Vegan Street Food: The combination you’re dying to eat!

The vegan diet is often labelled as boring and uninteresting. A common misconception. The real deal? Eating healthy and plant based doesn’t mean the dishes are insipid or that you have to give up on your favourite street eats. In fact, you’ll find that a lot of street food is actually vegan or you can easily make it vegan with simple substitutes. Here are some ideas.

Chaat: Just about everyone’s all time favourite, we love our chaat as much as the next person. Many chaat dishes are already vegan – Pani Puri, Sev Puri, Aloo Tikki, Kachori and the like, so you can enjoy them completely guilt-free. For the ‘dahi’ or yoghurt chaats, sub in vegan / coconut yoghurt that is easily available in most local supermarkets.

Corn on the cob or Bhutta: You don’t have to do a single thing – just find a comfortable seat (preferably on a beach) and dive in.

Vada Pav, Pav Bhaji, Samosa and Chole – We love these snacks on a rainy day, or even after a long stressful workday. And making these vegan-friendly is easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy – opt for a vegan butter or skip the butter altogether. 

Momos / Dumplings: If you haven’t enjoyed a plate of street side veggie momos yet, please put your shoes on right now and go find some! These yummy steamed dumplings, served with spicy and peanut sauce, hits all the right spots on a cool night. Plus, they’re steamed so they’re healthy too. A total win-win. To make it vegan – just make sure there’s no egg in the dough batter.

Pakora, Bajji and Banana Fritters: We love these South Indian favs with a hot cup of chai (made with dairy free milk of course). (Is any rainy day in India complete without some?) No substitutes needed here as these are vegan.  

Idly, Vada, Dosa, Poha:  – Although not exactly street food, we do love our idlis,vadas and dosas wherever we can get them. The good news is that they’re definitely vegan (minus the ghee of course). And served with piping hot veggie filled sambar and coconut chutney, they make for a great anytime meal – it’s no wonder that they are staples in every South Indian home.

Sandwiches and Pizza: No sojourn down your favourite street eats places is complete without a stop for a sandwich (chaat sandwich anyone) or pizza. For the ones with cheese like your favourite sandwiches and pizzas, go with vegan cheese. Trust us, you will not be able to tell the difference!

Of course, it’s always fun to try and recreate your favourite street dishes at home, and to that we say ‘go for it’. Gather your veggies, get your dough or bread, and get down to business. Here’s our little secret to recreating street food at home: add in a bit of our daily vegan protein (unflavoured) to give your fav dishes a little protein boost.  Origin Nutrition is vegan, gluten free, GMO free, sugar free, comes in a wide range of flavours, is packed with all the goodness and is completely guilt-free.