Vegan curry is plentiful in Camden Market

Recently, we skewered an otherwise excellent food stand in London’s Camden Market due to its terrible customer service. Gladly, though, there are several wonderful food choices in the market that serve some pretty damn good Indian food. If you look hard enough, you’ll see “Halal Indian Food” on a few stalls, along with some huge, bubbling pots of very tasty curries.

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If you stay away from anything with meat, the vegetable dishes are nearly always vegan and absolutely always tasty…

Halal Indian Food

Pictured above is the sign for “Halal Indian Food”, a very vegan-friendly stand located on the same side of the street and just north of Ha Ha Veggie Bar.

Spinach & Potato, Dhal Curry, Chick Peas and Rice. ₤4

Halal Indian restaurants and stalls have sprung up relatively recently due to the influx of Muslim Indians to the area and, being strictly Halal, will gladly disclose both the ingredients and production methods. Basically: If they say something is vegan they can be quite trusted.

Nice lady at Halal Indian food does not mind being photographed!

On our recent trip, we visited two such food stalls, and were blown away by how nice the staff were, and how tasty the food was. The middle-Eatern influence is clearly there, as the signature vegan dishes are Chickpea curries in a tomatoey sauce that’s reminiscent more of Arabic cuisine than traditional southern Indian cooking.

Menu at Little India

Pictured above is the vegan menu at Little India, a stand on the same side of the street and just north of Inspiral Lounge.

However, fans of Southern Indian food (like yours truly) won’t be disappointed as there are choices of daal (a curry usually made with cream, but not in this case), mixed vegetable (a little like a typical vindaloo) and spinach and potato (my favorite without a doubt). When we asked about the curried dairy contents, in both cases the lady behind the counter told us which dishes were vegan, and offered us a taste.

Nice server at Little India in Camden

For only £4 (about $6) you can get a sampler plate of all the vegan curries as well as some rice and bread. This is astounding value and results in enough food for a very hungry person or two moderately hungry people to become replete. There are a multitude of complimentary condiments, including coriander, cucumber salad, fresh chillies and various spicy sauces which perfectly compliment your meal.

Spinach Potato, Dhal Curry, Chickpeas, Aloo Ghobi and Bombay Potato with rice. ₤4

Perhaps, best of all, you can grab a motorcycle seat (see the picture below) and dine while looking out over Camden Lock just a few steps from the hustle and bustle of the busy market.

I wish these places were around when I lived in London as, for a few quid, I could buy enough food to last a week.