has millions of fans worldwide. She has been a nutrition speaker at Harvard Medical School and is on a mission to raise the energy of the planet. She also loves dancing and drumming!