Indian Food - advice, please!

Laurakbg

Hi,
I've been invited to an Indian restaurant later this week and am not terribly familiar with Indian food. I would love some advice about what to order to keep my calories low and deliciousness high. Of course I know to stay away from deep fried and creamy stuff, but suggestions for specific dishes would be very welcome.
Thanks, all!!

Skinny_Beans

Lots of spices and veggies, what's not to love?

Laurakbg

Lots of spices and veggies, what's not to love?

I"m sure I will love it all, but would really appreciate suggestions about specific dishes!

chatnel

I usually get tandoori chicken. Or stick with tomato based sauces not cream.

rvani

Chicken Tikka usually has cream in the tomato based sauce so I would stay away from that. I mention that as many people recommend that as the "Safe" Indian dish. "Safe" in the regards that it is very tasty but not very healthy. In general, I have found curries at the restaurant (not necessarily made at home) are filled with creams and oil and would recommend staying away from them unless you make them at home.

I would recommend Daal (Lentil soup very healthy) and pair it with Tanoori chicken as a main. Stay away from the naan (bread severed with dinner) as it is usually covered in oil. You can order whole wheat Roti at some restaurants which is a much better way to go then naan.

If you want to go veg - aloo (potato) gobi (cauliflower) is a great dish as well.

Enjoy

kendra11c

dal marsala. dont worry to much. whatever it is you get (as long as it isnt red meat, or in a cream sauce) will be fine! just limit your portion size!

sumeetn

most dry dishes will be OK, especially things like chicken tikka, tandoori chicken, tandoori fish tikka, seekh kebabs etc.

for the main course you could just have the above with roti / chappati and order dal ( NOT Makhani Dal), most veg should also be OK

however I personally love a Garlic Naan with a gravy dish like mutton / lamb korma or a chicken tikka massala ( I just a half a naan and 2 table spoons) gotta live :-)

temp666777

Fantastic question! If you're following a low-carb approach, Indian can be perfect.

Choose:

MEATS ... tandoori chicken is just "chicken cooked in a delicious manner using a special oven and spices"

Personally I always order a massive mixed plate of all the tandoor meats - lamb, chicken, etc.

CREAM SAUCES ... low-carbohydrate eaters eat cream by the gallon. so you are all set at Indian

RAITA -- yum. This is a famous Indian sauce. it is cold and refreshing. It is basically plain "greek" yoghourt with cucumber - an incredible combination - with secret spices. I eat it almost literally by the gallon! Hopefully your indian restaurant makes a great Raita!

PROBLEMS TO BE AWARE OF: very spicy sauces are fantastic, BUT, very typically, the restaurant used piles of sugar in the sauce.

I would just tell the guys "I AM NOT ABLE TO EAT SUGAR" and hence "COULD YOU TELL ME WHICH SAUCE HAS THE LEAST SUGAR?" the fact that you've already ordered a huge plate of tandoor meats, they will love you as a connisseur gourmet! Heh! So they will happily go have a big family talk out back about which hot sauce has the LEAST SUGAR at that restaurant.

Then just go with that dish - choose the meat you prefer.

To repeat -- hot sauces are fantastic for dieting, BUT many of them are often made with vast amounts of sugar: you'll have to ask.

The very short story -- enjoy RAITA and eat as much TANDOORI meats as you can stuff in!!

My wife actually always chooses the fine Indian restaurant in town over other restaurants, for take-away, as she can simply order a massive quantity of tandoori chicken, and their awesome Raita.

One big problem - India makes the tastiest bread in the world! "Nan!" You can't eat bread if you're trying to lose body fat, so that aspect is gonna take willpower! Heh! Great question.

Pspetal

Get the chicken/lamb kebabs... They're either grilled or baked or fired in an oven. Won't be fried food or creamy sauces.
If you want vegetarian food, ask them which vegetarian dishes do NOT come with gravy. That way you'll avoid all the fat again. An exception to that would anything bhindi/okra. It generally has tons of oil whether its made dry or with gravy. Alu gobi is usually pretty good in terms of oil use.
Go for steamed rice with whatever entree you get. Biryani/pulao/jeera rice etc. come with a healthy dose of clarified butter (ghee).
If you feel like eating bread, go for plain nan/roti. Avoid the butter nan/roti.
Among dals, dal fry is a better option than kali dal/dal makhani because kali dal has a lot of cream and butter.
For dessert, avoid gulab jamuns. Each little red ball is about 350 cals.
Healthier options would dosas (Crepes), idlis ( steamed rice cakes), other south Indian food items. They tend to have hardly any dairy fat, oil etc.
Indian restaurant food is some of the most unhealthy food around. All that said, you could just decide to exercise portion control and eat a very small amount of whatever you want because frankly all the stuff I said to avoid, is also some of the most delicious stuff u get at Indian restaurants! Its why I don't eat out at Indian restaurants any more. I can't exercise portion control and end up eating like 2000 cals easily.
Good luck!

BlondeQtTexas

Butter chicken......... I'm drooling thinking about it. But of course if you have that then you have to have the rice and Naan bread to go along with it.

I love Indian food.

chuckyp

Indian food is too delicious to worry about Calories. Eat up!
Chicken Tikka itself has no sauce. It is chunks of marinated breast meat cooked in a clay oven. Chicken Tikka Masala is in a creamy sauce and it's to die for. I also like Paneer Masala, which is a type of cheese in the same sauce. If you want to go vegetarian, Chana Masala (chickpeas) and Mushroom Bhajee are both good.
Usually they will serve Papadums with mint and/or mango chutney before the dinner (kind of like chips and salsa). The Papadums are made with lentil flour and are relatively low-cal. The Naan breads are calorific, but I always split a Garlic Naan when I go eat Indian food.
Don't forget some rice pudding (Kheer) for dessert!

taunto

Well, its a bit tricky question. Back home in India the way we used to make things are much different than how I see it here in the US

Chicken tikka masala (this would look a bit like creamy sauce with chicken in it) is fairly healthy and tasty but high in calories (though most of the ingredients are good ingredients).

Chicken tikka or tandoori chicken on the other hand is basically the same thing (different techniques of cooking) and is kinda like BBQ. Very tasty and super low on calories.

When you get the bread, make sure to tell the waiter for no butter on the "naan" (bread). Most restaurants put that up there and in this case its literally empty calories to fill up the customer so they don't eat more of the buffet

kebabs, VERY good eats and healthy too. These might be slightly higher in calories but its worth it imo.

If its a buffet you're going to, or you have a way of seeing the dishes that the food is served into before hand, you can easily tell if the dish is healthy or not. Remember, Indian food in itself isn't bad but when restaurants cook something they like to load it up with clarified butter and/or oil and that will mess you up. A dish thats 300 calories at home for me is like 500+ calories at a restaurant. If the dish seems oily on the top, stay away. Do remember that most curries look like oil but you can tell the difference in light when you move the spoon in the dish.

Chana daal (these are chick peas cooked like curry) are good eats if you eat them without rice or naan. Although possibly high in calories due to oil, just make sure the dish isn't covered with oil.

The indian place might have "cholay". This is a chick peas salad but its not a salad at the same time. Its more of a snack in the old country but you will definitely enjoy it.

For dessert, if thye got kheer, stick with that. Gulab Jamun are tasty but most restaurants just use cheap material and they're usually old and stale. Plus they're loaded with deep fried flour and sugar syrup, you don't want that. Kheer (rice pudding) is the way to go.

Hope this helps. Take a bite of different dishes if you can moderate yourself. If not, stick with kebabs and chicken tikka or tandoori chicken.

Anaconda62

At the northern Indian restaurants or Nepali restaurants the okra is often made in a tomato sauce and is not as oily. I love that dish. And I love palak paneer (spinach with cheese). If youre choosing from the buffet, just get fewer pieces of the cheese.

Mom2rh

Try it all. Budget for it. Exercise for it. Enjoy it.

hina_syed_3

chicken 65 is good.

each indian restaurant is different, and some have your own preference as to how you want the dishes done, to how much oil you want in it, to spices, creams/sauces to use.
depends on where you go, and what they ask you about your meal.

as for the naan you can ask them to serve it to you without the butter/ghee on it or oil on it.
cholay aloo (chickpea and potatoes) curry is good.
cauliflower and potato curry
green beans and tomato curry
okra (lady fingers ) curry
eggplant curry
there are several different dishes again up to you, and let them know you want it however you want in the spices department and grease.

in the meats same for the sauces.
look for the ones that use sour cream/yogurt rather than the whole cream, or buttermilk. Coconut milk is also good.

good luck

Laurakbg

Fantastic question! If you're following a low-carb approach, Indian can be perfect.

Choose:

MEATS ... tandoori chicken is just "chicken cooked in a delicious manner using a special oven and spices"

Personally I always order a massive mixed plate of all the tandoor meats - lamb, chicken, etc.

CREAM SAUCES ... low-carbohydrate eaters eat cream by the gallon. so you are all set at Indian

RAITA -- yum. This is a famous Indian sauce. it is cold and refreshing. It is basically plain "greek" yoghourt with cucumber - an incredible combination - with secret spices. I eat it almost literally by the gallon! Hopefully your indian restaurant makes a great Raita!

PROBLEMS TO BE AWARE OF: very spicy sauces are fantastic, BUT, very typically, the restaurant used piles of sugar in the sauce.

I would just tell the guys "I AM NOT ABLE TO EAT SUGAR" and hence "COULD YOU TELL ME WHICH SAUCE HAS THE LEAST SUGAR?" the fact that you've already ordered a huge plate of tandoor meats, they will love you as a connisseur gourmet! Heh! So they will happily go have a big family talk out back about which hot sauce has the LEAST SUGAR at that restaurant.

Then just go with that dish - choose the meat you prefer.

To repeat -- hot sauces are fantastic for dieting, BUT many of them are often made with vast amounts of sugar: you'll have to ask.

The very short story -- enjoy RAITA and eat as much TANDOORI meats as you can stuff in!!

My wife actually always chooses the fine Indian restaurant in town over other restaurants, for take-away, as she can simply order a massive quantity of tandoori chicken, and their awesome Raita.

One big problem - India makes the tastiest bread in the world! "Nan!" You can't eat bread if you're trying to lose body fat, so that aspect is gonna take willpower! Heh! Great question.

Wow, thank you so much! VERY informative. I am not a strict low-carber but tend to feel better when I eat quite a bit under my carbs, comes pretty naturally having been raised by a type 1 diabetic.

Thanks again for the guidance!

Laurakbg

Well, its a bit tricky question. Back home in India the way we used to make things are much different than how I see it here in the US

Chicken tikka masala (this would look a bit like creamy sauce with chicken in it) is fairly healthy and tasty but high in calories (though most of the ingredients are good ingredients).

Chicken tikka or tandoori chicken on the other hand is basically the same thing (different techniques of cooking) and is kinda like BBQ. Very tasty and super low on calories.

When you get the bread, make sure to tell the waiter for no butter on the "naan" (bread). Most restaurants put that up there and in this case its literally empty calories to fill up the customer so they don't eat more of the buffet

kebabs, VERY good eats and healthy too. These might be slightly higher in calories but its worth it imo.

If its a buffet you're going to, or you have a way of seeing the dishes that the food is served into before hand, you can easily tell if the dish is healthy or not. Remember, Indian food in itself isn't bad but when restaurants cook something they like to load it up with clarified butter and/or oil and that will mess you up. A dish thats 300 calories at home for me is like 500+ calories at a restaurant. If the dish seems oily on the top, stay away. Do remember that most curries look like oil but you can tell the difference in light when you move the spoon in the dish.

Chana daal (these are chick peas cooked like curry) are good eats if you eat them without rice or naan. Although possibly high in calories due to oil, just make sure the dish isn't covered with oil.

The indian place might have "cholay". This is a chick peas salad but its not a salad at the same time. Its more of a snack in the old country but you will definitely enjoy it.

For dessert, if thye got kheer, stick with that. Gulab Jamun are tasty but most restaurants just use cheap material and they're usually old and stale. Plus they're loaded with deep fried flour and sugar syrup, you don't want that. Kheer (rice pudding) is the way to go.

Hope this helps. Take a bite of different dishes if you can moderate yourself. If not, stick with kebabs and chicken tikka or tandoori chicken.

Thank you so much! Very informative! I can't wait

gentsevetzak

Stay away from the paneer cheese and the bread.

Laurakbg

Thank you so much for the thoughtful answers, everyone! I really appreciate the chance to learn about the cuisine. As for the advice to ignore the calories and enjoy, I certainly would do that when I'm further along to my goal, but as I'm just begninning I would just feel bad about it, and what fun is that?

This way, I can enjoy delicious new-to-me food and know that I am keeping within my calories. Thanks again! :flowerforyou:

tansygreen

Indian food is my favourite! But, they do use so much butter/oil, especially in restaurants. I would recommend not having the breads, and only the steamed rice, because if you have a biryani or vegetable fried rice it will probaly have lots of butter in it.
If you don't mind having a dryish dish, then tandoori chicken or shrimp is good, high in protein and low in fat, usually served with a salad. If you must have a sauce (which I always do) then Balti is good, also dansak as it uses lenils as the base, with chicken or veg. Enjoy!
Hhmm it's only 8 am and now I'm dying for curry...

CeeRawr89

I've always enjoyed mango chicken.

I agree, if you are worried about health stuff... try the Daal, and enjoy naan. I used to work at the Indian Restaurant here in my town and he makes the naan in the oven. Hard to do, I've tried it..hah. I do love pakora, but that's all deep fried goodness... >>
mmm Now I want to go and get some good ol Hot House!