I have a lunch event on Friday that will involve food from a local Indian restaurant.

What would be some of the least damaging options, calorically, & how many calories would you estimate for a lunch portion of each? (And a piece of naan - I can't have Indian food without my piece of naan!)

Thanks in advance!

Naan--I would say 200 calories to be safe..

I would stick with the tandoor chicken (it looks like roasted chicken with red color on it) to be safe and maybe a small bit of rice to go along with it...if there is anything fresh veggie wise, that of course would be okay..

The problem with Indian food is that there is cream in soooo many dishes, large amounts of oil too..and those two things can add up really quickly..

Of course, if you want to just enjoy it you could! Just have a light breakfast (maybe a yogurt) and a salad w/low cal dressing that night or whatever. If you eat in moderation with the indian fare, You will be fine.

It really depends on the Naan but 200-300 is a good calorie estimate for one piece (sad, isn't it?)


Chana masala and Dhal are good options
Any dry, curried veggies that aren't battered

You can ask if any dishes have cream/yogurt in them. Many will generally have ghee (butter).

The name of the dish completely escapes me, but it is a curried cauliflower dish, and it is absolutely delicious. I don't know the count, but being primarily veggie it is likely to be less fattening than some of the other choices on the menu.

Aloo gobi. One of my favorites too!

Aloo Gobi is a good one and not likely to have cream in it.

Isn't the raita usually pretty low-fat? It's a cucumber/cilantro-type dip that has a yogurt base.

Is it a buffet? Glory87 (? I think that's her name) has a policy something like: one plate of whatever you want, then anything beyond that can only be vegetables.

I would probably eat whatever at the Indian place, and compensate by having a very light (fruit-based) breakfast and a big mostly-vegetable salad for dinner.

Nah, it's not a buffet - we are supposed to give our orders in advance & they will have it delivered.

Right now, I am thinking either tandoori chicken w/ naan or else daal soup w/ naan. The soup is actually what I'd prefer, of those two, but I know that will get me all kinds of flak with this crowd for "not eating," "being on a diet," etc., so maybe the chicken. Those are the only two dishes I feel I can "trust."

I briefly thought about the bhartha, but eggplant soaks up so much oil that even though I love it, I'm wary of eating a restaurant version.

I am not even letting myself THINK about the REALLY yummy things.

I so love indian food but I have to stay away because I can't eat tandori chicken it's always too dry.

Now I want Vindaloo and Saag. *sigh*

Good luck with your lunch. If I were you I'd just eat light the rest of the day or consider it a treat.

Prinny, that is EXACTLY my problem w/ tandoori chicken. I've rarely had it where they aren't just dried out little pieces of meat. Hence my preference for the daal soup, given what I see as my viable choices...