How vegan friendly is India?

India has more vegetarians than the rest of the world put together.   Indians also have around the lowest rate of meat consumption in the world.  Being vegan in India in not as easy as one might imagine and ironically this is due to how extremely easy it is to be vegetarian. Dairy consumption is high.  Dishes with ingredients like paneer can easily be avoided, what is more difficult to avoid is ghee, which is clarified butter and is used instead of oil.  Animal-based ingredients (other than dairy and honey) such as lard, gelatin and meat stock are not used in the traditional cuisine. 

Most restaurants in India clearly distinguish and market themselves as being either "non-vegetarian", "vegetarian", or "pure vegetarian", with the later being the term to donate the quickly rising vegan movement.

Vegetarianism in India stems from tradition and religious beliefs.  The culture includes a belief in ahimsa, the practice of non-violence.  This was linked with the rise of Jainism and Buddhism.  This is why we can expect veganism to continue to grow quickly.

Another big aspect of Indian culture is Ayurvedic diet, which eschewes meat completely.  Wellbeing practises of yoga and meditation have long been followed before it they became trendy in the west.

Vegan restaurants and cafes

The best  resource for vegan restaurants is the restaurant guide on the Vegan First website.  Another option is to find a Tibetan or Indo-Chinese restaurant, which are widespread and they rarely use dairy.  Dishes are very easy to veganise and often simply means replacing the ghee with oil.  By travelling in a group and planning ahead we can notify restaurants ahead of time and as food is generally prepared from fresh ingredients they are happy to cook to order.

Vegan resources...

Vegan hubs

I have posted in the vegan groups around India, and have a great response.  I have found that there are several vegan hubs and a couple of vegan paradises.

Dharamshala and Auroville are top of the list.

Good places for vegans are….  Kerela, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bengalaru, Chennai.

Hyderabad : has been recognized by PETA as the most vegan friendly city in 2019. Hyderabad has expanded its vegan options exponentially, which in turn has helped in the growth of the vegan community, which continues to grow consistently. 

Bengaluru : became the first Indian city to be named the most vegan-friendly city. 

Pune and Chennai have also won the award.

Here is a list of cities with high numbers of vegetarians:

• Indore: 49%

• Meerut: 36%

• Delhi: 30%

• Nagpur: 22%

• Mumbai: 18%