Western vegetarian cooking often works by replacing the meat in an existing dish. Indian vegetarian cooking rarely does, because the dishes were not designed around a centerpiece in the first place.
The plate has no center to replace
An American dinner plate is conventionally organized around a protein with sides arranged next to it. Removing the protein leaves a visible hole, and something has to fill it.
An Indian meal is a set of preparations eaten together with a staple grain or bread. No single item is structurally the main event, so nothing is missing when meat is absent.
This is why the substitution problem does not arise. A vegetarian thali is not a modified meat thali; it is the older and more common arrangement in much of India.
Legumes carry the protein without imitation
Dals, chickpeas, kidney beans and black-eyed peas appear daily rather than occasionally, and they are cooked as dishes with their own identity rather than as stand-ins for anything.
Because they are eaten with rice or wheat at the same meal, the amino acid profiles complement each other, which is the mechanism behind the pairing rather than a modern nutritional retrofit.
Texture is supplied by technique, not by mimicry
Chew and bite come from frying, roasting, drying and pressing rather than from engineered products. A vegetable fritter, a roasted gram flour dumpling and a crisp-fried okra all have distinct textures.
Dairy supplies richness and body in the north, coconut in the south. Neither is pretending to be meat, and neither needs to be, because the flavor structure was built around them.
Fermented and dried preparations add further textural range, which is why an all-vegetarian meal can carry crisp, soft, chewy and creamy elements simultaneously.
Umami has its own sources
Savory depth comes from tomatoes, tamarind, asafoetida, fermented batters and long-cooked alliums. These are all vegetarian sources of the same savoriness that meat contributes elsewhere.
Because the flavor base does not depend on animal stock, there is no gap left when meat is omitted. The seasoning system is self-sufficient.
Substitutes still sell in India
Commercial plant-based meat products have found a market in Indian cities, but they mostly serve people who want burgers and nuggets rather than people looking to make a dal work without meat.
For American cooks, this is the useful distinction. Cooking Indian vegetarian food does not require buying anything that imitates meat, and the recipes will be worse rather than better if the substitution habit is imported with them.