Tandoori/Northern Indian Restaurant- Ideas!

Penthesilea514

My husband and I are going out with some friends and it is starting to become a weekly fun social thing. We are going to a new restaurant (Indian) tonight and, since this is not a "celebration" event, I want to try to eat to fit my calories plus I also LOVE to try new things. What are your go-to choices in an Indian restaurant when you are logging calories? I know that worse comes to worse I can always just eat half of an entrée that I know I like, but I am pretty much up for anything, no allergies or food sensitivities, just a happy food lover looking for some new food to try (and ideally, not break the calorie bank). Thanks!

abbynormalartist

Northern Indian is the BEST but I struggle to find something that fits with my calories. I'd recommend trying to stay away from curries, at least those that are cream based. Aloo goobi, kaboobs and tandoori chicken are good places to start. If you want recommendations not based on calories - samosa chat, tikka masala, malai kofta and aloo mater are awesome.

Penthesilea514

abbynormalartist wrote: »

Northern Indian is the BEST but I struggle to find something that fits with my calories. I'd recommend trying to stay away from curries, at least those that are cream based. Aloo goobi, kaboobs and tandoori chicken are good places to start. If you want recommendations not based on calories - samosa chat, tikka masala, malai kofta and aloo mater are awesome.

Haha I guess I will take suggestions for both, then I can recommend someone to get a dish and take a sample

Penthesilea514

I was thinking of trying one of the lentil dishes they offer (dal tarka) or chickpeas (chana masala), but I have never had them before and was curious.

My weakness is naan- I always have to account for some in my meal calculations lol >.<

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld

Cauliflower bhaji. I love the stuff.

janejellyroll

Penthesilea514 wrote: »

I was thinking of trying one of the lentil dishes they offer (dal tarka) or chickpeas (chana masala), but I have never had them before and was curious.

My weakness is naan- I always have to account for some in my meal calculations lol >.<

I love, love, love, chana masala! When I eat it, I usually skip the rice because the chickpeas are satisfying enough on their own. And, like, you, I always make room for bread (roti, in my case).

beadgalsarita

tandoori will be your best bet. Those dishes are often just seasoned/marinated meat grilled in the tandoor.

The big issue is that a lot of restaurant dishes have a lot more cream/oil/butter added than you would find in home cooking, so you really can't rely on recipes to give you a good idea.

If you're not big on tandoori, I suggest two approaches:
1. order curried dishes, but focus more on the meat/vegetables and don't eat much of the sauce.
2. Ask the waiter if they use yogurt or cream in the sauces that appear creamy. If they are using yogurt, they likely are using whole milk yogurt, but 1c of yogurt is an entirely different calorie count than 1c of cream.

Penthesilea514

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »

Cauliflower bhaji. I love the stuff.

Oooh the pictures look yummy!

janejellyroll wrote: »

Penthesilea514 wrote: »

I was thinking of trying one of the lentil dishes they offer (dal tarka) or chickpeas (chana masala), but I have never had them before and was curious.

My weakness is naan- I always have to account for some in my meal calculations lol >.<

I love, love, love, chana masala! When I eat it, I usually skip the rice because the chickpeas are satisfying enough on their own. And, like, you, I always make room for bread (roti, in my case).

That sounds good, especially with skipping the rice as I find it hard to be satisfied with rice (calorically I usually go way overboard without measuring). But gotta have that bread! lol

Penthesilea514

I had chana masala and naan and it was glorious Now I have a bunch of ideas for next time, I appreciate the comments!

RachelElser

O man, I really love butter chicken! Although anything masala is also great!