20 Indian Side Dishes for Your Next Meal

What is an Indian Side Dish?

“Side dish” is a term in Indian food, but when it comes down to it, different people have different ideas about what a side dish is. My definition of an Indian side dish is any small dish that isn’t meat, flatbread, appetizer, or sweet.

In Western Cuisine, a meal is made up of an entree that is usually heavy and probably contains meat. In addition to that are usually one or two side dishes that are lighter and vegetable based. And there may also be some bread. 

But most Indian dishes are already vegetables. A typical Indian meal is usually a wet shaak (vegetable curry), a dry shaak, a dal, rice, flatbread, and yogurt.

Depending on the definition you go by, all of these may be considered side dishes. Instead of having a single, featured entree, they work together in consort to form a complete meal.

Here are some great side dishes you can serve at your next Indian meal. These are all 100% vegetarian side dishes: