Go vegetarians, the world’s your dosa

To mark National Vegetarian Week, Chris Caldicott picks 10 places, from Italy to India, where meat-free cuisine is celebrated

For globe-trotters who don’t eat meat, learning to say “I am a vegetarian” in the local language can be an essential skill. In case you need to know, it’s “Ana natbateeyah” in Arabic, “Watashi wa bejitarian desu” in Japanese and “Eu sou vegetariano” in Portuguese.

In Britain, not only is there no language barrier but vegetarian diners have an annual celebration of their own. National Vegetarian Week (which begins on Monday) is a familiar foodie fixture which will this year enlist the help of the Hairy Bikers in championing the cause and encouraging the general public to “get stuck in and go veggie for a week”.

In Britain, adopting a diet free of meat, poultry, game, fish and shellfish has never been easier and is not just a metropolitan choice. Glasgow now rivals London as vegetarian restaurant capital of the UK, while a plethora of recipe books allows anyone without access to vegetarian restaurants or street food to experiment with non-carnivorous cuisine at home.

By comparison, life for a vegetarian traveller can be more of a challenge; merely crossing the Channel to France can be a vegetarian’s idea of hell – but don’t panic. There are plenty of meat-free havens out there, as this worldwide selection shows.

Just one risotto

Enjoying vegetarian lunch in Thailand, above; masala dosa on sale in southern India, below right; and thali delicacies served on a banana leaf, main picture