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Trying to get this thread to a good start. As per this Article about 70% of Indians are Vegetarians. I would say about 40% to 60% depending on the area. That is more than half a billion !! Hope atleast some of them join here.

http://www.jsonline.com/entree/cooking/jan01/indian10010901.asp

Vijay

Hello from an Indian in California :)

Welcome. First Indian here two months after this thread was started.

Vijay :)

I visited Kerala last November. Beautiful country, friendly people and some of the best vegan / veggie food I've ever had.

I encourage everybody to visit India!

Welcome. First Indian here two months after this thread was started.

Vijay :)
Hmmm... we could give you a prize for that :D

I visited Kerala last November. Beautiful country, friendly people and some of the best vegan / veggie food I've ever had.

I encourage everybody to visit India!
Did you stay in the woods?

Also India fans can report. Great :D

I haven't visited India though I have had many colleagues from there. And I have got a touch of India in singapore's Little India. I used to eat there often. Of course I have been eating in more western Indian restaurants too. There are plenty of them even in Scandinavia. Most beautiful restaurant I have visited was Annalakshmi in Singapore city area.

I buy frequently food from Asian stores and I cook dahls, curries, chappati and other Indian style foods. Though dairy I try to use less than Indian cuisine does.

Cheers to all Indians!

Did you stay in the woods?

Spent 3 nights in a Tiger Preserve, 1 night on a houseboat in the backwaters and another couple of nights in a 'resort' on the coast and another few nights in Cochin (big town).

Spent 3 nights in a Tiger Preserve, 1 night on a houseboat in the backwaters and another couple of nights in a 'resort' on the coast and another few nights in Cochin (big town).
Damn, I'm jealous :) Did you see any tiger(s)? I haven't gotten lucky so far.

Damn, I'm jealous :) Did you see any tiger(s)? I haven't gotten lucky so far.

No tigers. Just elephants, monkeys, boar, various other animals and a huge monitor lizard!

Hi there from and Indian living in Maryland!

Hi there from and Indian living in Maryland!
Ahem ... hi from the west coast :)

Indian Jain here.

Remember an important thing: Just because Indians are veg doesn't mean Indian food is _healthy_ ;). My grandma used to put a few tablespoons of ghee (clarified butter) on EACH serving of dinner entree. What a family!

Wow, I love Indians. I'm not indian though. Hi everyone. :)

I live in Mississppi. You know what one of my dreams is? To visit Indiaaaaaaaaaa. :D

Hopefully someone on this thread will be able to help me out...

I will be taking a 3 week long class in India in January and have heard that eating vegan there is difficult due to the use of dairy in pretty much everything. I will be visiting Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Guragaon, and Mandawa (sorry if I spelled those incorrectly). Any suggestions for restaurants, food stands, markets, fast food, etc? BTW, I heard that McDonald's in India has some vegan options; is that true? (God forbid I should have to sink to depths requiring a visit to the golden arches, but I might get desparate!). Also, is there anything I need to watch out for, i.e. hidden non-vegan ingredients, etc?

Can anyone recommend some good Indian veg web sites?
Thanks!

I'm an Indian/Hindu.

Born and raised vegetarian.

Against our religion to eat meat^ ^

I'm an Indian/Hindu.

Born and raised vegetarian.

Against our religion to eat meat^ ^

basically that is correct, but i have also heard that more and more indians are not vegetarians anymore. probably similar to animal-eating buddhists in thailand :no:

anyway, i have a job offer from bangalore and might move there soon :bobo: but i have not made up my mind yet. i am a bit scared of culture shock and stuff, but also very curious :worried:

Can anyone recommend some good Indian veg web sites?
Thanks!

Here are a few of my favorite:

http://www.nandyala.org/mahanandi/ (this one has absolutely mouthwatering photos, and is probably my favorite)
http://saffronhut.blogspot.com/
http://spiceisright.blogspot.com/
http://www.naughtycurry.com/home/ (this isn't strictly veg, but they suggest a vegetarian option for almost all of their dishes).

All of these food blogs have links to their favorite food blogs, so you can spend hours and hours surfing while you are supposed to be working (what, you mean thats just me?!)

I spent 10 weeks in India in 1998 and loved it there. Granted there was a lot of pollution, poverty, filth and over-crowding, but if you can look past that India is an amazingly beautiful country. The people were very friendly, the food was fantastic and the sights were unbelievable.

I spent most of my time in Bangalore working, but I was able to get away on weekends to do some climbing down towards Mysore and also within the outskirts of Bangalore itself. My wife and son flew into Delhi and I met them there so that we could take a tour of the country. We spent three days in Delhi, went to Agra and the Taj Mahal, then went to Jaipur, took the train to Mumbai (Bombay) spent a couple of days there and then took the train to Bangalore. After another week of work we went to the Kabini River Lodge outside of Mysore and actually saw a tiger from about 75 feet away (he crossed the jeep trail directly in front of us), then went to Fort Cochin and Trivandrum for Kovalum Beach.

We would have done more touring, but our train tickets were stolen so our trip up the east cost through Pondicherry and Chennai had to be cancelled.

I would return to India at the drop of a hat. My wife on the other hand is glad she went once, but she doesn't want to go again.

After another week of work we went to the Kabini River Lodge outside of Mysore and actually saw a tiger from about 75 feet away (he crossed the jeep trail directly in front of us), then went to Fort Cochin and Trivandrum for Kovalum Beach.On my most recent trip to India, I spend a few days at Kabini River Lodge. What a great facility! I just missed a tiger spotting by a few minutes but saw lots elephants, some quite up close, various primates, birds, a pack of wild dogs, bison and of course, spotted deer. They say the best time to go is during the dry season but I'm not so sure I can handle that kind of heat even after living in Arizona for 5 yrs. :sweat: I think I'll explore Kerala on my next visit.

Hi all, I wonder if anyone could give me a little advice. Im going to India in Nov/Dec, touring through Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat...my partner and I are both vegan and are wondering if anyone can recommend anywhere in those states (or indeed anywhere else!) that does veg cookery classes...would love to return home knowing how to knock together a mean pure veg thali!
Cheers
Scott

Hi all, I wonder if anyone could give me a little advice. Im going to India in Nov/Dec, touring through Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat...my partner and I are both vegan and are wondering if anyone can recommend anywhere in those states (or indeed anywhere else!) that does veg cookery classes...would love to return home knowing how to knock together a mean pure veg thali!
Cheers
Scott

Most cooking is taught traditionally at home by Word of Mouth. I am from Chennai and there were some Catering courses, they were Diploma courses for 2 years or so.

My suggestion is to grab recipe books there. Also, there are some street vendors cooking/selling, show interest in what they are doing and purchase what they are selling. They might strike a conversation with you and help you.

This book might also interest you:
http://www.alternativevegan.com/
Related Blog.
http://altveg.blogspot.com/

The Author participates a lot on the forum on veganfreaks.net
You are encouraged to join this forum.

Wish you a very pleasant trip.

The Story of Madras:
http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/6/6/2/26621/26621-8.txt