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    Home » Food Tips

    30+ Indian Vegetarian Lunch Ideas with Real-Life Thali Inspirations

    Modified: Jun 22, 2025 Published: Jul 17, 2020 by Sravanthi Chanda. 9 Comments

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    Looking for Indian vegetarian lunch ideas? These lunch plates are from my everyday cooking, featuring real thali-style combinations made with dal, curry, stir-fries, and more. Get inspired by the way I assemble simple, homemade meals using pantry staples.

    indian vegetarian lunch ideas with recipes collage image

    Each plate includes a combination of dal, curry, or stir-fry, steamed rice, millets, or flatbread, and sometimes a salad or chutney - just like a comforting home-cooked Indian lunch.

    Need help planning your next meal? Try my Indian Menu Planner tool — it gives you instant meal ideas. Or explore quick and easy Indian dinner recipes that are perfect for busy evenings.

    Jump to:
    • Real-Life Indian Lunch Plate Ideas
    • Simple One-Bowl Meals
    • Thali-Style Balanced Plates
    • Chapati-Based Plates
    • Tips for Preparing Indian Vegetarian Lunches

    Real-Life Indian Lunch Plate Ideas

    Get real Indian vegetarian lunch inspiration with these thali-style meal ideas. They feature homemade dishes and real lunch plates and include links to recipes.

    You don’t have to cook elaborate meals to enjoy a satisfying Indian lunch. Use these lunch plates as a base and swap ingredients based on what’s in your fridge.

    Simple One-Bowl Meals

    Bowl of rice served with flavorful chickpeas and spinach curry (chana saag).
    • Saag Chickpeas
    • Short grain rice
    Close-up of black-eyed peas curry served with rice and colorful vegetables.
    • Lobia Masala
    • Boiled Basmati Rice
    Vegan chickpea curry served with basmati rice, cucumber, onion, and lemon slices on a black bowl.
    • Chana Masala
    • Indian Basmati Rice
    • Raw Veggies
    Adzuki Beans curry bowl with rice, onion rings, cucumber, and tomato slices.
    • Adzuki Beans Curry
    • Short grain rice
    • Salad Veggies
    Bowl of rice and chickpea curry topped with cucumber slices.
    • Chickpea Vegetable Curry
    • Rice
    • Sliced Cucumber
    Bowl of basmati rice served with chickpea kale curry.
    • Chickpea Kale Curry
    • Spiced Basmati Rice
    Bowl of rice with hearty chickpea and lentil curry, garnished with fresh herbs.
    • Chickpea Lentil Curry
    • Rice
    Creamy coconut lentil curry surrounding a scoop of rice, served in a bowl.
    • Spinach Lentil Curry
    • Rice
    Bowl of rice and dal with a colorful salad of cucumber, tomato, and onion.
    • Pressure Cooker Dal
    • Rice
    • Chopped veggies
    Rice bowl topped with red lentil dal and served with cucumber, onion, and tomato salad.
    • Instant Pot Masoor Dal
    • Rice
    • Tomato Cucumber Salad
    Close-up of spinach dal, cucumber slices, and rice on a plate.
    • Dal Palak
    • Rice
    • Chopped Cucumber
    Bowl of rice topped with colorful mixed vegetable curry, garnished with herbs.
    • Mixed Veggie Curry
    • Rice
    Bowl of rice served with creamy black beans curry, tomato, and onion slices.
    • Indian Style Black Bean Curry
    • Rice
    • Veggies

    Thali-Style Balanced Plates

    Indian lunch plate with vegetable pulao, mixed veggie curry, cucumber, and onion salad.
    • Vegetable Pulao
    • Instant Pot Vegetable Curry
    • Salad Veggies
    South Indian lunch plate with rice, carrot stir fry, cucumber slices, and ulavacharu served on a stainless steel plate.
    • Carrot Poriyal
    • Ulavacharu
    • Rice
    • Sliced cucumber
    Indian lunch plate with rice, rasam, zucchini and potato sabzi, and tomato chutney.
    • Zucchini Potato Curry
    • Tomato Chutney
    • Rasam
    • Rice
    Healthy lunch plate with rice, kale dal, leafy stir-fry, and cucumber slices.
    • Kale Dal
    • Amaranth leaves stir-fry
    • Rice
    • Cucumber
    Indian lunch plate with rice, dal, spinach chutney, and sliced cucumber.
    • Instant Pot Dal
    • Spinach Chutney
    • Rice
    • Cucumber
    Indian lunch plate with rice, dal, spicy mint chutney, salad slices, and a small sesame sweet ball.
    • Methi dal
    • Mint Chutney
    • Rice
    • Salad Veggies
    • Sesame Ladoo
    Indian lunch with rice, coconut rasam, cucumber peanut salad, and spinach chutney.
    • Peanut Cucumber Salad
    • Malabar Spinach Chutney
    • Coconut Rasam
    • Rice
    Potato rice with zucchini curry, onion, and cucumber salad.
    • Potato Rice
    • Indian Zucchini Curry
    • Salad Veggies
    Traditional Indian lunch with rice, plantain curry, rasam, and a small dal portion.
    • Plantain Poriyal
    • Rasam
    • Plain Toor Dal
    • Rice
    Plate of mung sprouts salad, rasam, dal, and rice with chutney.
    • Sprouts Salad
    • Sambar
    • Plain Toor Dal
    • Malabar Spinach Chutney
    • Rice
    Lunch plate with rajma salad, coconut rasam, spinach dal, and rice.
    • Kidney Beans Avocado Salad
    • Dal Saag
    • Coconut rasam
    • Rice
    Healthy millet lunch plate with gongura dal, cucumber tomato raita, and fresh salad slices.
    • Millet Stirfry
    • Gongura Dal
    • Raita
    • Salad Veggies
    Lunch plate with kale rice, dal tadka, cucumber slices, and a brownie.
    • Instant Pot Dal Tadka
    • Kale Rice
    • Cucumber
    • Brownie
    Chickpea salad, vankaya pachadi, kadhi, and rice on a steel plate.
    • Indian Chickpea Salad
    • Brinjal Chutney
    • Rice
    • Khadi

    Chapati-Based Plates

    Lunch plate with spinach paratha and creamy makhana cashew curry.
    • Spinach Paratha
    • Makhana Masala Curry
    Indian lunch plate with roti, saag tofu curry, and salad.
    • Vegan Saag Paneer
    • Chapati
    • Raw Veggies
    Healthy lunch plate with roti, aloo saag, quinoa pudding topped with strawberries, and microgreens.
    • Saag Aloo
    • Quinoa Pudding
    • Chapati
    Lunch plate with roti, peas and potato curry, cucumber slices, and microgreens.
    • Potato Peas Curry
    • Chapati
    • Cucumber and Microgreens
    Indian lunch with roti, rajma curry, carrot slices, and sunflower microgreens.
    • Indian Kidney Bean Curry
    • Chapati
    • Carrots and Microgreens
    Indian lunch plate with roti, dal, and roasted paneer and vegetables in a bowl.
    • Instant Pot Toor Dal
    • Baked Paneer
    • Chapati
    Chapati with capsicum spinach curry and fresh salad.
    • Indian Bell Pepper Curry
    • Chapati
    • Raw Veggies

    Tips for Preparing Indian Vegetarian Lunches

    Planning ahead can make weekday cooking much easier and faster. Here are a few tips I follow in my kitchen:

    •  Soak the grain and legumes accordingly. Soaking will decrease the cooking time drastically.
    • Plan all your meals for the whole week or at least a day. I usually spend less time in the kitchen if I plan it before.
    • If you plan for the whole week, you can soak beans on the weekend and store the soaked beans in the refrigerator for a couple of days.
    • I also keep the cooked beans in the fridge for 2 to 3 days and freeze them for more months.
    •  On the weekend, make sprouts from green mung beans, moth beans, and black chickpeas, which you can use throughout the week. They stay in the fridge for 3–4 days and can be used in salads, curries, or stir-fries.
    •  Try to buy veggies and fruits ahead of time, mostly on weekends, to save time on weekdays.
    • I use a pressure cooker and rice cooker while making lunch as they allow hands-free cooking.

    Feeling stuck? Try my Indian Menu Planner Tool to generate fresh lunch or dinner combinations in seconds.

    If you are out of time, explore easy and quick Indian dinner recipes that are perfect for busy evenings.

    More Food Tips: Simple Everyday Vegetarian Cooking

    • Collage showing Indian-style chickpeas, rajma, and lentils cooked in the Instant Pot with centered text overlay for beans and legumes cooking guide.
      Instant Pot Beans and Legumes – Indian Cooking Guide + Recipes
    • A collage of Indian summer recipes including cucumber peanut salad, chickpea salad, bell pepper spinach curry, and black beans rice, with a central text overlay reading "Indian Summer Recipes."
      27 Light and Easy Indian Dinner Recipes Perfect for Summer
    • Collage of cooked black beans, chickpeas, black-eyed peas, and millets in an Instant Pot with text overlay: Instant Pot Basics & How-Tos for Indian Cooking.
      Instant Pot Basics & How-Tos for Indian Cooking
    • A collage of Indian spinach recipes, including dal, curry, and flatbreads.
      Indian Spinach Recipes: Best Ways to Cook & Enjoy Palak
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    Comments

    1. Navi says

      March 31, 2021 at 2:04 pm

      5 stars
      Wonderful explanation of each recipe.

      Reply
    2. Mahi says

      February 01, 2021 at 9:25 am

      Hi savitari,

      Your lunch ideas seems amazing.I just want to request you that can you link all your lunch recipes in lunch ideas as many of them does not have link.I live in Australia and I hardly know how to cook so it would be great if you just help me sharing link of all your lunch ideas so that I can follow your instructions before making any recipe .

      Thanks
      Mahi

      Reply
      • Sravanthi says

        February 01, 2021 at 5:34 pm

        Hi Mahi,
        Thank you so much. Yeah, I'm in process of posting all these recipes. And if you are looking for any particular recipe, let me know. I will post that first.
        Thanks, Sravanthi.

        Reply
    3. Mohini says

      December 23, 2020 at 9:54 am

      Pls share aloo kurma recipe which you have posted with coconut milk pulav

      Reply
      • Sravanthi says

        February 01, 2021 at 5:31 pm

        Hi Mohini, Sure, will share it very soon. Thank you for stopping by.

        Reply
    4. Niharika Khamkar says

      October 19, 2020 at 9:59 pm

      5 stars
      Want to try each of them! <3

      Reply
      • Sravanthi says

        October 20, 2020 at 1:53 pm

        Thank you so much Niharika. Please do try them and you will like them 🙂

        Reply
    5. Anusha says

      October 03, 2020 at 6:06 am

      Hi Sravanti, Dishes looks yummy. I couldnt find the recipe for Coconut rasam, if you can share the recipe that will be great

      Reply
      • Sravanthi says

        October 08, 2020 at 9:58 pm

        Hi Anusha, Thank you so much. Here is the recipe for coconut rasam. I hope you like it.
        https://everydaynourishingfoods.com/coconut-milk-rasam-kobbari-charu/

        Reply

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    Sravanthi Chanda standing in a rose garden, wearing a light green embroidered sweater and patterned black kurta, smiling softly with trees and flowers in the background.

    I'm Sravanthi Chanda and I share Indian lunch and dinner recipes on my blog. These easy-to-follow recipes are made from scratch using fresh ingredients and come with step-by-step photos, perfect for family meals.

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