Indian Food - Help !
 

I'm going to an Indian restaurant for a birthday party, and I'm clueless about the food's calorie content ! :o

I don't know what to choose and what to avoid. Any advice? :?:

I have this same problem. My husband LOVES thai, i have NO idea how to count it. All i do know, is that spring rolls are 100 cals a peice, not a bad start. If you go to Calorieking and look up some stuff under indian food maybe it could give you some ideas of what to order and what to stay away from.

dishes like Rogaj Josh, Lamb Byriani, lamb saag, saag paneer, and most curry based dishes are very high calorie. alot of dishes are made with yogurt too. I recommend chicken tikka, or tandoori style chicken. The naan bread or chapatis that will come to the table are not so bad... but pull them in half and only eat half of that. Just read the menu or ask the waiter for help. I've always found them very accomodating :)

One of my favorite Indian dishes is chana masala - it is a spicy curry made with chickpeas and tomatoes. Another fairly low calorie option is baigan bhartha, roasted - peeled, pureed eggplant with tomatoes and spices (sometimes it has peas). Another healthy, lower calorie option is Dal (lentils as a main dish) or sambar (spicy lentil soup, usually as an appetizer).

I know to avoid malai kofta - it's delicious, but it's basically cheese. Also, paneer - means cheese.

Instead of naan or rice, I ask for whole wheat roti (roe-tee) without butter.

I found this site, which may be helpful:
http://www.elviradarknight.com/diabetes/indian.html

If they have Tandoori, you might want to go that route. I love Indian food but the things I love are the items in sauce which generally have ghee (butter) and high fat dairy. I don't know the names of things but often they have curried vegetables that are good and aren't in a sauce as well as tandoori chicken which also isn't in a sauce. Of course if you want to indulge in the experience, I'd say be adventurous and portion control what you eat. Naan is also oh so good but also oh so calorific.

Here's a site that might help a bit. The cream sauces are definitely where you have the most trouble. Also, very often the rice is cooked in a lot of butter (ghee). Indian food is wonderful. Have a great time!

http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk...ndian_food.htm