Healthy options at an Indian Restaurant

GBrady43068

So my friend and I are going out for Indian food this weekend. I have no experience with Indian food, never had it before. I don't want to break the bank with calories, but I am willing to go a bit higher than usual to get a more rounded experience (not just steamed veggies). Can someone suggest a few healthy items on a typical menu in an Indian restaurant?

I'll agree with PikaKnight. "low-calorie" is not synonymous with "healthy". Avocado is generally considered "healthy" in terms of the nutrients it gives you with it's a little higher calorie.

You might take a look at this article:
http://healthmeup.com/photogallery-diet-fitness/healthy-foodie-top-15-low-calorie-indian-foods/14569

SunofaBeach14

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.

Or order roti / chapati

johbro

I love the creamed spinach and lamb dishes. Saagwala, saga paneer. I think "saag" is spinach.not sure on calories. I guess. Many websites have menus, so you can get an idea before you go.

Josalinn

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.

Butter Chicken also goes by Chicken Makhani.

And both rice and Naan have a lot of calories. I think it is easier to eat one piece of Naan rather than try and eyeball 1 cup on rice (which is about the same as 1 piece of Naan.) But to each their own. I think the bottom line is to pick one and forego the other.

ViolaLeeBlueberry

I love the creamed spinach and lamb dishes. Saagwala, saga paneer. I think "saag" is spinach.not sure on calories. I guess. Many websites have menus, so you can get an idea before you go.

Yes, saag is spinach. As a few other folks have pointed out, cream isn't traditional. Where I live, at least, I never see cream. (Unless I heat milk, LOL.) If you're in the West, my guess is that they put in cream to approximate saucey bases while appealing to customers by being really tasty :-)

Just googled saag paneer -- found a recipe that calls for, of all things, "heavy whipping cream" (yeah right, just TRY to find that here LOL) -- it's 300 calories.

Here's a more legit home recipe, FWIW: http://www.food-nepal.com/recipe/R027.htm

And here's a non-traditional but healthy recipe: http://pinchofyum.com/homemade-healthy-palak-paneer Once you know the names of things it's easy to google low-cal options (and get a sense of the high-cal versions the restaurants do).

Calorie warning: I've known South Asians in the West to use cream cheese instead of paneer!!! Like, regularly.

ViolaLeeBlueberry

Well actually let me correct that to be persnickety. Saag is the general term for any kind of green. But at an Indian restaurant, probably spinach. (Palak is spinach in Hindi and either palak or a related word in other northern languages. Dunno about the south, Bangladesh, etc., but Hindi is probably what you'd see in a restaurant ... at least most often ... I think :-) )

FromHereOnOut

Thanks for posting the recipes. I've made my own version of palak paneer by using the force I suppose, because I had no idea of a recipe, and it wasn't very dissimilar to what you posted. I used tasteless coconut oil instead of ghee. I can't imagine using cream cheese!?!? Wouldn't it disintegrate? I've used so called "farmers cheese" from Safeway, in America, and a similar local cheese here in Greece.

joepage612

get whatever looks good to you but keep the portion SMALL.
Indian restaurant food is usually fried or has a lot of added butter called ghee. I eat indian food very often,;it is my favorite. All you can do is order what ever you want, or if its a buffet; take whatever looks good to you; but keep your portion SMALL. The NAAN bread is very good but high calories too.

Boccellin

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

Hmmm..bit of a hike for me, but not out of the question if the food is good. I might just have to give it a shot!

ViolaLeeBlueberry

Thanks for posting the recipes. I've made my own version of palak paneer by using the force I suppose, because I had no idea of a recipe, and it wasn't very dissimilar to what you posted. I used tasteless coconut oil instead of ghee. I can't imagine using cream cheese!?!? Wouldn't it disintegrate? I've used so called "farmers cheese" from Safeway, in America, and a similar local cheese here in Greece.

I guess the cream cheese wasn't being the paneer, exactly, in the sense of "chunks remaining;" I think the point of the cream cheese was to get the whole thing to be creamy. It's truly yummy. Not recommended if you're trying to lose weight (or don't want to need to afterwards, LOL.)

BTW a tip for ghee: put it in afterwards. My MIL likes to put gobs of it onto everyone's veggies once it's on the plate, or the rice, or basically anywhere. The taste is stronger that way, so at least you're getting bang for the calories. As I've mentioned, I've found the same thing with coconut milk; if you put it in afterwards the taste will be stronger for the amount used.

Incidentally, all those cheeses are basically the same. Paneer is just the first way that people come up with in traditional (farming) environments to cheesify their milk, so it's pretty much the same concept everywhere. And using the force is also the most traditional way to cook :-)

Greece, yum, you do have good food around!

Boccellin

So my friend and I are going out for Indian food this weekend. I have no experience with Indian food, never had it before. I don't want to break the bank with calories, but I am willing to go a bit higher than usual to get a more rounded experience (not just steamed veggies). Can someone suggest a few healthy items on a typical menu in an Indian restaurant?

I'll agree with PikaKnight. "low-calorie" is not synonymous with "healthy". Avocado is generally considered "healthy" in terms of the nutrients it gives you with it's a little higher calorie.

You might take a look at this article:
http://healthmeup.com/photogallery-diet-fitness/healthy-foodie-top-15-low-calorie-indian-foods/14569

I am aware that low-cal and healthy are not the same thing. By "healthy" I wasn't referring to something low-cal necessarily (though it would be nice), just something that's not insanely through the roof like some ethnic food can be (I've had Thai). Id be willing to go higher calorie for something healthy like avocado, but not for something like an ultra-fatty cut of meat that's been fried and served in a heavy sauce swimming with oil.

ithrowconfetti

Stay away from naans and butter sauces. Chapatis/rotis are good alternatives to rice. Stick to spicier curries too, as milder ones tend to have a lot of cream and milk.

patilmanojk

Hi, Anyone looking for authentic indian recipes please take a look at this website.
http://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/

I personally tried1-2 recipies and they came out quite delicious. Also homemade indian food can be tailored with own preferences like less oil..less chilly or so on..

mohanj

SunofaBeach14 wrote: »

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.

You are such an ignorant person.