Indian cuisine is warm, wonderfully diverse, and delicious. And researchers are studying the many health benefits spices like curry and turmeric may have; keeping your arteries clear, and health healthy.
Healthy Restaurant Options
But you can’t always tell how much fat, oil, cream or butter goes into a restaurant-made Indian dish. But with a little knowledge of the menu vocabulary, you can avoid the major diet-destroyers on the menu, and opt for the healthier options instead. Indian cuisine offers many dishes that are healthy, low in fat, and high in heart-healthy ingredients.
Healthy Indian Appetizers
When ordering an appetizer, avoid the fried items and choose something that is fresh and loaded with nutrients. Raita, a side dish made with cucumber, yogurt, and spices, is a healthy and cool option that compliments your spicy entrée. Or start your meal with protein-loaded lentil soup, or Kachumber salad, a fresh mix of cucumber, tomatoes, onions, lemon juice and herbs.
Low Fat Indian Side Dishes
Choosing your sides wisely is another way of avoiding excess oil, butter, and fat. Steamed rice is a great option, just be sure to keep your portion size in check, and avoid eating your curry with rice and a flatbread. Pappadums are a great item, as they are made from lentils and are typically baked, not fried. Don’t be afraid to ask your server how they prepare their pappadums.
Healthy Entrée Choices
When ordering your entrée, pay close attention to the wording of the dishes on the menu. Stay away from anything with the word ‘creamy’ in its description, as it is likely made literally with cream or butter, or both. ‘Baked’ and ‘fried’ are also words you should watch for, and opt for the former whenever possible.
Tandoori dishes are a great healthy option. ‘Tandoori’ is anything that was cooked in a ‘tandoor’, which is a cylindrical clay oven. Meat is cooked on long skewers inside the tandoor, rather than fried in a pan of oil. Tandoori chicken is often marinated in a blend of spices, yogurt and lemon juice; a much healthier option than one simmered in coconut milk and cream.
Chicken tikka and chicken vindaloo are other healthy meat options, as tikka is when the meat is cooked in a tandoor or barbequed, and vindaloo is when the meat is cooked in a spicy garlic and vinegar sauce that doesn’t contain butter or cream.
If you are looking for the healthiest dishes on the menu, then go straight to the vegetarian section. Dishes like aloo gobi, baingan bharta, and curried vegetables made with delicate blends of spices, garlic, ginger, and onions, rather than cream and butter sauces.
Low Fat Indian Sweets
If you still have room after your meal for something sweet order a masala chai tea instead of a dessert off the menu. Chai tea made from scratch with cardamom, cinnamon and cloves works wonders on your digestive system. Or snack on the liquorice flavoured fennel seeds that come at the end of many Indian meals, and are great for digestion.
Dishes to Avoid
When looking for the landmines on the menu, first avoid anything that is fried, especially the appetizers like samosas and pakoras. Indian desserts are also typically fried and soaked in sugary syrups. It may be one of the hardest things to give up, but you may want to think twice before ordering that naan bread. Many restaurants brush the naan with clarified butter before bringing it to the table. And if you are going to have naan and rice with your meal, you are adding hundreds of unnecessary calories.
Be wary of dishes with the word paneer in them, as paneer is homemade Indian cheese, and isn’t typically low in fat. Korma sauce is a rich recipe, often made with cream. Any dish that is made with coconut sauce or coconut milk will be higher in saturated fat, than its non-creamy contemporary.
Keep in mind that the word ‘malai’ means cream and ‘makhani’ literally means ‘with butter’. Avoid dishes that feature these terms, like the ever-popular murgh makhani, also known as butter chicken.
A very popular ingredient in Indian restaurant cuisine is ghee, or clarified butter, and consists almost entirely of saturated fat. The menu descriptions won’t always list ghee, so don’t be afraid to ask your server if it is used in the dish you are ordering.
Many Indian restaurants cook with coconut oil, another item loaded with saturated fat. If the chef doesn’t mind, as that your meal is prepared with canola oil or another healthier oil.
Once you know the vocabulary and have a few ideas for healthy dishes, eating at your favourite Indian restaurant no longer has to be a diet-destroyer.
RESOURCES:
Hitti, Miranda. “Curry Spice May Thwart Heart Failure,” WebMD. February 26, 2008.
Miller Stacy, Kelli. “Curcumin May Prevent Clogged Arteries,” WebMD. July 20, 2009.
Heather Loney - Heather is a journalist and photographer living in Canada. She graduated from the University of Guelph with a degree in philosophy, and ...
