Tired of going to an Indian restaurant and want to make some of your own easy Indian appetizers? Give your taste buds a party with these popular Indian appetizer recipes.
If you’re looking for flavor-packed healthy appetizers, look no further.
Indian food has many different styles, each one highlighting a different kind of ingredient or cooking style.
Each one is liberal with its spices and vegetables, making this a healthy choice for your next round of popular appetizers.
Table of Contents
What Should I Serve for an Indian Dinner Party?
It’s important to note that most Indian meals don’t just focus on a single meal. Instead, various curries, gravies, vegetables, and grains come together to form a collection from which your guests can choose.
If you’re gearing up for an Indian dinner party, pick several dishes that can be enjoyed together. A dal, a dry curry, some roti or naan, a gravy curry, and a dash of pickle are ingredients for the perfect formula.
What Are Some Indian Appetizers?
Most of the best Indian appetizers can be enjoyed as part of the main meal or even used as a lunch item. Great examples are things like pani puri (a fried ball stuffed with potato and mint water) and samosas.
Light soups like dal are great, as well as naan or roti, which can serve as your bread course. With so many options to choose from, feel free to experiment with combinations that will heighten your main course.
1. Healthy Samosas
Source: urbanfarmie.com
A samosa is a triangular stuffed pastry, usually filled with mashed potatoes, vegetables like peas, and various delicious spices. There are a couple of ways to enjoy this tasty treat.
You can eat it just as it is or with a generous dollop of chutney or yogurt to soften the spice.
Love pastry? Check out these puff pastry appetizers!
2. Mint Chutney
Source: theforkedspoon.com
Mint chutney is a classic Indian condiment hailing from the Northern regions. It adds a burst of vibrant green freshness to the table, paring back the spice for those who need it.
This recipe requires only a few ingredients and minimal effort, but the result is packed with flavor.
3. Vegan Fritters
Source: urbanfarmie.com
These Indian vegan fritters called pakoda are small fried balls of battered vegetables.
Once again, these are super simple to make with things you’ll have on hand in your pantry. You can use any vegetables you like to make these delicious fritters, an amazing leftover-busting recipe.
4. Lentil Dal Curry Samosas
Source: culinaryginger.com
This is a thick lentil curry wrapped in a delicious samosa pastry.
This vegetable samosa method will work with any thick or dry curry, but not one that has too much gravy. That will soak through the samosa wrapper and take away its crispiness!
5. Mumbai Pav Bhaji
Source: urbanfarmie.com
Pav bhaji is a delicious bread dish with origins in Indian street food. Picture this: fluffy white bread rolls fried in butter and a delightful collection of vegetables cooked into a spicy gravy.
This is the best thing if you love Indian starters.
6. Mini Indian Meatballs with Curry Coconut Sauce
Source: culinaryginger.com
Koftas are small meatballs originating from Central and South Asia, and they’re utterly delicious. Picture the most perfectly-spiced meatball you’ve ever had in your life, and you might get close to a kofta.
These mini versions make for a great appetizer dish at your next dinner party.
7. Moong Dal Vada
Source: mycookingjourney.com
Dal vada is a specific type of vegetable pakoda (fritter) that uses a variety of lentils called moong dal.
This variety of dal is super high in protein, making this a fantastic snack option for vegans and vegetarians.
Need more appetizer inspiration? Check out these Italian appetizers!
8. Hariyali Paneer Tikka
Source: cookingcarnival.com
This Hariyali-style paneer tikka – ‘grilled cheese’ – skewers blocks of paneer alongside a variety of vegetables. Then, grill them over high heat to char all the elements.
A smoky, spicy, utterly delicious appetizer ideal for your next gathering at the grill.
9. Easy Corn Fritters
Source: greenbowl2soul.com
Here’s another take on a vegetable pakoda that uses sweetcorn! These are delightfully sweet and refreshing, the perfect appetizer to kick off a spring or summer picnic.
This is a great recipe to make with basic ingredients. It will become a popular dish in many Indian households.
10. Cabbage Pakoda
Source: spiceupthecurry.com
Cabbage is a profoundly underrated vegetable, in my opinion, but many regions in India use this tasty vegetable in their cuisines.
This pakoda recipe also uses mint leaves to add a hint of freshness, which is great for appetizers.
11. Crispy Onion Bhaji
Source: littlesunnykitchen.com
Onion bhaji are fried onion fritters imbued with a delicious collection of Indian spices. The crispy batter gives way to chewy, punchy onion slivers that will stoke the fires of your appetite in no time.
Onion bhaji are pretty intuitive to make, requiring minimal effort and time to get right.
12. Mixed Vegetable Pakora
Source: ikneadtoeat.com
Mixed vegetable pakora is a great way to use up any leftover vegetables at the end of the week. They’re super quick and easy to make.
This is the perfect tea-time snack you can make in little time and enjoy in different ways. One of the greatest Indian recipes!
13. Mushroom Bhaji
Source: littlesunnykitchen.com
The mushrooms give the bhaji a slightly meaty texture and flavor, especially with the spices forming a tag team in the batter. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, this is an unbeatable recipe to have in your arsenal.
Want to make other easy appetizers? Check out these crockpot appetizers!
14. Crispy Aloo Pakora
Source: ikneadtoeat.com
Picture spiced potato cooked to perfection, then battered and fried.
That’s what these aloo pakoras are, and they’re insanely good.
If your guests are unfamiliar with Indian cuisine, this is a great place to get them started.
15. Homemade Naan
Source: temeculablogs.com
The basic principles of making naan are super simple. It only needs wheat flour, salt, and water.
The key is not to over or under-knead the dough. Under-kneading can reduce the amount of gluten formed and make the result dense, while over-kneading can make a tough dough that doesn’t fluff.
16. Gluten-Free Spicy Beef Samosas
Source: onlyglutenfreerecipes.com
Here is a gluten-free method for making delicious samosas. It’s a super simple dough you can make from scratch.
The spicy beef filling is delicious, packed with punchy flavor that takes your tastebuds on a wild ride. You can use the samosa dough on any filling you like, though!
17. Chicken Pakora
Source: thedevilwearssalad.com
Pakoras can be made with meat too, not just vegetables! This chicken pakora recipe is a prime example. It’s essentially Indian-style fried chicken, battered with spice and fried to perfection.
The juicy boneless chicken surrounded by a spicy, crispy shell is almost unbeatable in terms of flavor.
18. Indian Corn Salad
Source: pepperbowl.com
Also called ‘corn chaat,’ this can be used as a side salad, a cold appetizer, or even a condiment.
This salad has a refreshing balance of flavor and acidity from corn, onion, and tomato, making it irresistible. It’s a super healthy and simple appetizer that takes barely any time to prepare.
19. Sugar-Free Mango Chutney
Source: nutriciously.com
Many chutney recipes use additional sugar to achieve that characteristic sweetness, but this mango chutney relies only on the fruit.
I’d recommend making this chutney when mangos are in season; that’s when you’ll get the best result.
Want more inspiration? Check out these Mexican appetizer recipes.
20. Aloo Chop
Source: myyellowapron.com
Aloo chop or batata vada is a simple Indian street food recipe. The recipe produces spiced mashed potato balls encased in perfectly fried batter.
They’re super easy to make, and their taste is truly unforgettable.
The spice mix is pretty simple too.
21. Mutabal Roasted Eggplant Dip with Thick Yoghurt
Source: braisedanddeglazed.com
In this recipe we’re using roasted eggplant to make a delightful dip mellowed with a dash of yogurt.
The yogurt and eggplant blend with a few spices to create a mellow mixture that hums with smokiness. This is perfect for serving at the start of your meal with roti, naan, or even crostini!
22. Aloo Bonda
Source: splashoftaste.com
This Aloo Bonda variation uses cilantro and fresh curry leaves to add a splash of freshness to the heavy potato balls.
While this makes for a fantastic yummy appetizer dish, this can also be used as part of the main meal.
23. Beetroot Tiki
Source: myyellowapron.com
The idea for this dish comes from traditional Indian street food, coating beetroot in semolina and frying it.
In this variation, you’d use an air fryer to achieve that crispy texture with barely any oil needed. That makes this one of the healthiest appetizer options on this list.
Enjoy these delicious Indian appetizers!