Vegan Indian Pantry

A large share of everyday Indian food is plant based already: chana masala, rajma chawal, a pot of dal, aloo gobi, bhindi masala and chana dal with lauki are all cooked with oil in many homes. This page collects the vegan pantry behind those dishes, from tinned chickpeas and tinned beans to saag, tomatoes, rice, atta and cooking oils. Ghee, paneer, butter and honey are left out on purpose.

Many restaurant versions finish a curry with cream or a spoon of ghee, so cooking at home is the easiest way to keep these dishes vegan. Make the tarka with sunflower, rapeseed or groundnut oil: heat it until it shimmers, add cumin seeds until they crackle, then onion, ginger, garlic and chilli. Sarson ka saag is traditionally finished with butter, but tinned saag warmed through a garlic and oil tarka is deeply savoury on its own, and coconut milk does the job of cream in South Indian and Sri Lankan curries.

Plain flatbreads are vegan when made the usual way: chapati atta, water and a pinch of salt, cooked dry on a tawa and served unbuttered. Rice, millet and maize breads work the same way. Some foods are made in places that also handle milk, so read each label for milk or may contain warnings if you avoid dairy strictly.

Chickpeas and beans in tins are already cooked. Rinse them under the cold tap to lose the canning liquid, or save the chickpea water, called aquafaba, which whips like egg white for vegan baking. Once a tin is opened, move what is left into a covered tub in the fridge.