The Complete Vegan Guide to Indian Food

A lot of it is, and a lot of it isn't. Indian cooking has an enormous vegetarian tradition, but dairy is used widely and often invisibly, ghee to finish dal and rice, cream in gravies, yogurt in marinades, butter on bread. Many dishes that look plant-based contain ghee added at the last moment.

Chana masala, rajma, most dals if made with oil, aloo gobi, bhindi masala, baingan bharta, roti and chapati, plain rice, papadum and most South Indian dishes such as dosa, idli, sambar and coconut chutney. Always confirm whether ghee is used.

The lentils are, but many kitchens finish dal with a tempering of whole spices in ghee, which is clarified butter. It's the most common way a vegan diner is caught out in an Indian restaurant. Ask specifically, since many kitchens use oil and will say so.

Usually not. Naan dough typically contains milk or yogurt, and the bread is brushed with butter or ghee after cooking. Roti, chapati and tandoori roti are usually vegan, though it's worth asking them not to brush ghee on afterward.

The potato and pea filling usually is, but the pastry is sometimes made with ghee rather than oil. Worth asking, along with what the kitchen fries in.

No. Paneer is a fresh cheese made from milk. It's suitable for vegetarians who avoid animal rennet, since it's set with acid, but it isn't vegan.

No. "Pure veg" on an Indian restaurant means vegetarian, no meat, fish or egg, and says nothing about dairy. Pure-veg kitchens are often more dairy-heavy than others.

No. Jain food excludes root vegetables such as onion, garlic and potato, but it includes dairy. It's a different standard rather than a stricter version of vegan.

South Indian cooking, which is built on rice, lentils, coconut and tamarind rather than dairy. Dosa, idli, sambar, rasam, medu vada and coconut chutney are usually vegan without any substitution.

Say "I don't eat any dairy, no ghee, no cream, no yogurt, no butter" rather than "I'm vegan." In many kitchens "vegan" gets heard as "vegetarian," and ghee often doesn't register as dairy to a cook who uses it daily.