When you first start learning about vegan cooking, you might feel a little overwhelmed. What ingredients do you need to stop using? How do you replace them? Will it all taste good? Is it easy to prepare vegan dishes? How do you make sure you get all the right nutrients?
Don’t worry! Vegan cooking is very simple! Especially in India where many dishes are already vegetarian if not vegan!
Read on to find out which dishes are vegan as-is, how you can change a vegetarian meal to a vegan one, and where to find more great recipes and resources.
Resources for Vegan Meals
No matter your preferred learning style, you can be sure to find plenty of material to inspire you in the kitchen. Whether you’re looking for recipes, cooking methods, or flavour-inspiration, there is a way to find what you’re looking for
Learn via YouTube
YouTube is the best buddy for many people who want to learn new skills. You can find vegan chefs, plant-based bakers, and nutrition tips galore. The best part is you can learn from this platform at any time and from anywhere.
Check out creators like:
- Rainbow Plant Life
- Vegan First
- Anjali (beextravegant)
You can get tips about cooking and see how to do the techniques, as well as get ideas from “What I Eat In A Day” videos to craft your weekly meal plan.
Online Learning Platforms / Private Cooking Classes
Enlist the help of a cooking coach to help you become a master in the kitchen! Find a cooking coach who can teach you online or in person. With a private instructor, you can be sure that they will help you learn everything you want to know about making delicious dishes that suit your palette. If you take group lessons, you’ll still get a lot of great hands-on help and maybe make some friends, too!
Cookbooks
Never forget good, old-fashioned cookbooks! You can buy physical books or download ebooks online. Either way, you get insights that the authors share only in their books and nowhere else. You also have the advantage of being able to flip through and find a designated number of recipes faster than if you were to look them up online.
Here are some of the best vegan cookbooks of 2023:
- Vegetable Kingdom: The Abundant World of Vegan Recipes by Bryant Terry
- The Homemade Vegan Pantry: The Art of Making Your Own Staples by Miyoko Schinner
- The Modern Tiffin: On-the-Go Vegan Dishes with a Global Flair by Priyanka Naik
- Vegan: The Cookbook Jean-Christian Jury
- East Meets Vegan: The Best of Asian Home Cooking, Plant-Based and Delicious Sasha Gill
Websites
Lastly, there are many food bloggers who don’t have any published cookbooks or who don’t post on YouTube. You can search their websites and still find a treasure trove of great recipes there!
Learn how to make trendy vegan dishes, vegan fast food (and healthy copycats), and gourmet dishes worthy of a dinner party at websites like:
- Lazy Cat Kitchen
- The Curious Chickpea
- Pick Up Limes
- Hot For Food
- Vegan Richa
- The Vegan 8
- Holy Cow Vegan
Already-Vegan Indian Dishes
As mentioned before, many typical Indian dishes are vegan by default. Check out all of these vegan staples you’ve probably been having for years and you might not have even known they were plant-based!
- Gol Gappe/Pani Puri/Puchka
- Bhel Puri
- Sev Puri
- Samosa, Samosa-pav, Samosa chaat
- Aloo Tikki/Aloo Chaat
- Bhutta
- Parantha
- Chhole Bhature
- Vada Pav
- Dabeli
- Pav Bhaji
- Kachori
- Veg Momos
- Dal Pakore/Ram Laddoo
- Poha
- Onion Pakora/Kanda Bhaji/Bajji
- Sabudana Vada
- Poori Bhaji
- Dosa
- Idli
- Medu Vada
- Khaman Dhokla
- Unniyappam
- Jalebi
How to Adapt Vegetarian Dishes to be Vegan
To change a vegetarian dish into a vegan dish, you need only to change two types of ingredients: eggs and dairy.
If the dish calls for ghee, change it to vegan butter or oil.
If it calls for egg, you have a few choices. You can use gram flour for a quiche/frittata-type texture, make a moong bean liquid, or use tofu. If you need a binding ingredient, you can use tapioca starch, agar powder, or flour. And if you’re baking, try milled flax seeds or chia seeds, applesauce, or a banana.
Learning these swaps is easy with a cooking instructor or by using the aforementioned resources.
The Benefits of Consuming Vegan Food
The benefits of consuming wholesome and well-prepared vegan food are enough to make you appreciate your decision of adopting veganism. You get to cherish the satisfaction of protecting animals while enjoying good health!
Reduced Health Risks
Many scientific reports have proven that vegans have the advantage of reduced health risks versus people who consume meat! In 2015, WHO classified red meat as a Group 1 carcinogen! This group also includes asbestos and tobacco. So, you remain at less risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancer too when you avoid meat. There is also zero cholesterol in a plant-based diet, so you never need to worry about cholesterol levels getting too high.
Improved Mental Health
PCRM (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine) have reported “The phytochemical quercetin, found only in plant foods, acts as an MAO inhibitor. Working much like a natural antidepressant, quercetin can increase the amount of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine in the brain.”
Glowing Skin
Vegan diets are generally lower in unhealthy nutrients like cholesterol, fats, and sodium. Animal products are also inflammatory to the body, causing low-level inflammation all throughout the body, even in people who experience no clear sign of an allergy. Many people report looking and feeling much better, especially after ceasing the consumption of dairy since lactose intolerance is actually really common.
Supporting Environmental Welfare
Adopting veganism is a decision you can make to support animal welfare. Also, animal agriculture is one of the prime causes of greenhouse gas emissions. Eliminating animal products from your life is one great way to help reduce the production of harmful emissions from animal agriculture.
Learn Best Vegan Dishes To Make At Home
No matter your cooking skill, schedule, or interest level in cooking, there are tonnes of vegan dishes you can learn that suit your needs.
You can try cooking simple dishes with the best flavours and the perfect touch of spices to enjoy being a vegan!
Nachni/Ragi Dosa and Made With Whole Nachni
Nachni or ragi is a healthy cereal that has a very high nutritional value. Ragi can be most suitable for those who want to lose weight. Nachni dosa is a non-fermented dosa. It is served with green chutney and is one of the healthy snacks.
Rajma Kabab
It’s time to know that tasty snacks don’t always have to be fat-laden. And if you believe snacks like kabab cannot lower-calorie, here is a low-fat version of the popular rajma kabab. Infused with a pinch of Indian spices such as ginger, green chillies and cooked in minimum oil, rajma kabab can be a delight for your hunger.
Medu Vada
This is one of the most popular South Indian breakfast. Filled with fresh curry leaves, chillies, peppercorns all mixed in soaked urad dal to create a smooth paste. It is a very light yet healthy breakfast that fits well for a vegan.
Other trending vegan foods are Sprouted Dhokla, Rice Flour Bread, Healthy Momos, Sprouts Tikki.
Vegetable Biryani
The flavour of Biryani is the authentic pride of Indian dishes! You can enjoy its essence by cooking a mixed vegetable Biryani. Savour the aroma by cooking finely chopped cauliflowers, eggplants, potatoes, peas, cabbage and beans with Biryani rice. Infuse Indian spices and serve the plate with cilantro-mint chutney!
Frankies & Veg Wraps
Frankies and wraps are crunchy, spicy, and saucy. You can prepare the dish within 15 minutes if you know your way around the kitchen. Add pickled onions and green chillies to make the filling spicier and mouth-watering to taste. You can either prepare the filling with sweet potatoes or jack fruit to bring a unique texture to it.
Peruvian Burritos
Burritos are irresistible, especially when you cook them in the vegan style! Roast sweet potatoes, mash them and mix the batter with peas, onions and pickle to get a spicy touch. Enjoy the flavour bomb with Peruvian sauce to serve!
Salad Tacos
Salad tacos are something Americans love to snack on! You can grate cucumbers, cabbage, beans, lettuce, spinach and other green leafy vegetables to prepare the filling. Mix it with some spices and avocado oil to enjoy the taste!
Pasta With Artichoke Sauce
Artichoke sauce is a perfect alternative to white sauce! Savour the luscious sauce with semi-cooked vegetables cooked with penne pasta. Add your favourite seasoning and enjoy the creamy pasta! You can also serve this dish to your vegan friends at kitty parties!
Jade Noodles
You can load jade noodles with your favourite vegetables, as many as you want. Keep the vegetable semi-cooked and fry the noodles in olive or avocado oil to enhance the flavour.
Sweet Potatoes Toasted In Lentils
Sweet potatoes can uplift your mood as well as your vegan diet experience. You can cook a stew of your favourite lentils and add some roasted sweet potatoes to it. Garnish it with chopped onions, pickles, and coriander leaves to add an authentic flavour.
Being a vegan is rewarding on many levels, and you don’t even need to skimp out on flavour. While it might take time to get used to this new way of cooking and eating, rest assured that millions of others before you have already taken the plunge, and their only regret is not doing it sooner!
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