Indian Vegetarian Cuisine - includes recipes

Vegetarian Journal, May, 2001 by Madhu Gadia

The exhibition hall at The American Dietetic Association annual meeting was bustling with activity as several hundred exhibitors attempted to grab the attendees' attention. And what is a better way to entice us than to feed us? As I picked up samples of food from the booths, I felt guilty for mooching, so I stood there and listened to their spiels.

There were numerous booths offering vegetarian samples. Companies know that dietitians are great promoters of "healthy foods" and are open to new foods. If you are a vegetarian, you have plenty of choices in the marketplace today. But I was surprised that most vegetarian choices were made to look like and taste like their meat counterparts. There were vegetarian chicken nuggets, vegetarian hot dogs, vegetarian burgers, etc. This was a shock to me. As an Indian, if I wanted to eat a vegetarian meal, I would definitely not choose something that looked or tasted like meat. I had to wonder why so many vendors were creating vegetarian meat analogs. I assumed that the customers must be demanding them, as these products basically provide familiar meals that converted vegetarians in America grew up with. After all, most people like to eat foods they were raised on (comfort foods, some call them), and when people give up meat, it may be hard for them to imagine a complete meal without the main course, which has traditionally been meat-based.

Americans often judge a vegetarian meal by how closely it can approximate a non-vegetarian meal. "Is it going to be as gratifying as my Mom's meatloaf, green beans, and potatoes, if I don't have the meatloaf?" "Can the vegetarian meal be nutritionally well-balanced, appetizing, and hearty without the meat?" These are the million dollar questions on the minds of those who are trying to eat a vegetarian meal for a day, are trying to feed a family, are converting to vegetarianism, or, for that matter, are vegetarians.

In a way, a whole shift of perspective is necessary when trying to understand and accept the reason that Indian vegetarians aren't trying to make a meatless meal look, taste, smell, or feel like a meal with meat. In fact, the Indian objective is dramatically opposite. For us, a vegetarian meal should be (and is) hearty, appetizing, nutritionally well-balanced, satisfying, and should still have a special flair and distinction of its own, even though all meat and eggs are excluded.

The vegetarian tradition in India is widespread. The acceptance and popularity of vegetarianism in India blossomed around the fifth century BCE (Before the Common Era), and today millions of Indians are vegetarian. How many people are vegan is only a guess. Part of the reason is that a "vegetarian" to most Indians is one who does not eat most animal products but does partake of dairy products. So they are basically lacto-vegetarians. But then there are people who live in the coastal region and call fish the "fruit of the ocean." They consider themselves vegetarians and include milk and fish in their diet. During the last 2-3 decades, some people have started to consider unfertilized eggs vegetarian (sold as vegetarian eggs), so they are lacto-ovo-vegetarians. So there is some variation in the definition. Still, the idea of vegetarianism is well-preserved and extremely popular. Even the non-vegetarian Hindus or Sikhs do not eat meat during any auspicious or religious occasions. Consequently, the variety in vegetarian dishes is unique to Indian meals. Beans, legumes, pulses (dals or beans), milk, and nuts provide the bulk of the protein in the diet. A typical Indian vegetarian meal consists of dal (beans), roti (bread) and/or rice, vegetables, and yogurt. The meal is often accompanied by relishes, papad (seasoned wafer-thin bread made from lentils or moong beans and rice flour paste), chutneys, and pickles. Wholesome Indian meals are expertly mixed to provide an abundance of essential nutrients.

Traditionally, Indian meals are often served in a thali (a large rimmed plate) lined with katories (small bowls). A typical vegetarian thali will have dal, one or more cooked vegetables, a raw salad of cucumbers, radishes, etc., yogurt, and dessert in the katories accompanied by roti and/or rice, chutney, pickles, and papad. The katories prevent the food and flavors from mixing with each other. Indians can be quite finicky about mixing their foods. Combining flavors is left to the discretion of each individual. One person likes the roti with vegetables and rice with dal, and the other likes a touch of chutney with every bite, while the next person mixes the chutney with his or her dal. Any way is socially acceptable, as it all goes in the stomach and is mixed anyway. But please keep my dal away from my rice!

Eating an Indian vegetarian meal is an adventure in itself. The spicing of food is taken very seriously. The food is not only seasoned to taste good but also to aid in digestion and promote better health. Indian cooks take pride in spicing their dishes to perfection. To most Americans, spicy food often translates as chili-pepper-hot, but to an Indian, spicy entails layers of seasonings that enhance the flavor of food. Food without spices is often characterized as bland food made for a sick person. Indian kitchens are usually equipped with 30 or more spices and their blends. Great pride is taken in spice blends. When talking to Indians you will often hear, "I use my mother's garam masala," or "This is my mother-in-law's sambhar powder; she makes the best." The dish could be flavored with two to ten spices without worry; every spice has a well-worn character and an Indian cook is a master at manipulating them into a textured, layered, exquisite flavor. It takes the same amount of time or effort to add one or ten spices--it all depends on the dish and what you are trying to get out of it. You will often hear two cooks sharing a recipe, saying "The secret to my dish is a pinch of...." A pinch or a dash of spice can alter the whole flavor of the dish, and an Indian cook understands the subtlety of these spices. Learning to use these spices is an art that is passed from generation to generation. I learned from my mother and she from her mother. You can understand how appalling the thought of a store-bought "curry powder" can be to an Indian cook! To think you would use the same "curry powder" for every dish! One blend of spices will create only one kind of dish with only one flavor.