Low calorie Indian dishes?

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rainbowws
rainbowws Posts: 41
in Recipes
Hi!

So, I'm thinking of cooking an Indian dish for dinner at some point. I like Biryani, but what is the healthiest meal you can make? The lowest calorie and fat. I know that's hard with Indian food, but any recipes anyone has for a tasty dinner please let me know :)

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  • loverrgirrl
    loverrgirrl Posts: 25
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    one of my favorites is chicken and peppers with VH mango chicken sauce over rice. i dont know if it is low calorie enough for you or not but its very good
  • xXmimiXx
    xXmimiXx Posts: 564 Member
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    Hiya,

    I cook healthy "currys" all the time! What makes Indian food really bad is the full fat yoghurt, the ghee and the oil but I use low cal looking spray and if I want to add yoghurt I use just a spoon of plain yoghurt....Pataks curry pastes are really good and you can get all different kinds, they're about 70 odd cals per tbsp but you only need to use 1tbsp approx per curry you make (for about 4 servings) then lean chicken or something plus lots of nice veg like cauliflower, couple of spuds, I use any veg I have to be honest and a tin of chopped tomatoes and voila you have a curry! Pataks also do Biryani pastes which have a recipe on the site - I just substitute the oil for low cal cooking spray :-). Also, I buy Tilda Wholegrain Basmati rice which is suprisingly low calories per portion and you must have a cucumber raita or something, I use low fat plain yoghurt, chop up some cucumber and voila haha also if I feel like being naughty and want a naan bread I buy weightwatchers garlic and coriander naan, it's yummy!

    :flowerforyou:
  • kfsooner
    kfsooner Posts: 40
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    If you like potato and cauliflower, I love this recipe!!! http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1850,159182-225203,00.html

    Also, you might try this website, http://earthvegan.blogspot.com/ . She has great vegan recipes and a wide variety!!

    Good luck!

    Kristine
  • Mommyof2in09
    Mommyof2in09 Posts: 16
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    If you go to www.papayahead.com, you can search for recipes by cuisine (such as Indian), you can also specify that it be low fat. I did this search and it came up with the following recipes:

    1. Cucumber Raita
    2. Curried Fettuccine and Vegetables
    3. Dhaal - Indian Lentil Soup
    4. Grilled Indian Spiced Fish
    5. Spiced Raita

    I also did a general search for indian and one additional recipe came up:

    Misickquatash (Indian Succotash)

    Hope that helps - this is a great website that someone else on MFP let me know about!
  • sazziecee
    sazziecee Posts: 143
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    Generally speaking avoid cream based sauces e.g tikka masala, korma and choose rich tomato based sauces such as rogan josh, jalfrezi, balti etc

    I buy jars of curry sauces cos I like something quick and easy, but I add lots of onions, mushrooms and peppers to my chicken and serve it with basmati rice. The sauces I use are around 80 cals per 1/3 of a jar.

    I rarely get a naan even though I love them cos they are calorfic for the size of them (not keen on the WW ones myself), but will sometimes have poppodums or let myself have one of the mini naans you can get (the tiny ones not the half size)

    We are having curry tomorrow, mmm
  • cattiemac
    cattiemac Posts: 251 Member
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    Curry in a Hurry
    From Rachel Ray – 30 minute meals

    4 pieces boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into chucky pieces
    1 yellow medium Spanish onion, peeled, halved and cut into ¼ inch strips
    1 piece fresh gingerroot, about 2 inches, grated
    3 cloves garlic, minced
    1 can (15 ounces) no-fat, low-sodium chicken broth
    3 tablespoons mild curry paste
    2 tablespoons peanut or sesame oil

    Start a pot of water to boil for jasmine or white rice, following the directions on the box. The rice will take longer than the dish to prepare.

    In a large skillet, working over medium-high heat, brown the chicken for 4 minutes on each side in the peanut or sesame oil. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.

    Add onion, gingerroot and garlic. Sauté for another 3 minutes, until onion becomes tender. Add broth and lift off all of the good junk stuck to the bottom of the pan. Add curry paste and return chicken to the pan. Heat through to a boil. Give the pan a good shake. Reduce heat to medium low. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes to desired thickness.

    Serve over rice. Makes 4 servings.

    Nutritional Info - Cals - 324, Total Fat - 7g, Saturated - 7g, Poly - 2g, Mono - 2g, Trans - 0g, Cholesterol - 137 mg, Sodium - 508, Potassium 698 mg, Total carbs - 5g, Dietary Fiber - 1g, Sugars - 0 g, Protein - 56g, Vit A - 1%, Vit C - 9%, Calcium - 4%, Iron - 11%
  • rainbowws
    rainbowws Posts: 41
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    Thanks for all the suggestions! I think I'll go for wholewheat basamati rice and instead of naan bread (however much it pains me :(), are poppadums ok?
  • cattiemac
    cattiemac Posts: 251 Member
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    Oh, and here's another one I like for Chicken Tikka - from Rachel Ray 30 Minute Meals

    Chicken Tikka
    4 servings

    Ingredients
    1 cup plain yogurt
    1 rounded tablespoon mild curry paste
    1 lemon, juiced
    A handful cilantro leaves (3 tablespoons), finely chopped
    2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast meat, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes

    Directions
    1. Pre-heat grill pan or indoor electric grill to high.
    2. Combine yogurt, curry paste, lemon juice and cilantro in a shallow dish. Add chunks of chicken and coat evenly in yogurt sauce. Place chicken on hot grill and cook 5-6 minutes on each side, until charred at edges and chicken meat is firm.
    3. Serve over basmati or jasmine rice. I like to make some extra yogurt sauce to pour over the dish when serving.

    Nutritional Information
    Calories: 252.6, Total Fat: 5.9 g, Cholesterol: 72.1 mg, Sodium: 132.7 mg, Total Carbs: 19.9 g, Dietary Fiber: 8.3 g, Protein: 33.7 g
  • rainbowws
    rainbowws Posts: 41
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    Sounds yummy and so simple! Thanks for the recipes, will have to try them out :) I'm a sucker for Indian food unfortunately for my diet!
  • nolachick
    nolachick Posts: 3,278 Member
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    bumping for later! yum
  • thriving2slim
    thriving2slim Posts: 12
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    Hi,

    If you want to prepare a low calorie Biriyani, you can make it with just 1 or 2 tblsp of oil for 3 cups of rice and you can avoid ghee, normally they add ghee to it and yogurt is not a must, you can even make biriyani without yogurt and it would taste equally good, and if it is vegetable biriyani then the calories are even more less when compared to the chicken biriyani.

    You said you like Indian dishes, so I would like to suggest you a couple of low fat Indian receipes---- Rajma( made with kidney beans ,alternatively this could also be made with pinto beans or black beans), Punjabi Chole ( made with garbanzo beans) , pav bhaji-- pav means bread and you could use dinner rolls and bhaji means curry and you can use all kinds of vegetables of your choice, and for all these you can buy the masalas --- Rajma masala, Chole masala and pav bhaji masala from any Indian grocery store, all these are low fat foods, if you like these I will tell about more receipes.

    Enjoy them........:flowerforyou:
  • anne28
    anne28 Posts: 10
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    those sound yummy!
  • rainbowws
    rainbowws Posts: 41
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    I'm now going to an Indian restaurant for dinner and I've got a good idea what to avoid on the menu (kormas?) but since I'm not in control of what goes into my dish, what is the best meal to order so I stick as best I can to the lower end of the calorie range? Any other tips?
  • helen_baird
    helen_baird Posts: 18 Member
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    :smile: does anyone use pataks tika masala sauce?
  • girlinahat
    girlinahat Posts: 2,956 Member
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    dhal......yummy yummy dhal.....:wink:
  • bachooka
    bachooka Posts: 719 Member
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    Oh, and here's another one I like for Chicken Tikka - from Rachel Ray 30 Minute Meals

    Chicken Tikka
    4 servings

    Ingredients
    1 cup plain yogurt
    1 rounded tablespoon mild curry paste
    1 lemon, juiced
    A handful cilantro leaves (3 tablespoons), finely chopped
    2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast meat, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes

    Directions
    1. Pre-heat grill pan or indoor electric grill to high.
    2. Combine yogurt, curry paste, lemon juice and cilantro in a shallow dish. Add chunks of chicken and coat evenly in yogurt sauce. Place chicken on hot grill and cook 5-6 minutes on each side, until charred at edges and chicken meat is firm.
    3. Serve over basmati or jasmine rice. I like to make some extra yogurt sauce to pour over the dish when serving.

    Nutritional Information
    Calories: 252.6, Total Fat: 5.9 g, Cholesterol: 72.1 mg, Sodium: 132.7 mg, Total Carbs: 19.9 g, Dietary Fiber: 8.3 g, Protein: 33.7 g

    This sauce is also great with tilapia... sooo great.

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