No meat? No dairy? No problem at Guru Indian Restaurant
CLERMONT — Did you know that Guru Indian Restaurant has a vegan menu that has become a favorite among diners seeking out sumptuous and flavorful plant-based cuisine?
First, a primer: A vegan is someone who avoids consuming dairy, eggs, and any other ingredients derived from animals, in contrast to a vegetarian, who doesn't eat any animal flesh such as meat, poultry, or fish, nor any of the by-products but may enjoy cheese or milk products. An omnivore enjoys all types of plant-and-animal-based cuisines, and carnivores primarily enjoy meat.
Owner/Master Chef Uday Kadam has run the tastefully decorated Guru Indian Restaurant for the past decade. He chose the name "Guru" because he says he wants to be a "sharing teacher."
These days, Kadam is teaching diners, through his artful plating and presentation, that you don't necessarily have to order meat to enjoy a filling meal. Famous Beatle/animal rights advocate Paul McCartney, he said, inspired him with a passage he wrote in a vegetarian book.
Where Kadam grew up, 300 miles of Mumbai, a vegetarian diet is commonplace. "I grew up eating vegetarian, but I learned about the vegan diet when I moved to the United States. The vegan food I have on the menu is what every Indian person eats at home, but the vegan label is a western thing."
Unlike some cafes where you're hungry after you eat a plant-based meal, Guru's plates are filling, Kadam assures. "I've eaten water-based plant-based food at Chinese restaurants and have been hungry right after, but all of our vegan and vegetarian dishes are not lacking in protein. Palak Sabji Dalwith, our most popular item, has lentils (dal), which have same amount of protein as 16 ounces of chicken."
The dish also contains spinach and mixed cooked vegetables with its lentils, herbs and spices.
Guru's master chef took a moment to explain some more of the restaurant's basic vegan dishes to help guide your savory experiences.
Southern Indian cuisine is brimming with great recipes that include spinach and chick peas. Guru's Chana Saagmade has chickpeas and spinach cooked with spices and herbs, and Aloo Gobi is made up of cauliflower and potatoes cooked in onion and tomato with herbs and spices.
Aloo Mutter includes green peas, as well as potatoes cooked with herbs and spices, and Aloo Palak offers you potatoes and spinach cooked with fresh pounded spices. Eggplant, peas, onion, tomato and fresh spices go into Guru's Baingan Bharta.
But, wait, that's not all. Bhindi Masala has okra cooked with tomatoes and onion, chilis and spices. Potatoes spiked with mustard seeds along with fresh vegetables cooked with herbs and spices make up their Bombay Aloo Cubes.
Don't worry if you have omnivores, lacto-ovo vegetarians and carnivores in your party. Guru serves animal-derived ingredients too in popular items such as their Malai Kofta (vegetable dumplings with raisins in a creamy sauce with rice) and Butter Chicken. To read more about what Guru Indian Restaurant serves, click on their 50-plus-item menu at gururestaurant.hrpos.heartland.us/menu.
"Guru is the perfect location to celebrate Mother’s and Father’s Day along with anniversaries, graduations, and birthdays as well as any office meeting or party," Kadam urged.
Guru Indian Restaurant offers dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering services. Find it at 2400 U.S. 27, Suite 101, Clermont. Hours are 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 7 p.m. on Sundays. For more information, call 352-241-9884, visit MyGuruToGo.com or check out Facebook at facebook.com/gururestaurantclermont.
This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: Plant-based doesn't equal boring at Guru Indian Restaurant in Clermont
