No Onion No Garlic Diwali Menu

The festive season is here! If you’re planning a menu for Diwali or any other seasonal gathering, I have a wonderful menu of no onion no garlic recipes for you. Dal makhani, Tofu Tikka Masala, peanut potatoes, Turmeric cashew rice! The menu uses one base sauce, so you can cook a whole meal in a lot less time.

Table of Contents

Many if you often ask me for no onion no garlic recipes, especially around the festive season. If you are planning to make an onion-free, garlic-free Diwali or Indian party menu, here are some options for you. If you want to read more on how to cook without onion and garlic, I have a guide you can check out! It has tips to convert any recipe to be onion garlic free. If you want to add onion and garlic, see recipe faq.

You can make all of this on the same day, because it’s so streamlined. The whole meal relies on a single base sauce that you divide up to make tofu tikka masala, dal makhani and a side of crispy, peanutty potatoes. You serve it all up with roasted cashew and turmeric rice and a quick yogurt dip, called raita.

Serve it all up with store-bought flatbreads, homemade flatbreads, or naan. You can make naan from the blog and keep them frozen and reheat on the day you want to serve them, or you can make other kinds of flatbread or even toast up sourdough bread.

Also serve with other condiments of choice, like mango chutney, mint chutney, or tomato chutney or some Indian pickle. You can make these in advance or buy them pre-made at the Indian market.

If you do want to make parts of this menu this ahead, though, you definitely can! You can make the sauce and refrigerate or freeze or make the dal and potatoes and tikka masala sauce ahead and refrigerate! Bake the tofu the day of serving. There are make-ahead directions in the recipe card.

We are going to make the dal first, because the black matpe beans, or black whole urad(which is traditionally used for dal makhani), take like an hour to cook. Start cooking that, and then start making the sauce, and go from there. The recipe is written the same way. See recipe notes for making the dal with other lentils.
Also check out this Diwali menu that uses an onion base sauce for Dal do pyaaza, Gobi Matar makhani and Chana Saag! You can use both these menus to meal plan as well by making portions ahead and making a new dish every day!

Why You’ll Love this No Onion No Garlic Menu

• 1 flavorful base sauce to make 3 dishes, plus rice and raita
• onion and garlic-free, but still tons of flavor!
• tender baked tofu tikka masala
• savory dal makhani
• crunchy peanut sesame potatoes
• creamy raita
• fluffy cashew turmeric rice
• uses Instant Pot and oven to save active cooking time. Look at that gorgeousness below!

More Vegan No Onion No Garlic Recipes

Recipe Card

Tips

• The key with this menu is to stay active. While one dish cooks, be working on another.
• For extra flavor, you can use a mix of zucchini, celery, and fennel instead of just plain zucchini in the sauce. 
• I have other no onion no garlic recipes on the blog, as well as some recipes where I add no onion no garlic notes under the recipe, so you can use those as a part of the menu. Or use similar processes to convert any of the other recipes into no onion no garlic by substituting the onion with zucchini or zucchini, celery, and fennel combinations, and then adding a bit more of the spices. Add some garlicky flavors using dried fenugreek and hing (Asafoetida) and you’ll get a fabulous result.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• black urad – called black matpe beans or whole urad. Soak your beans overnight or atleast an hour
• kidney beans – Also soak these overnight.
• whole spices – The dal uses a black cardamom pod, and the base sauce uses cumin seeds and bay leaves. The rice uses mustard seeds.
• Ground spices – You’ll use garam masala and smoked paprika to season the dal makhani. For the base sauce, you’ll need coriander, turmeric, garam masala, hing, and fenugreek leaves. The tofu tikka uses garam masala, Kashmiri chili powder, chaat masala, fenugreek leaves, and cayenne. You’ll season the potatoes with chaat masala and the rice with turmeric. For the raita, you’ll need cumin, cayenne, and chaat masala.
• water and salt – To cook the dal. You’ll also use salt to season the rest of the dishes.
• oil – To toast the nuts and spices and to saute.
• aromatics – You’ll need hot green chili and ginger paste for the base sauce and a hot chili for the potato sesame masala.
• zucchini – Zucchini (along with all of those amazing spices!) is replacing the onion in the base sauce.
• tomato – The base sauce uses canned tomato puree and fresh, chopped tomato. You’ll also add some canned tomato puree to the tikka masala sauce.
• non-dairy yogurt – Adds creaminess to the base sauce. It helps the spices stick to the tofu tikka, as well. And, of course, it’s the base for the raita.
• cashew cream – Adds creaminess to the dal and to the tikka masala sauce.
• tofu – This is the “chicken” for the vegan chicken tikka masala.
• flour – Helps the spices stick to the tofu.
• bell pepper – For the tikka masala sauce.
• potatoes – For the peanut sesame potatoes. Use thin-skinned potatoes.
• peanuts and sesame seeds – To coat the potatoes.
• fresh cilantro – To add to the peanut sesame masala and the raita. You’ll also use it to top all of the dishes.
• cashews – For the turmeric cashew rice
• white basmati rice – Make sure to wash and drain the rice before using for the best texture.
• lemon juice – Adds acidity to the rice. You can also use it to brighten up the dal at the end, if you like.

How to Make This No Onion No Garlic Indian dinner

Preheat the oven to 400° F (205° C).

First, pressure cook your dal, since that takes the longest.

Add the soaked and drained black urad dal and kidney beans to an Instant Pot. Add the rest of the dal makhani ingredients, and mix well. 

Close the lid and pressure cook on bean mode for 1 hour or pressure cook mode for 1 hour, and let the pressure release naturally.

Make the base sauce.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds and let them cook until they change color significantly and also smell very fragrant. They should get pretty dark in color. 

Add in the bay leaves, and mix in for a few seconds, add in the green chili and ginger and mix for a few more seconds, then mix in all of the ground spices for a few seconds. The pan is going to be hot, so you want to be careful. Mix really quickly. 

Add in the zucchini and about 1/4 teaspoon of salt and mix well, adding splashes of water to help the spices get onto the zucchini. Continue to cook until the zucchini is golden and cooked down. This will take anywhere from 8 to 10 minutes. After the first 4 or 5 minutes, cover the pan with a lid to help the zucchini cook faster, and then continue to cook until the zucchini is cooked and roasted.

Mix in the tomato puree, chopped tomato, and yogurt. Press and mix to break some of those tomatoes down, and continue cooking for 3 to 5 minutes to break down some of the chopped tomatoes.

Once the mixture is boiling consistently and some of the tomatoes are tender, switch off the heat, remove half of the sauce, and set that aside. Remove another heaping tablespoon of the sauce to add to the potatoes and that set aside, as well. 

To the remaining sauce in the pan, add the bell pepper, the 2 ounces tomato puree and the 1/2 cup cashew cream. Mix well and bring to a boil, then switch off the heat.

Now, make the baked tofu tikka.

In a small bowl, add the tofu and non-dairy yogurt, and toss well to coat. For additional flavor, add 1 tsp mustard oil as well, optional)

Mix together all the dried spices in a small bowl and sprinkle those all over the tofu, tossing well to coat.

Spread this tofu on a parchment lined baking sheet. Keep each piece half an inch away from each other, and then bake for 25 to 30 minutes. I usually bake the tofu before starting to make the sauce, so that while I’m cooking the sauce for the tofu tikka gets ready. 

Once the tofu tikka is baked, fold half of it into the sauce gently. (If the sauce is too thick, add in 1/2 cup or so of water, and bring it to a boil and then fold in the tofu tikka) Place the rest of the tofu on top of the sauce, don’t mix it in. Garnish it with cilantro and finely chopped green chili, and this dish is ready to serve. 

By now, your dal is probably ready. If the Instant Pot is done cooking and the pressure has released naturally, open the lid, then add in the sauce you reserved for the dal , along with the smoked paprika and 3 to 4 ounces of canned tomato puree, and 1/3 cup cashew cream. Mix in, turn on Saute mode, and bring to a boil.

Taste and adjust salt and flavor. Usually I’ll add a little more salt at this point. You can also add a little bit of lemon to break through the flavor. Then, transfer it to a serving bowl, garnish it with cilantro, and drizzle with some more of the cashew cream, and the dal is ready to serve.

Make the potatoes next.

Put the potatoes in a large skillet with the water, salt, and the oil over medium high heat, and cover with the lid. Cook the potatoes until they are tender, 7 to 9 minutes. Stir once in between, but then let them generally cook undisturbed. 

While the potatoes are cooking, use a mortar and pestle or a food processor, and process or press down all of the peanut sesame masala ingredients, so that the peanuts break down.

If you’re using a food processor, first add the peanuts and process them to break them down and then add the rest of the ingredients and combine. 

Once the potatoes are done cooking, open the lid, add some neutral oil or mustard oil , and add the peanut sesame masala and a tablespoon of the reserved base sauce, tossing well to coat. Continue to cook over medium-high heat until the coating is toasted and the potatoes start getting toasted on the edges.

Keep moving them around. You want to use a good non-stick pan here, so that the peanut sesame coating doesn’t stick to the pan.

Once the potatoes are cooked, carefully taste and adjust salt and flavor. You can sprinkle in more salt or some chaat masala spice blend to increase the salty flavor of the potatoes.

Then, make the rice.

In a saucepan over medium heat, add the oil. If using raw cashews, then add the cashews now and cook and toast until they’re starting to turn golden. Then remove them from the pan. Once the oil is hot again, add in the mustard seeds and let them start to sputter or start to shake and change color to grayish.

Then mix in the washed rice, turmeric, lemon juice, water, and salt. Partially cover and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover the saucepan, and let it cook for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until the rice has absorbed all of the water and looks pretty fluffy.

Switch off the heat, and let the rice sit for a few minutes before opening and fluffing and transferring to a bowl to serve topped with the toasted cashews and some cilantro.

Now, your meal is just about ready to serve.

Make the quick raita by mixing the non-dairy yogurt with a little bit of water to thin it out and then sprinkle all of the dried spices mentioned on the raita and some cilantro, as well, and serve.

Warm your naan or flatbread in a skillet or the microwave or the oven, and brush it with some vegan butter and serve it with chutneys of choice or Indian pickle.

Frequently Asked Questions