Indian food help

Well honestly Indian food can get quite high in calories but it is possible to get away without ingesting a million calories. Tandoori chicken is going to be your leanest and least caloric choice of meat since it is prepared in a clay over and not fried. As far as breads and rice go you can't really escape unless you opt it out of your meal but I'd go with naan, some places carry whole wheat naan, so ask. Some dishes will also include lentil and split peas, try it as it's healthy and will keep you fuller. Stay away from the fried foods! They're delicious but ridiculously high in calories and oil. If you are in a curry MOOD-NO BUTTER CHICKEN! We Indian people cook with a lot of butter and oil. Try to go for a curry that is spicier, like masala based curries. The desserts are also a heart attack waiting to happen so if you must go with a mango lassi because everything else is buried in sugar, literally.

I like Saag Paneer. It's a spinach based curry with farmers cheese in it. If you forgo rice and naan, your biggest enemy might be the high sodium content. If you stay away from fried meat and starch curry is very low calorie.

I'm going to lunch tomorrow in Southall tomorrow (the Little India of London). I am not that familiar with Indian food. What should I order?

That's a bit of a broad question tbh, the diversity of Indian food is phenomenal. It really depends on what you enjoy, and how much you can account for the calorie consumption around it, but you'd have that challenge with any lunch out.

Daal tends to be lentil based and is quite filling, but it's really intended as a side dish. As mentioned upthread, tandoori dishes are generally baked rather than fried.

You'll probably want to avoid chapatti as they're more oily than naan, but in all honesty neither is a great choice.

In all honesty I'd just chill out, and enjoy it. No point in getting excessively worked up about one meal, you can account for the consumption in other ways

PS Naans have far more calories than boiled rice (Check it out) keep off the naan and eat the plain rice

for minimal calories, go for tandoori or tikka chicken without sauce, and with a salad, and maybe a vegetable curry on the side if you want a larger meal. However if it was me and it wasn't going to be a regular thing, I'd go for the works as in poppadoms with all the chutneys, aloo chat starter, main course of mutton balti or vindaloo or rogan josh or something plus pilau rice, and then lychees for dessert. and sod the calories (it's only one day, not a regular occurrence)

Given that I can't eat the quantity of food in one sitting that I used to (i.e. when I used to be obese, because I have a much better handle on portion control these days) I'll probably end up taking a lot of that home and it being another couple of meals.

PS Naans have far more calories than boiled rice (Check it out) keep off the naan and eat the plain rice

What would be the point going to an ethnic restaurant and eat just plain white rice.......I can eat that at home anytime. Naan is a prerequisite in my books, specifically garlic naan covered in ghee, then thrown against the tandoori.

I agree...

I eat Indian food a lot. I just make sure I work out hard on the days I eat Indian food. I like to eat what I want at the restaurant or take out place. I grew up eating south asian food so I can't just stick to the low calorie stuff. Do a really hard hitting workout afterwards like I do.

My favorites are vegetable samosas (they're filled with potatoes and/or peas then fried but so good!), mango lassi ( a drink that's like a smoothie), and chicken curry.

I have to agree with you, vegetable samosas are worth the calories they pack!