The Ultimate Indian Vegetarian Feast - Six Recipes for an Epic Dinner

An Indian vegetarian feast of six recipes, one very full table, and not a scrap of meat anywhere. There is a spiced potato and tomato curry, saag halloumi, a coconut egg curry with fennel and curry leaves, whole roasted broccoli, a proper rice pilaf, and onion and coriander chapatis. Every one of them is already on the site, so you can cook the whole spread for a dinner party or pull out a single dish for a Tuesday. Let's get into it!

What's Included

• Three curries - potato and tomato, saag halloumi, and a coconut egg curry that surprises everyone
• Two things from the oven - whole roasted broccoli and a rice pilaf, which cook at the same time
• Fresh chapatis, fried in butter right before serving
• A tips section and a make ahead plan, so the timing does not run away from you
• Four more Indian vegetarian recipes if you want to stretch the table further

Timing: about 1 hour of prep, 1.5 to 2 hours of cooking, roughly 3 hours all up. Serves 4 to 6. Each individual dish is easy, there is just a lot going on at once.

The Curries

These three are the backbone of the table, and all three are better made the day before.

Potato and Tomato Curry (Alur Dom) - Deeply spiced potatoes fried for colour first, then simmered in a rich tomato base until completely tender.

Saag Halloumi - A halloumi twist on saag paneer. The same spiced spinach base, but with crispy salty halloumi instead.

Coconut Egg Curry with Fennel and Curry Leaves - The surprise star. Mustard seeds, fennel, cardamom, curry leaves and coconut milk, with soft boiled eggs sitting in a golden sauce.

The Vegetables and Rice

Both of these go in the oven together, which is what makes the timing of the whole feast manageable.

Whole Roasted Broccoli with Spiced Yoghurt and Curry Leaves - A two stage marinade of turmeric, Kashmiri chilli, onion seeds, curry leaves, garlic, ginger and yoghurt, rubbed over a whole head and roasted until charred.

Rice Pilaf with Caramelised Onions and Caraway - Not just steamed rice. Onions caramelised in butter, caraway toasted in the oil, then baked until every grain is fluffy.

The Bread

Onion and Coriander Chapatis - Flaky, herby wholemeal flatbreads fried in plenty of butter until golden with charred onion edges. Start the dough first, it needs a rest.

More Indian Vegetarian Recipes

If you want to extend the table, or you are just after one good curry on a weeknight, these all belong in the same rotation.

Cauliflower Tikka Masala - A proper takeaway classic made with cauliflower, and a brilliant fourth curry if you are feeding a crowd.

Veggie Samosas - Air fryer or deep fryer, and exactly the thing to hand round while everything else is still cooking.

Lentil Dahl with Homemade Flatbreads and Fried Egg - A whole meal on its own, and a gentler, cheaper way into this kind of cooking.

25-Minute Cheats Pilaf Rice with Caramelised Onions - The shortcut version of the pilaf above, for when you want the flavour without the oven time.

Tips for Making the Whole Feast

Mise en place is everything: Before you start cooking a single thing, get every bit of prep done. Chop all your onions, garlic, ginger and coriander at once, divide onto plates, and you will be amazed how smoothly everything flows from there.

Start with the chapati dough: It needs a rest before rolling, so get it made first, cover it, and come back to it when you are ready to cook.

Marinate the broccoli early: The broccoli can be marinated the morning of, or even the night before. The longer it sits in that spice marinade the more incredible it will be.

Make the curries the day before: The potato curry, saag halloumi and coconut egg curry all improve significantly overnight. Make them ahead, refrigerate, and reheat gently before serving. It also means you only need to cook the rice and the broccoli on the day.

Cook the rice and broccoli together: Both go into the oven at the same time, which makes the timing of the whole feast much more manageable. The rice goes in at 185C for 35 minutes, and the broccoli starts at 180C before being cranked up to 220C for the last 5 minutes.

Taste and season as you go: Every curry needs salt at the end. Taste each one before serving and adjust. The halloumi in the saag is already salty, so go carefully with that one.

Ghee is the dream: If you can get your hands on ghee, use it instead of butter wherever the recipes call for it. It has a higher smoke point so there is less chance of burning, and the flavour is just extraordinary. Clarified butter works too.

Make Ahead Plan

This feast is genuinely brilliant for a dinner party because so much of it can be done in advance. Here is a simple plan:

The night before: Make the potato curry, saag halloumi and coconut egg curry. Marinate the broccoli. Store everything covered in the fridge.

The morning of: Make the chapati dough and leave it covered to rest. Prep any remaining vegetables.

One hour before serving: Get the broccoli into the oven. Make the pilaf rice and get it in alongside.

30 minutes before serving: Reheat the curries gently on the stove, stirring occasionally.

Just before serving: Fry the chapatis fresh in butter. Plate everything up and get it on the table!

Why This Collection Works

Six dishes on one table sounds like a lot until you see how much of it is prep rather than cooking. Onions, garlic, ginger, chillies and coriander turn up in almost every recipe here, so you chop once, divide it onto plates, and the whole thing flows from there. That is a professional kitchen habit more than a home cooking one, and it is the single thing that turns this feast from stressful into genuinely enjoyable.

The second reason it works is that most of it gets better overnight. The potato curry, the saag halloumi and the coconut egg curry all improve in the fridge, which means a dinner party where the hard work happened yesterday and you are only cooking rice, broccoli and bread on the night itself.

And every dish stands up on its own. The saag halloumi on a Friday night with rice is INCREDIBLE, and the broccoli has no business being as good as it is. Nothing here only makes sense as part of the set, which is why these six recipes have stayed in my rotation long after the feast that brought them together.

Related Pages

Lentil Tarka Dal - A comforting Indian classic that sits perfectly alongside this feast, or on its own for a simple weeknight dinner.

Parathas - Flaky Buttery Roti - More incredible flatbread to add to your Indian repertoire, and a step up from the chapatis when you have time.

Plum Kasundi - A spiced fruit condiment that is absolutely incredible served alongside the whole spread.

This is the Indian vegetarian feast I come back to again and again, and one I am genuinely proud of. Whether you cook the whole spread for a dinner party or pull out one or two dishes for a midweek dinner, every recipe on this page is worth having in your regular rotation. The flavours are bold, the techniques are completely achievable, and the result is something properly special. Tag me when you make it, I absolutely love seeing it on your tables.

Enjoy!

Del x

Six Indian vegetarian dishes, one epic table, and every single bite completely worth it.