Healthy options at an Indian Restaurant

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  • Lesa_Sass
    Lesa_Sass Posts: 2,213 Member
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    I live part time in India. I have put on 18 pounds since moving there. The food is oil rich and carb heavy, Its not healthy.

    People in India are skinny because they can not afford food. Being over weight there is beautiful to them. As they watched me gain, they applauded me for getting "healthy".

    Chicken tikka is a good choice, but it is going to be salty. It will not have all the oils or cream as many of the curries do. DO NOT EAT THE NAAN.

    Or you can not sweat it and enjoy your lunch and then get back to it tomorrow. As I sit here with those extra lbs, I can say, beyond a shadow of a doubt that every bite was worth it.
  • enterdanger
    enterdanger Posts: 2,447 Member
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    Indian food is delicious and MOST of the actual FOOD is healthy. What gets me in trouble at the Indian for me is Chai tea. Lots of sugar and (if made right) lots of milk. Also there are these delicious round things soaking in syrup that are purely comfort food of tasty calorie breaking.

    Try the chicken Tikka masala or Lamb Korma if you can. I adore Kormas.

    The round things are gulab jamun. They are in simple syrup usually flavored with cardamom.

    I agree with everyone who said just go to the gym first and then eat what you want. I've never had any indian food that I didn't like. Chicken Biranyi, Goat Vindaloo, Palek Paneer, dhal, korma...all delicious.


    and you must get Naan. I know it's calorific. Totally worth it.
  • 20yearsyounger
    20yearsyounger Posts: 1,643 Member
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    I love Indian food and eat it at least once a month so this was a dilemma for me. Hopefully this isn't a buffet :) If dinner, eat half of what you get.
  • Josalinn
    Josalinn Posts: 1,066 Member
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    Lamb Vindaloo and Na'an Bread, skip the rice. Sorry Lesa_Sass, I humbly disagree with your opinion on Na'an.
  • ViolaLeeBlueberry
    ViolaLeeBlueberry Posts: 182 Member
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    LOL, chai, yeah, no kidding. And if you lived here, it would be, "Want some tea? Time for tea! Want some more tea?" And who can ever turn down another cup of chai?!? (With biscuits. Of course.)

    On recipes -- I don't use recipes, mostly, but my main tip would be: Do not be scared by the long list of ingredients with all the careful measurements! I have never once seen anyone actually measure. "Indian cooking" is not an exact science, no matter how complicated a cookbook makes it look. You do not need to strain your yogurt, or get rubber gloves to seed the chilies, or whatever the cookbook authors come up with to exoticize it. So ignore something that seems like too much of a pain, and don't worry if you're missing a spice (because it's no biggie), and just follow the basic idea and you'll catch on quickly.

    For instance, spice-wise, the two big ones are cumin and coriander. (Turmeric is mainly for color, and if you get it fresh, it's a natural antibiotic.) So invest in those and whatever else you start to see in recipes. Then feel totally free to alter it to make it low-cal .... for instance, "a cup of coconut milk" is a killer 552 calories, but a TBSP is only 34 calories, and if you add it at the end it'll make everything taste yummy without the calories. If you do it for a while, you'll figure out how to cut the calories.

    BTW, Lesa, when my husband and I moved back to this part of the world after years in the US, we thought, "Hey, now we can lose weight!" Ha ha ha. Well, at least we got to enjoy the well-meaning compliment: "You've gotten fat!" Oh thank you :-)
  • sljohnson1207
    sljohnson1207 Posts: 818 Member
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    The most delicious food I ever ate was a vindaloo. OMG!
  • LiftAndBalance
    LiftAndBalance Posts: 960 Member
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    I'm gonna agree with the people who said ENJOY it, especially if you've never had Indian food! The best thing about good Indian food is that you can actually taste all the different spices—if it's just hot, you should try another place.

    My favourite would probably have to be Biryani, either with lamb or chicken. The place we normally go to serves huge portions so I will generally eat half and ask them to pack the rest. With curries, I've now started to have just Naan and no rice. Yes, Naan has a lot of calories but it's totally worth it. Rice, on the other hand, is just rice.
  • MisterZ33
    MisterZ33 Posts: 567 Member
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    indian food, like the cuisne of any ethnicity, in particular, when prepared in a restaurant, will always be an unhealthier option in comparision with a home cooked meal.

    OP, when dining at an indian restaurant, go for the dry meats opposed to those marinated in curry. there will be far less oil / butter
  • Lesa_Sass
    Lesa_Sass Posts: 2,213 Member
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    Lamb Vindaloo and Na'an Bread, skip the rice. Sorry Lesa_Sass, I humbly disagree with your opinion on Na'an.

    I said do not get the naan because it is high calorie., especially if it is slathered in butter, it is well over 200 calories a piece if made correctly. I never ever said it was not delicious. It is one of the reasons I put on 9 kg in India. :wink:
  • Josalinn
    Josalinn Posts: 1,066 Member
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    Lamb Vindaloo and Na'an Bread, skip the rice. Sorry Lesa_Sass, I humbly disagree with your opinion on Na'an.

    I said do not get the naan because it is high calorie., especially if it is slathered in butter, it is well over 200 calories a piece if made correctly. I never ever said it was not delicious. It is one of the reasons I put on 9 kg in India. :wink:

    Oh I know it isn't calorie free! But thats why I skip the rice (200/cup). I eat whatever dish I get without rice and use the Na'an to sop up all the lovely sauce. I get Indian every other week from this awesome place in Maryland....so worth every calorie!
  • FromHereOnOut
    FromHereOnOut Posts: 3,237 Member
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    I get Indian every other week from this awesome place in Maryland....so worth every calorie!

    My torrid love affair with Indian food began in Bethesda. No regrets. Ever.
  • Lesa_Sass
    Lesa_Sass Posts: 2,213 Member
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    Lamb Vindaloo and Na'an Bread, skip the rice. Sorry Lesa_Sass, I humbly disagree with your opinion on Na'an.

    I said do not get the naan because it is high calorie., especially if it is slathered in butter, it is well over 200 calories a piece if made correctly. I never ever said it was not delicious. It is one of the reasons I put on 9 kg in India. :wink:

    Oh I know it isn't calorie free! But thats why I skip the rice (200/cup). I eat whatever dish I get without rice and use the Na'an to sop up all the lovely sauce. I get Indian every other week from this awesome place in Maryland....so worth every calorie!

    And that is how I went from 105 to 123.

    Leaving Oct 6 for 3 months there. Sigh......I will dine on Aloo Bhaji and poori every morning, drink south indian coffee with 4 percent fat in the milk and have a chai tea with lots of sugar and buffalo milk every afternoon. I wonder how many kgs I will gain on this stay? Worth every ounce. :happy:
  • Boccellin
    Boccellin Posts: 137 Member
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    I get Indian every other week from this awesome place in Maryland....so worth every calorie!

    My torrid love affair with Indian food began in Bethesda. No regrets. Ever.

    Is this awesome place in Maryland anywhere near Elkton? I would love to give it a shot if it is.
  • baubisson
    baubisson Posts: 11 Member
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    Tandoori chicken is supposed to be healthy, but it's not really Indian. Also, in the United States, because people can't handle the heat from a lot of cayenne, they use Red Dye #40 to make the chicken red. It's weird and artificial and has been linked with health problems.

    So THAT'S why it always looked so bright and red at every restaurant I go to! I just thought my family had always been making it wrong. It's kinda funny how I grew up thinking the americanized variety was the right way of doing it.
  • Anxieux
    Anxieux Posts: 275 Member
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    The Indians definitely don't eat healthy food, hence why all of India is overweight and Western nations are slender and athletic. Oh, and yoga.

    Are you kidding me? Homemade Indian food can be extremely healthy. Restaurant food is a different story, but the stuff served in restaurants isn't always the best representation of the food consumed daily by all Indians. And half, if not more, of India is malnourished, not overweight. Stop making judgmental and ignorant statements when you clearly don't know what you're talking about.

    Don't mind him. He's out of his mind.
    Not sure if serious
  • Lesa_Sass
    Lesa_Sass Posts: 2,213 Member
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    The Indians definitely don't eat healthy food, hence why all of India is overweight and Western nations are slender and athletic. Oh, and yoga.

    Are you kidding me? Homemade Indian food can be extremely healthy. Restaurant food is a different story, but the stuff served in restaurants isn't always the best representation of the food consumed daily by all Indians. And half, if not more, of India is malnourished, not overweight. Stop making judgmental and ignorant statements when you clearly don't know what you're talking about.

    Don't mind him. He's out of his mind.
    Not sure if serious

    Indian people are logical, that is why many are engineers. They do not get sarcasm. It is a major issue for me when I am living there. They take everything literal.

    So this is a case of a cultural difference and not understanding that it is a joke.
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,598 Member
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    Tandoori chicken is good. battered fried broccoli, pass. Naan bread is very fattening so pass. Chana masala is pretty reasonable (chick pea dish). Basmati rice ok in moderation.
  • Josalinn
    Josalinn Posts: 1,066 Member
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    I get Indian every other week from this awesome place in Maryland....so worth every calorie!

    My torrid love affair with Indian food began in Bethesda. No regrets. Ever.

    Is this awesome place in Maryland anywhere near Elkton? I would love to give it a shot if it is.

    Not really. Columbia. http://www.royaltajmd.com/ The owner loves his place, and it shows in the food and the service. My water glass never dips below half!

    But I think it is worth the drive =)

    ETA: Sorry for the delayed response
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,946 Member
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    Butter chicken (probably the highest calorie thing ever on Earth) is a MUST try.

    My recommendation is to buy small dishes and share with your friend!

    Naan is quite a few calories so your are probably better off with using the rice instead of the naan.
  • Lesa_Sass
    Lesa_Sass Posts: 2,213 Member
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    ...I love Masala Dosa...It's a long round pancake...

    Can you post a pic? Because...what?:ohwell:

    dosa is a batter that is like a pancake but is not sweet. It is spread thin like a crepe in the pan then filled with a spicy potato mixture and folded. They are rather high in calorie, but my god are they delicious.

    http://www.padhuskitchen.com/2012/12/masala-dosa-recipe-how-to-make-masala.html

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