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Looking for vegetarian and vegan Indian Dinner recipes? Here are the best 40+ easy, full of flavor Dinner Recipes from curries, stir-fries, lentils, and rice dishes that your family will love.
This post includes popular restaurant/take-out favorites from Paneer makhani, Palak paneer, Dal makhani, and Vegetable biryani, to homestyle recipes like Kala chana curry, Moong khichdi, and many more!
Here is a roundup of 40+ easy Indian dinner recipes, including curries, lentils, and rice dishes that you can try.
A lot of recipes use a pressure cooker that is easy and takes very less time to prepare. You can also make them on the stovetop.
What is a Typical Indian Dinner Meal?
A typical Indian Vegetarian dinner consists of one main dish. The main dish can be a curry (or dal), stir fry, or rice.
- If the main dish is a curry or lentil dish like dal, or chickpea curry, you can serve it with flatbread or basmati rice, or jeera rice.
- If the main dish is a vegetable stir-fry, you can serve them with Indian flatbread, such as roti, chapati, paratha, or naan.
- If the main dish itself is a rice dish likeveg biryani, pulao, or khichdi, you can serve it along with yogurt orraita.
You can also serve with accompaniments such as salad, raita (or yogurt), pickle (achar), papad, and chutney or chutney powder along with the dinner.
Note: If you are looking for low-carb or keto options, substitute rice with cauliflower rice and use low-carb flatbread.
Indian Dinner Cooking Tips
- Kitchen Gadgets: It is good to invest in 2 kitchen staples. A pressure cooker and mixer-grinder, with a food processor. You can cook dried lentils, chickpeas, beans, rice, and potatoes in a traditional pressure cooker or Instant pot quickly; otherwise, it can take hours. A mixer-grinder is essential for making curry paste, chutney, or spice powder for North and South Indian cooking. Using a food processor, you can quickly knead the dough, slice, and grate veggies.
- Spices: Spices are the heart and soul of Indian cooking. They add flavor, and fragrance, and elevate the taste of Indian dals, curries, and rice dishes. Here is a small list of basic and everyday spices (both whole & ground spices).
- Turmeric Powder
- Red Chili Powder (or Cayenne Pepper)
- Cumin Powder
- Coriander Powder
- Garam Masala
- Asafoetida (Hing)
- Black Mustard Seeds
- Whole Cumin Seeds
- Bay Leaves
- Whole Cinnamon Sticks
- Cloves
- Cardamoms
- Pepper Corns
- Ginger and Garlic: Ginger and garlic are the essentials of North Indian cooking. You can make ahead the homemade ginger paste and garlic paste in large quantities and store them in the fridge. Or you can freeze it into single-use portions. You can also use readymade ginger garlic paste. This saves some prep time.
- Onion Tomato Masala: Make a big batch of onion tomato base (bhuna masala) and freeze. You can use this base sauce for a busy weeknight dinner.
- Make Extra: You can make a large quantity of curry and use it for another meal or freeze it.
Vegetarian Indian Dinner Recipes
Curries & Stir Fries
Restaurant Style Paneer Butter Masala | Paneer Makhani
Restaurant Style Paneer Butter Masala is a popular recipe where Paneer cubes are simmered in a mildly rich onion tomato cashew nut based gravy
Check out this recipe
Instant Pot Palak Paneer Recipe (Pressure Cooker)
Palak Paneer is a dish of North Indian origin consisting of palak (spinach) and paneer (cottage cheese) in a thick curry sauce based on pureed spinach, onion, tomatoes and spices
Check out this recipe
Palak Tofu (Spinach Tofu Curry)
Palak Tofuis a delicious, rich Indian curry recipe made with pan-fried tofu and spinach gravy in an Instant potor stovetop.
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Paneer Jalfrezi Recipe
Vegetable Paneer Jalfrezi is an easy and healthy stir fry recipe made with cottage cheese, vegetables like bell peppers and Indian spices
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Instant Pot Matar Paneer (Cottage Cheese and Peas Curry)
Matar Paneer or Mutter paneermasala recipe is a classic restaurant style vegetarian curry of Indian cottage cheese and peas cooked in a tomato-onion based sauce in an Instant Pot Pressure cooker.
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Aloo Gobi is a healthy and delicious stir-fry made with potato, cauliflower that's infused with Indian spices and extremely easy to make
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Instant Pot Aloo Baingan Masala | Potato Eggplant Curry
Potato Eggplant Curry is a delicious and flavorful Punjabi dish made by cooking potatoes and eggplants with onions, tomatoes and few indian spices.
Check out this recipe
Cabbage Peas Stir Fry (Patta Gobi Matar)
Cabbage Peas Stir Fry is a very delicious side dish recipe prepared with cabbage (bund/patta gobi), green peas and a mix of spices.
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Potato Masala, is an Indian dish made with yellow potatoes, sautéed onions, and a tasty blend of spices and fresh chilies.
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Instant Pot Vegetable Kurma (Mix Veg Korma)
Vegetable Kurma is a popular Indian curry in which vegetables are cooked in a creamy and aromatic gravy of yogurt, coconut and cashew nuts based paste and sautéed onion and tomato along with few spices.
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Navratan Korma recipe is a mildly spiced, slightly sweet, creamy based delicious Indian Mughlai curry.
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Mushroom Masalais an easy and delicious restaurant style Indian Currymade with onions, tomato, mushrooms, peas and spices in an Instant Pot or Stovetop pot
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Instant Pot Mumbai Pav Bhaji
Pav Bhaji is a popular dish from Mumbai made up of spiced mashed vegetable curry (bhaji), served piping hot with a soft bread roll (pav) with a butter,finely chopped onions, cilantro and a squeeze of lime
Check out this recipe
Gujarati Kadhi Instant Pot
Gujarati Kadhi is a sweet and spicy Indian curry recipe where yogurtgram flourmixture is cooked with spices made in Instant pot pressure cooker or stovetop.
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Beans, Lentils
Instant Pot Dal Tadka (Restaurant Style)
Dal Tadka is an easy one-pot pressure cooker recipe prepared with split pigeon peas lentils, assorted spices and cooked with pot-in-pot rice.
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Whole Masoor Dal Recipe (Brown Lentils Curry)
Whole Masoor Dal (Brown Lentils Curry) recipe is a healthy and easy dal made in an Instant Pot pressure cooker with whole masoor dal, onions, tomatoes, and Indian spices.
Check out this recipe
Instant Pot Chana Masala (Chole Masala Recipe in Pressure Cooker)
Chana Masala or Chole is one-pot healthy protein-rich vegan and gluten free recipe cooked in a spicy, flavorful onion-tomato gravy along with few spices.
Check out this recipe
Rajma Masala (Kidney Beans Curry) - Instant Pot
Punjabi Rajma Masala is a one-pot healthy, protein-rich, vegan and gluten-free recipe made with dry or canned beans and cooked in a spicy, flavorful onion-tomato gravy along with few spices.
Check out this recipe
Instant Pot Dal Makhani
Restaurant style Dal Makhaniis a one-pot, healthy, protein-rich curry recipe made with whole urad dal and kidney beans, cooked in a spicy, flavorful onion-tomato gravy along with few spices in an Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
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Black Eyed Peas Curry Recipe (Indian Lobia Masala)
Black Eyed Peas Curry or Lobia Masala Curry is a popular Punjabi curry which is heathy and delicious made using onion-tomato base and few spices.
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Whole Green Moong Dal
Whole Green Moong Dal is a simple high protein, delicious curry made with green lentils and spices in an Instant Pot or a stovetop pressure cooker.
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Kala Chana Recipe (Black Chickpeas Curry)
Black Chickpeas Curry (Punjabi Kala Chana) is an easy, one-pot Indian curry recipe made by cooking black chickpeas in flavorful onion-tomato gravy along with a few spices in the pressure cooker.
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Instant Pot Vegetable Sambar
Vegetable Sambar is a South Indian lentil and vegetable stew made with lentils ,tamarind and unique blend spice blend together called sambar powder.
Check out this recipe
Rice Recipes
Instant Pot Vegetable Biryani Recipe
A simple, easy and flavorful vegetable biryani recipe made in the Instant pot pressure cooker with layers of spiced vegetables, warm spices, herbs like mint and cilantro, fried onions and basmati rice.
Check out this recipe
Easy Vegetable Pulao Recipe
Vegetable Pulao is an easy one pot rice dish made with rice, mixed vegetables and mildly flavored with various whole spices
Check out this recipe
Instant Pot Peas Pulao (Matar Pulao)
Peas Pulao or Matar Pulao recipeis a quick, filling, one pot, flavorful rice dish made with green peas, onions and whole spices in an Instant Pot Pressure Cooker or Stovetop.
Check out this recipe
Instant Pot Jeera Rice (Indian Cumin Rice)
Instant Pot Jeera Rice (Cumin Rice) is an easy one pot flavorful rice dish made with perfectly cooked Basmati Rice flavored with jeera and whole spices.
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Moong Dal Khichdi
Moong Dal Khichadi or Khichari is healthy Indian comfort meal made using yellow lentils, rice, and tempered in ghee with cumin seeds
Check out this recipe
Paneer Pulao
This Paneer Matar Pulao is a flavorful South Indian rice recipe made with coconut milk, peas, vegetables, and a few spices in the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker.
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Instant Pot Bisi Bele Bath
This one-pot Bisibelebath (Bisi Bele Bath) is a very popular recipe from Karnataka prepared in the Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker.
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Burnt Garlic Vegetable Fried Rice
Burnt Garlic Fried Rice recipe is a popular Indo-Chinese dish made with basmati rice, vegetables, soy sauce, and lots of garlic.
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Tomato Rice using Coconut Milk is a Tamilnadu style tomato rice recipe made with fresh tomatoes, coconut milk and few Indian spices.
Check out this recipe
Indian Lemon rice- spicy, tangy flavored South Indian classic rice pilaf recipe prepared with rice, lemon juice, roasted peanuts, and Indian spices in an Instant Pot Pressure Cooker.
Check out this recipe
Paneer Fried Rice
The Paneer Fried Rice recipe is an, easy and delicious Indian Chinese-style fried rice dish made with paneer (Indian cottage cheese), veggies, cooked basmati rice, and some sauces.
Check out this recipe
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Easy Indian Dinner Recipes
Bhavana Patil
Looking for vegetarian and vegan Indian Dinner recipes? Here are the best 40+ easy, full of flavor Dinner Recipes from curries, stir-fries, lentils, and rice dishes that your family will love.
4.43 from 7 votes
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Course: Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine: Indian
Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian
Method: Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker, Stovetop
Keyword Easy Dinner Ideas, indian dinner recipes
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