50+ No Onion No Garlic Indian Recipes

Here is a collection of 50+ delicious and easy to make No Onion No Garlic Indian recipes to make while fasting / vrat on festivals, or for any other diet or lifestyle reasons. These are all vegetarian Indian recipes.

A no onion no garlic diet is followed by many for religious reasons on an everyday basis or on certain festival days. It is also called a sattvic diet.

This collection is by no means something that follows all vrat / diet requisites. In my family, my Amma follows a fasting diet on special occasions like Navarathri and Amavasya (new moon day) and she just avoids onion and garlic and eats only fresh food made on the day of. 

But I know many who avoid grains, legumes and certain vegetables. For a lot of people, just avoiding alcohol and meat and following a vegetarian diet is a fasting diet in itself. There are so many various specifications that different people follow on fasting days. This list does not cover all of that. It is just a collection of recipes with no onion and no garlic that can be enjoyed by all, whether fasting or not.

This collection of no onion no garlic recipes have main course recipes, rice recipe, dal recipes, vegetable side dish recipes, dessert recipes (they are by default no onion and no garlic anyway but it is good to have it in the collection if you are interested to make it on a festive day).

How to flavor food without onion and garlic?

Onion, garlic and ginger are the base aromatics in Indian cuisine to which the spices are added and the veggies or meat or paneer is then mixed in to make the curry or dish. Its hard to imagine Indian food cooked without onion or garlic.

There are several regional cuisines where everyday food is cooked without onion and garlic and the main flavors of the vegetables are highlighted. Also the religion of Jainism believes in cooking without onion and garlic, so those who follow it always cook their meals without onion and garlic.

But in recipes that usually uses onion and garlic, there are a variety of other ingredients that can be added to give a burst of flavors to the dish.

Asafetida is one such ingredient. Asafetida or hing or perungayam gives food the same kind of complexity and depth in flavors, as onions and garlic do, so it is a great ingredient to use in no onion no garlic recipe to add more flavor.

Similarly, ginger gives an earthy flavor and some heat to any dishes it is added to and is a good ingredient to add to dishes to pack in a ton of flavor.

Green chillies, red chillies and other spices help add layers of flavor in no onion no garlic recipes.

Aloo Rasedar

White Pumpkin Dal

South Indian Coconut Rice

Rava Kesari

Sprouted Chickpea Sundal

Cilantro Coconut Chutney

South Indian Lemon Rice

Kerala Style Bhindi / Okra Saute

Makhana Kheer

Chembu Moru Curry - Taro Root Yogurt Curry

Curd Rice / Yogurt Rice

Instant Pot Rasam Rice

Carrot and Green Beans Thoran

Spinach and Chickpeas Sauté with Coconut

Beets and Carrot Thoran

Spinach Pesarattu

Saffron Kheer

Palak Masala Pooris

Palak Kadhi

Lauki Kheer

Malpua with Rabri

Mango Semiya Kheer

Black Eyed Peas Sundal

Besan Halwa

Chana Dal Sundal

Kesar Badam Doodh

Sweet and Sour Pineapple Curry

Chickpea Sundal

Khoya Rice Kheer

Turmeric Raw Mango Rice

Saffron Mango Lassi

Instant Rava Idli

Spelt Methi Pooris

Beetroot Halwa

Ven Pongal

Sooji Halwa

Pinto Beans Sundal

Minty Peach Lassi

Vazhakkai Bajji - Raw Banana Pakodas

Avial - Mixed Vegetable Curry

Carrot Semiya Payasam

Vendakka Kichadi - Fried Okra Raita

Zucchini Kootu / Dal

Coconut Khoya Laddoo

Cardamom Rose Milk

Poha Laddoo

Pumpkin Halwa

Gulab Jamun

Chivda

Masala Roasted Cashews

Besan Badam Laddoo