Indian food - thoughts?
 

Hi all!

Going out for Indian food tomorrow and need ideas for healthy options. Any thoughts?

Thank you!! :)

Chicken tikka masala oops, I mean tandoori chicken (or tandoori fish or lamb) is usually a pretty good choice, so is dal (yellow split pea soup).


I slipped and said chicken tikka masala because it's my favorite. along with any of the saag (spinach) dishes.

Chicken tikka masala is my favorite (along with saag - spinach - dishes), but they're harder to estimate the calories because of the possibility of added carbs and fat.

I usually order them anyway and just limit the rice (and use the exchange estimates in my Exchanges for All Occasions book - or online calorie estimates).

I'd say don't eat too many carbs with the curry (rice, naan etc), and maybe have a vegetable curry rather than meat or fish. You can also have a tomato based curry sauce rather than cream based sauce.

If they have tandoori - it's made in a tandoori oven & there's no sauce/gravy. But really good :)

Indian is one of my few indulgences - gosh, I could always eat it.

Me, I am a sucker for butter chicken (or paneer makhani), which is the very definition of a high-calorie sauce fest. :) Also love palak paneer (aka saag paneer), which again, isn't the healthiest choice... but may be the most delicious!

Your big calorie hits come from those sauces, especially ones like the above that have cream added, and from carbs (naan and rice, mainly - though there are always fried app options like pakora too).

I choose to limit the damage of my indulgences by being strict on the carbs. No naan for me, and as little rice as I can. You could also make better entree choices - all-veggie, no cream ones like eggplant bharta might be good. Tandoori is always a fantastic choice - good protein, no calorific sauce.

I eat a lot of Indian food - but it's mostly food I make myself, not at restaurants. Restaurants are really, really hard. But here is how I handle them.

First, rice or bread - pick one. I usually choose naan, and only eat a half of one naan. I don't touch the rice. There are just too many calories for me to afford both. I also just stay away from the appetizers completely. Samosas and pakoras are delicious, but there really just isn't room for them in my plan.

Second, lean toward dry dishes rather than dishes with a lot of gravy. In restaurants, gravies are likely to be finished with a lot of oil or ghee to make them rich and shiny. They can really pack in the calories and they also raise the temptation to eat more bread and rice to soak up all the gravy goodness. Tandoori chicken or fish is really not a bad choice. Mixed vegetable dishes can be all right too, but read how they are prepared. Dishes with "kadhai" in the name are similar to stirfry - a kadhai is very similar to a wok - and these usually don't have gravy but they can be a little oily. Similarly, stay away from korma, which usually are cream sauces.

Finally, dal or sambar (a more watery dal dish) are also good choices. Usually not a lot of extra fat gets added to these.

Most of all, though, just try not to eat too much of whatever you get. This is where limiting the rice and bread works for me. I can take a spoonful of some gravy-rich dish and enjoy the flavor, without sopping up every bite of the ghee-loaded gravy with hundreds of calories worth of bread and rice.

Enjoy!

this makes me want to eat. I love indian food :D

haha, that's what I was thinking :D

Um. Whoa. Do you guys know how to help a girl out or what? In, like, 0.2 seconds I suddenly feel so supported and knowledgeable about what choices to make tomorrow night. Thank you SO MUCH!

I think - if I can summon all of my willpower - I will stay away from the yummy gravies and go straight to tandoori chicken and see if they can't pair that with some steamed veggies or something. I know we are getting drinks too, so I'll spend my cals on some wine.

You guys rock my world.

This makes me want to eat too, mammasita! I've never had indian food, but now I want some! :T

kk2323 your plan sounds perfect. :)

Loooove indian food. Seems like most of the dishes are pretty healthy-good spices and meat, but cal wise - I would go for more of a rice-less saucy meat dish because the sauces can be really heavy and rice cals are easier to count - assuming its plain rice while they might be more liberal with the coconut milk/butter/whatever thickener they use to make it oh so good. But if I am not so strict its Chicken Tikka Masla and Samosas mmmmmmm

Indian food...yum...one of the cafeterias where I work has an Indian station and it smells sooo good. It is very hard to pass by and keep away from temptation.

you should definitely go for rotis (or chapatis) rather than naan because they are so MUCH healthier. If you ask, they'll make rotis without oil (a.k.a phulka rotis)

bengan bharta, dum aloo, rajma, chole or mixed vegetable curry are all great tasting but non creamy side dishes.
You could go for a dhal but they tend to be pretty bland.

Have fun!