Indian Food - Ideas for Ordering Healthy?

andiimarie

Hey everyone,

I'm going out to an Indian restaurant tomorrow night with some girlfriends. I was wondering if you all might have some ideas on how I can order healthily from the menu. I know I enjoy Indian food, but I have never paid much attention or researched the nutritional values.

Thanks in advance for your ideas!

skitchlu

Hi - I'm indian, so in a good position to give you some advice. Don't order anything in a curry. Your best bet in tandoori chicken or chicken tikka masala. Both of these will be fairly dry, so no chance of them floating in oil. Eating vegetables at an indian restaurant in a healthy way is difficult, so either order them again tandoori (although they will still taste different than the chicken) or just get a salad. If you want a starch, stay away from the rice and the naan and just ask for a roti - it's the safest option. Hope this helps.

♥jewel♥

Thank you! I am going out for Indian on Friday and was going to ask the same thing LOL

Mark_99

stay away from the popadums and the naan bread lol, they are killer calorie loaded. I always have a chicken shashlick or something similar that doesnt have any sauce with it. Stay away from the cream sauces especially. Plain boiled rice is okay too. shashlick is skewered chicken breast marinated in herbs and spices and served with chunks of onion, pepper, and tomato. it is usually grilled or put over hot coals..... Hope it helps happy ordering :-)

Mark_99

Hi - I'm indian, so in a good position to give you some advice. Don't order anything in a curry. Your best bet in tandoori chicken or chicken tikka masala. Both of these will be fairly dry, so no chance of them floating in oil. Eating vegetables at an indian restaurant in a healthy way is difficult, so either order them again tandoori (although they will still taste different than the chicken) or just get a salad. If you want a starch, stay away from the rice and the naan and just ask for a roti - it's the safest option. Hope this helps.

what is a 'roti' I've heard of it but never found out!!

andiimarie

I kinda figured the naan would be out... darn... it's so yummy!

nimmi1302

Hi there, I am Indian too, so here goes: as the other poster mentioned, avoid the naans- they are made of white flour and are just loaded with calories- esp the butter naan, as the name suggests. Dishes that have 'kadhai' in them will have bell-peppers and no cream, (usually), so they can be a safe choice. At some places, even chicken tikka masala contains cream. Any dish with a light orange colored curry most likely contains cream. Tandoori chick/fish/shrimp will be your best bets.

Have you ever been to restaurants with items like idli, dosa, etc on the menu? If not, try the idlis- they are steamed rice cakes , served with a lentil gravy called sambar. Healthy and filling. Dosas are made from the same batter as idlis, but they are made like crepes and can contain some amount of oil, tho' still not as much as the curries.

Roti is usually thinner, made from whole wheat flour, but the ones I have had in restaurants seem to have some mix of white flour in them. Still they are less in calories than naan.

Hope that helps!

andiimarie

Idlis and dosas are on the menu. They sound really good! I may try to dosas tomorrow.

rodegghero

Aloo Gobi! Potato and cauliflour

nimmi1302

Idlis and dosas are on the menu. They sound really good! I may try to dosas tomorrow.

Can you send me the link to the restaurant? I can go over the menu and be more helpful with suggestions.