In Thailand, too often I found myself explaining to people that I was an Indian vegetarian, meaning that I was highly particular and strict about my food. People would nod their head and the Thai locals were quite possibly co-relating this with the Muslims who are strict about Halal. Though they also know that many Indians are vegetarian. However, what they don’t realise is how fantastic our vegetarian infrastructure is and how particular it makes most of us Indian veggie folk!

Here’s what I mean when I say, “I am an Indian Vegetarian”

and I think a lot of fellow veggies would agree!

As picky as I like

We don’t have to choose from the 3 vegetarian dishes in mixed restaurants.  There are fully vegetarian restaurants with a wide variety of cuisines all around. Indian, continental, italian, chinese, mexican… you name it. Not to forget the huge array of dessert houses and bakeries which are vegetarian. So I can have additional preferences based on my likes or religion (no onion-garlic). A lot of my stricter Jain friends and family avoid potato and many other root & leafy vegetables. It amazes me that even they tend to be foodies.

We can be as picky as we like – we have all the options in the world.

So when I am expected to be happy that a restaurant abroad serves 5 vegetarian dishes and calls itself “vegetarian friendly”, it only leaves me disgruntled.

Where’s the Unhealthy Vegetarian food?!

A lot of people around the world are adopting vegetarian food for better health. And so a lot of vegan/vegetarian cafes orient themselves as healthy food places. Every time I come across this co-relation, I start thinking of all the totally unhealthy Gujarati breakfast items – jalebi faafda, gathiya, locho. Not to mention the fried aloo paratha in the Himalayas.

Once I invited a surprised German colleague to India so I can display for him the plethora of unhealthy veg food we have. Haha.

No Fake Meat Pls!

Only a true Indian vegetarian person would understand the agony we face when we are served a dish full of fake meat. Eating it goes against a very fundamental grain in our system.

Being Jain, from a young age I have been told not to have foods that imitate any living thing. No chocolates carved as animals, no fruits shaped as birds. It insults the food. Food is the essential nourishment of our body, it must be given utmost respect. Shaping it as another living being or as some other food item is an insult. And Fake meat is just this. So much so, that a Jain friend said that her family considers fake meat equal to meat. And it is, in intent.

I have become fairly adept at finding better vegan food but I have seen many Indians facing a deep dharma sankat when they realise that eating this stuff is their only way of survival in the country. It usually isn’t, there are ways to avoid it.. but then one needs to be a more adept traveller like myself. 😉

There are rules that we don’t even know exist

Since the vegetarian food infrastructure is so well honed in India we get used to a certain level of process strictness. A kitchen that cooks only veg food. Vessels that are kept for veg only. Obviously, there is no question of a ladle from a non-veg dish falling into the veg dish. The simple green and red dot system makes it mandatory for all food products to declare whether they are veg or non-veg. This ensures that all ingredients used down to the margarine and cheese and food colouring would be vegetarian.

It’s a different thing that nowadays, I do sometimes suspect whether a lot of restaurants are being as fastidious as we customers expect. But the levels are quite easily better than abroad, specifically the meat dominated countries like Thailand, Spain, Portugal.

For example, in the Taiwanese Subway restaurant, I realised that they don’t change the gloves when they make my veggie sandwich! In India, I get a separate veg counter attendant with different gloves and all. After all, the demand is that high.

Some people have been suggesting that vegetarianism in India has a lot of caste discrimination associated with it. But I have never seen it. Jain people anyway don’t have caste, only Hinduism has it. And I have seen many upper caste families totally non-veg in Himalayas and Kerala. Similarly, there are lower caste folks who are vegetarian. Moreover, unlike in temples where caste boards could be seen a while back, never has any restaurant ever questioned or put boards related to caste as far as I know. Everyone is free to eat where ever. Maybe some restaurants cater to a certain caste based community but that is Ok. Like if there are Jain restaurants but open to all – what’s the harm? If discrimination exists, then it is in the minds of people. And that is always there… either on basis of food, or religion or some other factor.

Nowhere else really compares to India

Owing to all these reasons highlighted above, I have to say that NO other place really compares to India if one is really strict about their vegetarian requirements. Staying abroad with a kitchen to cook is manageable. But it doesn’t come close to the ease that India provides us veggie folks especially when we are in our regional comfort zones too!

The plethora of home made snacks in our specific communities (think khaakhra for a Gujarati), the abundant street food, the supermarket choices, the little udupi cafes of Mumbai, chat stalls of Indore, maggi (veg-only!!) places of the Himalayas and the fully vegetarian fine-dining places that offer all cuisine options, the traditional ice-cream corners, bakeries and chaiwallahs. I must say India is totally ravishing.

And for this, we can say OK to the unruly public on the streets. Paan stained walls. And myriad civic disasters going on in every nook and cranny of the country.

Bharat mata ki jai. 😉

PS: The free meals in temples and ashrams of the country. Yummy!