Indian dishes are made of various kinds of spices such ginger, turmeric, and coriander. Like any other traditional cuisine, their taste can be either spicy or sweet and light or rich. Indian food caters all kinds of people. If you are the one who counts every calorie taken, then you too have some yummy choices to choose from.
If you were to visit any one of the Brick Lane restaurants London UK, then you could try out a variety of veggie dishes and lean meats delicacies, which are less fattening. On the other hand delicacies like Palak Panner and Malai Kofta are diet landmines. Therefore, it is better that you learn a little about the Indian authentic food, before you pamper your taste-buds.
Watch out for Malai, Makhani and Masala – Masala (spices) adds great flavour and aroma to the food. However, each chef has their own measurement, and adds oil or cream to the sauce or curry in different quantity. Thus, while placing an order, you might want to request them to make it a little bland.
Makhani means the dish is cooked in tomato sauce that includes cream or ghee. It is very rich in flavour, but not a waist-friendly dish. You can select a tomato based dish, which uses no cream or ghee. In Indian, sweet dishes are generally made of a lot of malai (cream). This too is too heavy for one to digest, unless you are used to having it.
Pass over the appetizers – Indian appetizers ranging from deep fried samosas to paneer are high in carbohydrates and fat. Anything listed under pakodas means tempura batter and is fried. To save you appetite and calories intake, pass on these unhealthy appetizers. For starters, you could order light lentil soup or can opt for green salad without dressing.
Tandoori style – Tandoori is a traditional style of cooking and it is done in a clay oven called tandoor. Meat, chicken and fish are marinated, spiced as well as cooked with perfection. These are considered as fully-flavoured low-calorie dishes. You can enjoy veggies tikka (marinated and grilled) and meat in tandoori style.
Choose bread wisely – Naans are served in a variety of flavours. However, Indians claim that pure ghee is healthy, and thus the naan is generally brushed with ghee or butter, before serving. You can select other bread like paratha, chapatti, roti and the different variations (stuffed dough) that blend with any of the curries.
Lentils & chickpeas are good – Vegetarian Indian food includes several legume based dishes. Dals prepared with lentils are low in butter and oil. Even chole prepared from chickpeas is good for health. Both are rich in protein and fibres. It keeps you feel full for hours after eating.
Rice is nice – True but one cup of rice (Basmati) comprises of 200+ calories, which makes it easy to pile fats without realizing. Therefore, go for normal steamed rice, rather than Biryani or fried rice.
Many Indian restaurants have a list of healthy items included in their menu. A few of the preferred healthy options include Baingan Ka Bharta, Prawn Kebab, Barrah Kebab, Tandoori Salmon and Kadai chicken.
Hope these tips help you decide the best course of meal for you.
