4 ms·

Being of Indian descent, I might be biased. But Indian cuisine is the only cuisine I'm aware of where being vegetarian isn't a compromise in the creativity, qu

by atonse 8y ago

Being of Indian descent, I might be biased. But Indian cuisine is the only cuisine I'm aware of where being vegetarian isn't a compromise in the creativity, quality, and sheer flavors available to you. For other cuisines, where centuries of culinary creativity mostly went towards making meat, this is the only viable approach to weaning us off growing animals for meaty foods.

nate_meurer 8y ago
This white guy agrees :)
FooBarWidget 8y ago
There are a ton of delicious Chinese vegetable dishes. I've always found it weird that Americans insist on meat being the only delicious food out there.
gwbas1c 8y ago
Look for falafel.
plants 8y ago
Another one that is even vegan-friendly is Ethiopian food. Almost every Ethiopian restaurant I've been to has a "vegetarian sampler", or something of the like, which on closer inspection is usually vegan. Many dishes in the sampler are lentil-and-spice-based, all are entirely delicious.
tejon 8y ago
Ethiopia provides solid competition.
maxxxxx 8y ago
There are also quite a few German/Austrian dishes that are sweet but are a full meal. Look up "Kaiserschmarrn" or " Zwetschgenknoedel". "Kässpätzle" are not sweet but also a full meal.
- groestl 8y ago
  But to be frank, while Austrian desserts-as-main-course could qualify as vegetarian cuisine, most main courses aren't vegetarian, and at least include a little bit of bacon here and there.
  - maxxxxx 8y ago
    The dishes I mentioned aren't considered desserts. They are main courses.
    - groestl 8y ago
      Well, I am Austrian, and I consider them both desserts and main courses.
      - maxxxxx 8y ago
        I guess you Austrians must be doing things wrong :-). In Bavaria I have never seen Kaiserschmarrn as dessert.
- matt-snider 8y ago
  I wouldn't consider either German or Austrian cuisines to be vegetarian-friendly. Especially when contrasted with Indian food. Having a few dishes that simply don't contain meat is a pretty low standard to set. I think good vegetarian cuisine should also make up for the lost nutritional value of meat (e.g. protein through lentils, seitan, tofu, etc), and of course, have the creativity and effort go into making it delicious. In German/Austrian cuisine, I find that often the vegetarian dishes are an afterthought, being more often on par with a side dish, rather than a true main course.
Skunkleton 8y ago
> But Indian cuisine is the only cuisine I'm aware of where being vegetarian isn't a compromise in the creativity, quality, and sheer flavors available to you. Of course it is. Vegetarian food is a strict subset of all food.
- teh_klev 8y ago
  I don't dp this often or ever on HN, but....Bullshit, there are far more vegetarian foods available than your typical fish, pork, beef, lamb and poultry (and perhaps "game") dishes. I'm not a vegetarian, but I can certainly say that products based on a previous living animal are certainly not a "subset" of vegetable based diets. What a most ridiculous assertion to make.
  - Skunkleton 8y ago
    How am I wrong? By not eating meat you are making a compromise. Maybe worthwhile, but it still is a compromise.
    - atonse 8y ago
      You're being downvoted because you're missing the point, and trying to argue semantics. Yes, of course, by the number of individual ingredient options, keeping meat out is a "subset" in the strictest of mathematical definitions, but that is a largely useless argument. The point is, while this is changing a lot in the US coasts for example, in most other places in the US (and even worse in parts of Europe I've travelled to), the dishes that are actually vegetarian (contain only ingredients derived from vegetables or spices), are a VERY small subset, usually side dishes. But in Indian cuisine (and probably Ethiopian as the other poster stated), you could have just as much of a variety of dishes that are just made from vegetables, that you wouldn't grow tired of eating mashed potatoes, green beans, and salads.
screye 8y ago
Thai cuisine (my favorite cuisine, even above Indian) can do without meat. Their curries (green,red) and flat noodle dishes (pad ki mow, pad see ew) work well with protein substitutes. Though, a certain richness will be lacking. Vietnamese cuisine also kind of works if you know how to make a good veg stock. My vegan fried basically lives out of a local Vietnamese place. Chinese stir fries can be made any way you like. Again, you will need to be a good cook to get add sufficient richness and umami to a veg only stir fry, but with a good base of chinese spices, the sky is the limit. You may see a trend here. Any cuisine that relies on spices to impart flavor to the dish, can be easily ported over to a veg only format. Western dishes depend on leveraging the innate flavors in the ingredients, and veggies don't fare quite as well in that regard. honorary mention: (cuisines that taste great veg, but do get a huuuge boost when meat is added) * Middle eastern falafel-hummus-salad based cuisine (these are no normal salads. Huge variety in salads here) * Mexican ( treat it like a Subway with better ingredients. Most veg Indians that I know of, live off of Subways anyways. We are hard wired to like Rajma Chawal...so mexican feels like home)

by atonse 8y ago

nate_meurer 8y ago

This white guy agrees :)

FooBarWidget 8y ago

There are a ton of delicious Chinese vegetable dishes. I've always found it weird that Americans insist on meat being the only delicious food out there.

gwbas1c 8y ago

Look for falafel.

plants 8y ago

Another one that is even vegan-friendly is Ethiopian food. Almost every Ethiopian restaurant I've been to has a "vegetarian sampler", or something of the like, which on closer inspection is usually vegan. Many dishes in the sampler are lentil-and-spice-based, all are entirely delicious.

tejon 8y ago

Ethiopia provides solid competition.

maxxxxx 8y ago

There are also quite a few German/Austrian dishes that are sweet but are a full meal. Look up "Kaiserschmarrn" or " Zwetschgenknoedel". "Kässpätzle" are not sweet but also a full meal.

groestl 8y ago
But to be frank, while Austrian desserts-as-main-course could qualify as vegetarian cuisine, most main courses aren't vegetarian, and at least include a little bit of bacon here and there.
- maxxxxx 8y ago
  The dishes I mentioned aren't considered desserts. They are main courses.
  - groestl 8y ago
    Well, I am Austrian, and I consider them both desserts and main courses.
    - maxxxxx 8y ago
      I guess you Austrians must be doing things wrong :-). In Bavaria I have never seen Kaiserschmarrn as dessert.
matt-snider 8y ago
I wouldn't consider either German or Austrian cuisines to be vegetarian-friendly. Especially when contrasted with Indian food. Having a few dishes that simply don't contain meat is a pretty low standard to set. I think good vegetarian cuisine should also make up for the lost nutritional value of meat (e.g. protein through lentils, seitan, tofu, etc), and of course, have the creativity and effort go into making it delicious. In German/Austrian cuisine, I find that often the vegetarian dishes are an afterthought, being more often on par with a side dish, rather than a true main course.

Skunkleton 8y ago

> But Indian cuisine is the only cuisine I'm aware of where being vegetarian isn't a compromise in the creativity, quality, and sheer flavors available to you. Of course it is. Vegetarian food is a strict subset of all food.

teh_klev 8y ago
I don't dp this often or ever on HN, but....Bullshit, there are far more vegetarian foods available than your typical fish, pork, beef, lamb and poultry (and perhaps "game") dishes. I'm not a vegetarian, but I can certainly say that products based on a previous living animal are certainly not a "subset" of vegetable based diets. What a most ridiculous assertion to make.
- Skunkleton 8y ago
  How am I wrong? By not eating meat you are making a compromise. Maybe worthwhile, but it still is a compromise.
  - atonse 8y ago
    You're being downvoted because you're missing the point, and trying to argue semantics. Yes, of course, by the number of individual ingredient options, keeping meat out is a "subset" in the strictest of mathematical definitions, but that is a largely useless argument. The point is, while this is changing a lot in the US coasts for example, in most other places in the US (and even worse in parts of Europe I've travelled to), the dishes that are actually vegetarian (contain only ingredients derived from vegetables or spices), are a VERY small subset, usually side dishes. But in Indian cuisine (and probably Ethiopian as the other poster stated), you could have just as much of a variety of dishes that are just made from vegetables, that you wouldn't grow tired of eating mashed potatoes, green beans, and salads.

screye 8y ago

Thai cuisine (my favorite cuisine, even above Indian) can do without meat. Their curries (green,red) and flat noodle dishes (pad ki mow, pad see ew) work well with protein substitutes. Though, a certain richness will be lacking. Vietnamese cuisine also kind of works if you know how to make a good veg stock. My vegan fried basically lives out of a local Vietnamese place. Chinese stir fries can be made any way you like. Again, you will need to be a good cook to get add sufficient richness and umami to a veg only stir fry, but with a good base of chinese spices, the sky is the limit. You may see a trend here. Any cuisine that relies on spices to impart flavor to the dish, can be easily ported over to a veg only format. Western dishes depend on leveraging the innate flavors in the ingredients, and veggies don't fare quite as well in that regard. honorary mention: (cuisines that taste great veg, but do get a huuuge boost when meat is added) * Middle eastern falafel-hummus-salad based cuisine (these are no normal salads. Huge variety in salads here) * Mexican ( treat it like a Subway with better ingredients. Most veg Indians that I know of, live off of Subways anyways. We are hard wired to like Rajma Chawal...so mexican feels like home)