Jain Catering Menu Ideas for Family Functions

Planning a Jain menu for a family function is mostly an ordinary menu-planning job with one thing settled first: exactly what is being left out. Once that is clear and written down, the rest is the same conversation as any other catering menu - what suits the occasion, who is eating, and what time of day it is.

This article is about the catering side of that. What counts as Jain varies between families, traditions and communities, and it is not our place to define it - the requirements come from you, and we cook to them.

Breakfast and morning functions

Morning gatherings, pujas and griha pravesh functions usually want something light that can be served over a long arrival window. Poha, upma, sabudana khichdi, dhokla, idli with a coconut chutney made without the usual aromatics, and thepla travel well and hold their quality on a counter.

Masala chai, filter coffee and a cooling drink alongside cover most preferences. Fresh puri with a simple sabzi works if the function runs into the late morning.

Starters

Plenty of starters adapt straightforwardly: paneer tikka prepared without the usual onion-garlic marinade, corn or spinach kababs, dhokla, khandvi, patra, stuffed mirchi and a range of fried and steamed snacks. Chaat is a natural fit for a Jain menu because much of it is already built from ingredients that are not excluded - sev puri, bhel and ragda pattice prepared to your requirements.

Main course

The main course is where the substitutions need the most thought, because a lot of standard gravies are built on an onion or tomato-onion base. Cooking without it is not a matter of leaving it out - the base gets rebuilt around curd, cashew, melon seed, tomato or besan depending on the dish.

Preparations that suit this well include paneer in a cashew or curd gravy, gatte ki sabzi, sev tamatar, dal dhokli, kadhi, and vegetable preparations built on beans, gourds, peas and greens rather than root vegetables. Undhiyu is worth asking about specifically, since the standard version relies on ingredients many Jain menus exclude.

Rice

Jeera rice, plain steamed rice, curd rice and a vegetable pulao built from permitted vegetables all work. Khichdi with kadhi is a reliable choice for a family lunch and tends to be the thing elderly guests come back to. If the function is large, keep plain rice generously stocked - it is always the first to run low.

Breads

Roti, phulka, puri, thepla, bhakri and parathas stuffed with permitted vegetables. As with any menu, breads are best made through service rather than in advance, which means a counter and somebody standing at it - worth factoring into the plan for the day rather than leaving to the end.

Desserts

Most traditional sweets need no adaptation at all, which makes this the easiest course. Shrikhand, basundi, rabri, kheer, moong dal halwa, mohanthal, besan ladoo, jalebi and gulab jamun. One hot and one cold is usually the right pairing for a family lunch.

Adjusting the menu

A Jain menu is no less flexible than any other. Dishes move between cuisines, courses get added or dropped, and the spread is built around the occasion. The one honest caveat is that not every dish has a Jain version - some depend on ingredients that would be excluded, and replacing them produces a different dish rather than the same one adapted. If there is something specific you want, ask about it directly and we will tell you either way.

Setting out the requirements

This is the part worth doing carefully, and doing early. Rather than asking for "Jain food" and hoping the caterer's definition matches yours, set out what should be excluded and have it confirmed back to you in writing.

• List what is excluded explicitly - onion, garlic and which root vegetables.
• Say whether the whole menu is Jain or only part of it.
• If part of it, agree how the Jain dishes will be kept separate and labelled at the counter.
• Ask about anything you are unsure of by name, dish by dish, rather than in general terms.

You can browse the full range of dishes on the catering menu, where Jain availability is marked against each item.