Vegan Indian Snacks: Where Ghee, Yogurt, and Honey Hide
Many Indian snacks are vegan already, but ghee, yogurt or buttermilk, honey, and milk solids turn up where recipes do not mention them. Here is where to look and what to use instead.
Most Indian snacks are vegan already, but a few are traditionally made with dairy, and the recipe card rarely says so. Ghee, yogurt or buttermilk, honey, and milk solids in spice blends are the usual culprits.
The fixes are simple once you know where to look.
Ghee
Ghee shows up in roasted fox nuts, crisp flatbreads, snack mixes, sweet bites, and a lot of tempering. Any neutral oil works in its place. You lose the dairy and not much else.
Yogurt and buttermilk
Gram flour rolls, fenugreek flatbread, millet discs, and many steamed chickpea squares are traditionally made with yogurt or buttermilk for tang and softness. Plain unsweetened plant yogurt works, or a little lemon juice with extra water.
Honey
Honey occasionally appears in brittle and sweetened nut mixes. Jaggery or dates do the same job. Jaggery is unrefined cane sugar, so it is still sugar, but it is not honey.
Milk solids in spice blends
This is the one people miss. A few chaat masala and other spice blends carry milk solids. Read the label, or use a blend you have already checked.
Common questions
- Is ghee vegan?
- No. Ghee is clarified butter, so it is a dairy product. A neutral oil is the usual vegan substitute.
- Can I replace yogurt in Indian recipes?
- Usually yes. Plain unsweetened plant yogurt, or lemon juice with a little extra water, covers the tang and moisture yogurt or buttermilk would add.
- Is chaat masala vegan?
- It depends on the brand. Many are, but some contain milk solids, so check the ingredients.