Veg or Non-Veg?

That is probably one of the most common questions that you will encounter once you find your feet on the beautiful grounds of India.

Whenever you are handed a menu, you will definitely see labels that say Vegetarian/Veg or Non-Vegetarian/Non-Veg. At times, you don't even need to see the menu to find out whether that place sells only vegetarian stuff or not. All you need to do is read the sign outside the restaurant which has its name on it and right below the name (or after the name or even within the name) will be something like "veg and non-veg restaurant" or "purely vegetarian".

A sample menu from a Chinese restaurant chain in India.

You see, where I am from, most people do not really bother if what they are about to eat has meat in it or if they are going to nibble on some leaves and whatnot that did not come from any animal.

In most parts of the world, the two main reasons why people chose to become vegetarians are: one, they believe that animals deserve to live like humans so they should be treated with respect and should not be killed for man's consumption and two, living a vegetarian life is better and healthier than being a carnivore (or an omnivore - one that eats both plants and animals).

An example of a complete Indian non-veg thali (platter).

However, here in India, while people still have the freedom to choose whatever it is that they want to eat, religion plays a very important role when it comes to their diet. Talk about full commitment.

Here, I ordered chicken kebabs and chicken tikka and I got the vegetarian version instead because apparently, they only serve purely vegetarian dishes.

So what do you think is my answer whenever people ask me this question?

Well, I'm more of the non-veg type of person so I had a few minor challenges before when there were no non-veg stuff available on the menu and that I have no choice but to eat whatever was served on my plate because I was very hungry and that finding another place to eat will take a lot of time and oh! That it will be rude to leave a friend's engagement party just to go somewhere else to grab some chicken tandoori and beef curry. Hihihi!

This is my very first full pledged Indian vegetarian platter.

What about you, what would you order? Veg or Non-Veg?