Guides · 3 min read ·
Vegetarian Pakistani Food: Much More Than Daal
Pakistani cuisine is famously meaty, but its vegetarian dishes are excellent: sabzis, daals, beans, rice, breads, snacks and sweets. A guide to eating vegetarian the Pakistani way.
Pakistani food is known for its meat: karahi, nihari, kebabs and biryani dominate restaurant menus. But in homes, especially on weekdays, vegetarian meals are everywhere. Daal, sabzi and roti feed most families several times a week, and many of the country’s most comforting dishes contain no meat at all.
If you’re vegetarian, or simply eating less meat, here’s how to build satisfying Pakistani meals without it.
Sabzi: the everyday vegetable dish
A sabzi is a vegetable dish, usually cooked dry with a little masala and eaten with roti. Some favourites:
- Aloo gobi: potato and cauliflower cooked in their own steam.
- Bhindi masala: okra fried first so it isn’t slimy.
- Baingan bharta: smoky roasted eggplant mashed with onion, tomato and chilies.
- Aloo palak and aloo methi: potatoes with spinach or fresh fenugreek.
- Karela: bitter gourd fried with onions, an acquired taste but much loved.
- Mix sabzi: whatever’s in season, cooked together.
Daal and beans for protein
Lentils and beans are the protein backbone of vegetarian Pakistani food. Masoor daal, daal mash and chana daal are everyday staples. Chana masala, rajma and lobia are heartier bean curries. Our daal guide explains the differences.
Daal with rice or roti is a complete meal, and the combination of grain and legume gives a good balance of protein.
The special dishes
- Sarson ka saag with makki ki roti: Punjab’s great winter meal, and entirely vegetarian.
- Kadhi pakora: tangy yogurt and gram flour curry with onion fritters.
- Matar pulao and tahari: rice dishes that stand on their own.
Snacks and street food
Much of Pakistani street food is vegetarian: samosas, pakoray, chana chaat, gol gappay, dahi bhallay and papri chaat. Bun kebabs are usually made with lentils and potato.
Breads and sweets
Every bread, from roti and paratha to puri and naan, is vegetarian, as are almost all desserts: kheer, halwa, gulab jamun, rasmalai and more.
Things to watch for
A few dishes look vegetarian but sometimes aren’t:
- Pulao and some rice dishes may be cooked in meat or chicken stock.
- Daal at restaurants is occasionally finished with meat fat or cooked alongside meat.
- Some sabzis are cooked with a little mince or bones for flavour.
- Gelatine appears in some jellies, trifles and desserts.
Ask, or check the recipe.
Building a vegetarian meal
A balanced Pakistani vegetarian meal usually has a daal or bean dish, a dry sabzi, roti or rice, and yogurt or raita. For example: masoor daal, aloo gobi, roti and kheera raita, followed by fruit. It’s the kind of meal Pakistani families eat every week, and it’s as satisfying as any meat dish.
