Home-made Vegan Aloo Bhindi

This home-made Aloo Bhindi was made with boiled potatoes, okra, and tomatoes, along with turmeric, cumin, garam masala, red pepper, coriander, salt, and Earth Balance Buttery Spread. I was running low on okra as you can see. I just threw this together using leftovers. This turned out better than expected. Preparation time was about half an hour.

Tasty Bite Coconut Squash Dal

Tasty Bite Coconut Squash Dal is a milder choice for those who want the flavors of India but without the spicy heat. It's creamy like a thick stew. This is easy to make because of the microwavable bag. It cooks in one minute. This is a great meal when time is limited. I love this product and buy this frequently. I even have several pouches stored away for random cravings.

Tasty Bite Indian Coconut Squash Dal

Tasty Bite Indian Coconut Squash Dal over brown rice

Tasty Bite Punjab Eggplant With Basmati Rice

This is another great Tasty Bite meal. I don't have a photo of the packaging, but it looks like all the other Tasty Bite microwave pouches. As usual, Tasty Bite did not disappoint. This stuff was good! And this was a non-GMO meal!

Click here to see the Tasty Bite website

Saffron Road Vegetable Biryani

This tastes like really good fried rice with harmonious flavors of roasted onion, cashews, and mixed veggies. The mild seasonings perfectly enhanced the flavors of the veggies. Personally, I thought it was a little bit dry and needed a little bit of salt, but overall it was great. I will buy this again. This is a good quick lunch choice for vegetarians and vegans.

A Take-out Lunch At Ruchi In Huntsville AL

Because of the COVID-19 epidemic, I was required to order take-out only at Ruchi. There's a few picnic tables outside, so that worked out fine. This was my first visit to Ruchi. I ordered Bagara Baingan and Aloo Gobi. Each item came with a side of rice in a separate container.

Bagara Baingan
 
This dish was described as baby eggplant sauteed in a peanut masala sauce. It was clearly marked vegan on the menu. The sauce was surprisingly spicy and hot. That's okay. I loved it! It was full of wonderful flavor layers. The eggplant was soft. The sauce texture was similar to applesauce. The flavors were harmonious. I needed the rice with this one. It was hot! I'll be getting this one again later.

Aloo Gobi

The Aloo Gobi was mild and equally tasty. It was described as potato and cauliflower in a masala sauce. It too was clearly marked vegan on the menu. I got mostly cauliflower in this one. I would have enjoy having more potatoes, but this was completely satisfying just as it was if I had not expected more potatoes. This was another great choice. Very good!


My first visit to Ruchi in Huntsville was great. I wish the COVID-19 pandemic had not robbed me of the pleasure of eating inside and getting drink refills and table service. The restaurant interior appeared to be clean with a good choice of decorations. The service was great. The price was reasonable for the quality of the food. The serving sizes were generous. I especially liked the menu being marked for vegans. I am conscious of the fact that the fried foods listed as vegan may share frying oil with the meats, so very strict vegans should probably avoid those items or at least ask about them before ordering. I enjoyed my lunch at Ruchi and hope to return soon!

Red Lentil And Spinach Soup At Whole Foods

This is one of the vegan soups at Whole Foods. This one is a good choice. You can't see the soft chunks of veggies because they settled to the bottom.

I had this for lunch today and it was so good I went back this afternoon to get a large take-out bowl for dinner. The spices give the soup a flavor that you could imagine experiencing in a nice Indian restaurant. This is real comfort food. This soup was excellent!

Tasty Bite Jodhpur Lentils

Another vegan Tasty Bite meal? Yes! They have many from which to choose! Like most other Tasty Bite products I've had, this one was very good. The seasonings and texture were as pleasant as expected. However, I regret not having some vegan naan or rice to eat with this.

 

Click here to see the Tasty Bite website

Home-made Bhindi Masala

I used leftovers to make this Bhindi Masala, and I poured it onto Basmati rice. I don't even remember everything I put in this. It did include home-grown okra. I went mild on the heat, heavy on the spice, and light on the sweetness. This was pretty good for leftovers!

The Curry Tiger Burrito by Sweet Earth

Another tasty vegan option from Sweet Earth. Very good!

Tasty Bite Bengal Lentils and Thai Fried Rice

Both of these products are excellent, but I didn't care for this combination. I just ate them separately.

Click here to see the Tasty Bite website

Home-made Curried Potatoes and Peas

I diced a potato, mixed in some frozen peas, and cooked it with coconut oil. Then I added cumin, Sharwood's Mild Curry Powder, salt, and a little bit of water. I let it simmer until the potatoes were slightly brown. This tasted great, it was cheap, and it took about a half hour to make.

Maya Kaimal Everyday Dal

This is my first time trying a Maya Kaimal product. This is another quick and easy meal that comes in a microwavable pouch. 

This tastes like a hearty vegetable soup with more exotic flavors. This product is mild enough for the young and old, but it still has the nice spices I would expect from a mild Indian dish. The kidney beans, carrot, and tamarind give it a slight sweetness. This was very good. I ate mine with Sprouts Tandoori Naan. This ws another good vegan meal.

A Vegan Indian Feast

I went to a small Indian restaurant that has a lunch buffet. They clearly mark each vegan dish with a "V". This meal included Bhindi Masala, Gobi Matar, Basmati Rice with peas and cashews, and roti. This was a great meal.

And I also enjoyed a bowl of Sambar, also with Roti. This was the best part of the meal!

Indian foods can be a very nice way for herbivores to experience bold and interesting flavors. India has a larger vegan and vegetarian population, and they know how to make it right. This type of food tickles all parts of the tongue and offers a good variety of textures. It also can add some spicy heat or sour tang to a mild vegan diet.

Vegans should be very careful about butter, ghee, and yogurt in the Indian foods. India really loves the milk products. If it looks creamy or light in color, it probably has milk in it. If it has a rich buttery flavor, that's butter or ghee. Also, chutney can have yogurt in it to make it rich and creamy. Some restaurant staff may not exactly know the difference between vegan and vegetarian, or they may not know about the cooking processes and ingredients. That's why I like to research the different recipes for dishes before I try them. Some recipes always call for a milk product. I know not to even try those. If most recipes for an Indian dish are typically vegan I will hope the dish is vegan at the restaurant. But I'm always suspicious of it. I nibble and feel for any sign of milk or butter before I really dig in.

Tasty Bite Spinach Dal with Sprouts Original Tandoori Naan

This quick meal tastes as good as restaurant food! It took me 5 minutes to prepare this, and it was reasonably inexpensive. I used Tasty Bite Spinach Dal with Sprouts Original Tandoori Naan and some leftover green onion.

The Spinach Dal is slightly spicy with a smooth and chunky texture. I've posted on that before, and it's still one of my favorites. The naan is a rare vegan find. It's the first time I've found naan without milk, so this is my first time trying naan! It's like other flatbreads. It has a slightly spongy texture much like a pancake or thick pita bread. It has a nice mild flavor that goes very well with the Spinach Dal. I will be eating this combination of foods again! Excellent!

Click here to see the Tasty Bite website

Amy's Indian Samosa Wrap

Amy's Indian Samosa Wrap offers the delicious flavors of Indian food without the heartburn. This mild snack is like a burrito with potatoes, tomatoes, peas, and spices. Very good!

Click here to see the Amy's Kitchen website

Roasted Veggie Masala Bowl at The Wild Cow Vegetarian Restaurant in Nashville TN

This is a daily special. It's not found on the menu. The Roasted Veggie Masala Bowl is charred local veggies, yellow curry sauce, and a green chutney over organic brown rice.
 

The Roasted Veggie Masala Bowl had familiar Indian flavors but without all the oil that I've experienced at Indian restaurants. This was a cleaner, fresher Masala bowl. The bold spices were held back just enough to let the veggies shine equally with flavor. Those veggie chucks are bit-size chunks of onion, bell pepper, okra, and eggplant.

I also got a small side of the vegetable medley. It was cooked until soft. The flavors melted over my tongue. It was as comforting as a big hug from Mother Earth if that could even be possible.

As always, this Wild Cow meal was excellent! During this visit it was very crowded and the post-punk music was a bit too loud. The restaurant has many concrete surfaces, and sound really echos in there. The food and great service make it worth it. I always enjoy the food, and I feel like I'm with friends. Everyone should visit The Wild Cow in Nashville TN.

Click here for The Wild Cow Vegetarian Restaurant website

Idli Sambar

I went to a very small Indian restaurant, and this is one of the items they said was vegan. Idli is a steamed rice cake. Sambar is a spicy soup. This was excellent. It's difficult to describe the flavor of sambar because nothing I've eaten tastes anything like it. This was one of the spiciest foods I've ever eaten, but it didn't really burn my mouth like peppers. It did light up my whole mouth with amazing flavor. The idli was almost tasteless but added an interesting texture. I looked up some recipes for sambar and idli just to see if they are typically vegan. Most recipes I found are vegan. And it looks like the sambar could be very cheap and easy to make at home.

Tasty Bite Spinach Dal and Jasmine Rice

Here's another great non-GMO meal. Tasty Bite makes several excellent vegan products.

Click here to see the Tasty Bite website

Tandoor Chef Masala Dosa

These things are really good. They're delicate, flaky, crunchy, chunky, and spicy. The layers of flavor really tickle all parts of the tongue. The chutney cools the spicy heat. Very good!

Sukhi's Potato Samosas

Wow. Serious flavor. These are really good, but the spice and oil quickly gets to me. This is a good snack to share at parties.