Indian Snacks That Are Accidentally
Vegan

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Quick Summary

If you think vegan snacks are hard to find and come at an eye-watering price, then chances are you’re yet to explore Indian snacks. Indian street food items, like bhel puri, samosas, murukku, and many others, are, in fact, vegan. They use legumes, rice, vegetables and spices rather than eggs or dairy. While some variations may include ghee, butter, or yoghurt, most versions are plant-based.

Deep Dive

The vegan hype is here to stay, and for a good reason. This does not mean you do away with your usual evening snacks or the munchies you consume when your stomach rumbles. Most of the vegetarian fare that makes up the ensemble of Indian snacks that is much loved across the country is actually vegan! If you are newly turned vegan or simply unaware and would love to stick to a vegan diet, while saving some bucks, the snacks below pass the vegan check.

Bhel Puri

This street-style snack is made from puffed rice (murmura), chopped onions and tomatoes, peanuts, a tangy tamarind chutney and a spicy green chutney, plus lemon juice and coriander. It does not have any dairy elements like yoghurt or cheese, and the rest of the ingredients are plant-based too. The only concern here would be in using a store-bought mixture, which might have non-vegan ingredients. Thus, check the pack if buying packaged versions for these.

Pakoras

The BFF of chai, or the must-have companion of a hot gossip session, pakoras need not be cancelled, yet! Pakoras, depending on what they are made out of – onion, spinach, cauliflower – are vegan. They are deep‑fried in plant-based oil and made by dipping vegetables into a batter of chickpea flour (besan) and spices and frying until golden-brown. Because the batter and vegetables exclude eggs, milk or cheese, the snack is inherently vegan – assuming only plant-based oil is used for frying and no animal‐based additives are used.

Samosas

Another classic fried snack that is made with a spiced potato and peas filling wrapped in a triangular wheat flour pastry, the samosa is popular across the nation. Since the filling is vegetable‑based and the shell is made of flour and oil (no butter or dairy by default), most street samosas end up being accidentally vegan. Just ensure the dough wasn’t brushed with butter, lard or ghee before frying. If you are having a special kind of samosa from your favourite shop that believes that ghee is the answer to good snacking, then you might have to rethink.

Chaat

This street snack is an umbrella term for many varieties, like aloo chaat, papdi chaat, dahi puri and more, and most of these are vegan. For most of these dishes, the base is made of crispy bits like the puris or papdis, topped with tossed or mashed potatoes and/or chickpeas along with chutneys and spices. Many recipes skip dairy entirely, but chaats like dahi puri, because of the yoghurt, are not vegan. Make sure to just check that any kind of ghee, yoghurt, paneer or butter is absent from your plate.

Vada Pav

Mumbai’s heart and soul, vada pav is a popular street snack made with pav (bread) and a deep-fried potato ball, made of a spiced mashed‑potato fritter coated in gram‑flour batter and deep‑fried. The potato ball or batata vada is tucked into a bread roll (pav) with spicy chutneys. The filling and batter are made primarily from potato, gram flour and spices; there’s no dairy in the mix. Whether it’s vegan or not depends on the pav (which may sometimes be brushed with butter), but the core fritter is plant‑based and usually oil‑fried, making it accidentally vegan in many cases.

Chivda

A crunchy Indian-style snack‑mix, chivda is a namkeen designed for mindless munching. It is made with ingredients like flattened rice or puffed rice, roasted peanuts, gram flour bits, curry leaves, green chillies and spices, all tossed in vegetable oil. Packaged versions (for example) list only plant‑based components. Because no dairy or animal‑derived products are incorporated, and the typical oil is vegetable‑based, chivda qualifies as vegan by default. You only need to check if ghee was used instead of oil.

Murukku

Murukku (also called chakli) is a crunchy South‑Indian spiral snack made by deep‑frying a dough of rice flour and urad‑dal flour, seasoned with sesame seeds, cumin seeds and salt. A vegan recipe lists rice flour, chickpea flour, sesame seeds, vegetable shortening and water as the base. Because all ingredients are plant‑based and there is no use of dairy or eggs, murukku is accidentally vegan – just ensure that the frying fat is vegetable oil, not ghee or butter.

These Snacks Are Perfect for Vegans

These Indian snacks are naturally plant-based and packed with ‘chatpata’ flavours, showing that vegan options are already embedded in traditional cuisine. By checking for added dairy and the like, you can enjoy these treats without modification or any woes.