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  • Thirteen vegetarian mains, vegan options marked

Vegan and Vegetarian Indian Food in Toowoomba

Indian food should be the easiest cuisine in town to eat vegan. It usually isn’t, because of ghee, cream and paneer. Here is exactly where they turn up on our menu.

Ice n Spice has thirteen vegetarian main meals, with vegan dishes marked on the full menu. Several curries are vegan as they are cooked. Others contain dairy in the form of ghee, cream or paneer and cannot be made vegan without changing the dish. This page tells you which is which, so you can order without a long conversation at the table.

Why vegan Indian food is trickier than it looks

People assume Indian food is an easy win for vegans, and the vegetarian part is. The vegan part is not, and the reason is dairy. North Indian cooking uses it constantly. Ghee for frying. Cream to finish a gravy. Yoghurt in a marinade. Paneer as the protein in a whole category of dishes.

So a curry can be entirely plant-based in its ingredient list and still be finished with a spoon of cream that nobody mentions. Rather than leave you guessing, here is how our menu breaks down.

Vegan as they come

These are built on vegetables, legumes and oil, with no dairy in the finished dish. Check the vegan markers on the menu, since recipes do get adjusted.

  • Channa masala. Chickpeas in a tomato and onion gravy with plenty of spice. Probably the most reliable vegan main on any Indian menu.
  • Aloo gobi. Potato and cauliflower, dry-style, turmeric heavy.
  • Aloo baingan. Potato and eggplant. Eggplant soaks up spice better than almost anything.
  • Aloo palak. Potato and spinach.
  • Yellow dal tadka. Lentils finished with a tempering of spices bloomed in hot oil. Ask for it made with oil rather than ghee.
  • Vegetable jalfrezi. Mixed vegetables, capsicum, tomato, a bit of heat.

Pair any of them with steamed basmati, jeera rice or coconut rice. All three are vegan.

Ask and we will adapt

A few dishes are close and the kitchen can take the dairy out if you tell us when you order. It changes the dish slightly, and we will be honest about how much.

  • Vegetable korma. Normally finished with cream and cashew. Can be built on the cashew paste alone, which keeps the richness.
  • Yellow dal tadka. Tempered in oil instead of ghee on request.
  • Vegetable biryani. Cooked without ghee if you say so at the time of ordering.

The one thing we cannot do is take dairy out of a dish at the last minute once it is already on the pass. Say it when you order, not when it arrives.

Not vegan, and we are not going to pretend otherwise

Anything with paneer is out. Paneer is fresh cheese, and it is the whole point of the dish rather than a garnish. That rules out palak paneer, shahi paneer, karahi paneer, paneer butter masala and the chilli paneer entree.

Dal makhani is also out. It is black lentils cooked slowly with butter and cream, and without them it is a different dish. If you want lentils and you are vegan, order the yellow dal tadka instead.

Malai kofta is out. Malai means cream.

On breads, plain roti is your safest option. Naan is made with dairy. If you are vegan, stick to rice or check with the staff.

If you are vegetarian rather than vegan

Then the whole thirteen-dish section is open to you, and this is where Indian cooking earns its reputation.

The four paneer dishes are genuinely different from each other. Palak paneer is spinach based and mild. Shahi paneer is rich and slightly sweet. Karahi paneer is dry-fried with capsicum and onion. Paneer butter masala is the tomato and butter one.

Malai kofta is the dish we would push hardest. Vegetable and paneer dumplings in a cashew cream gravy. It is the dish that changes the mind of anyone at the table who thinks vegetarian food is what you eat when there is nothing else.

Ordering for a mixed table

Most tables here have a mix of eaters, and shared ordering is how Indian food is meant to work anyway. A simple approach that has never failed:

  1. One dal, either yellow dal tadka for a vegan table or dal makhani if dairy is fine.
  2. One dry vegetable dish, usually aloo gobi.
  3. One rich vegetarian dish, malai kofta or a paneer.
  4. Meat dishes on individual plates for whoever wants them.
  5. Rice for the table, plus roti for the vegans and naan for everyone else.

Tell us when you book that there are vegans in the group. It costs nothing and it means the kitchen has already thought about it before you sit down.

Visit Us
Address177A–179 Margaret Street, Toowoomba City QLD 4350
Phone07 4659 7777
Emailinfo@restaurantstoowoomba.com.au
Lunch11:30am to 2pm, seven days
Dinner4:30pm to 9pm, seven days
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Common questions

Yes. Channa masala, aloo gobi, aloo baingan, aloo palak and vegetable jalfrezi are vegan as cooked, and yellow dal tadka can be made with oil instead of ghee. Vegan dishes are marked on the menu.

No. Our naan is made with dairy. Plain roti is the better choice, or stick to steamed, jeera or coconut rice.
No. Dal makhani is slow-cooked black lentils finished with butter and cream. Yellow dal tadka is the vegan lentil dish to order instead.

Vegetable korma and vegetable biryani can be prepared without dairy if you ask when ordering. Paneer dishes and malai kofta cannot, because dairy is the main ingredient.

Thirteen vegetarian main meals, plus vegetarian entrees, breads, rice and biryani.
Yes, paneer is a fresh Indian cheese and is vegetarian. It is not vegan.
No. The vegetarian gravies are built separately and contain no meat stock.

Yes, when you book or when you order. Adjustments such as swapping ghee for oil have to happen while the dish is being cooked, not after.

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