Traditional Vegetable thali

garyhorder
garyhorder Posts: 21 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hey all, i live in the culture rich area of Leicester ( UK ) with numerous traditional thali / sweet shops, i have become addicted over the years to the thali rice / chapatti / vegtable dish / soup these are all freshly cooked on the day, this is not the average indian take away you ring for your korma and chips, My question is this, as i cannot actually know what is used in the preperation has anybody any idea how good or bad kcal / fat / sodium these can / could be. I know at the end of the day it is a take away , it just has never felt that way as it is a predominant part of the culture in the Leicester area ... any ideas ?

Replies

  • monkeypantz
    monkeypantz Posts: 288 Member
    No idea - however I love these too, and are my indian 'takeaway' of choice. I'm eagerly waiting a response also.
  • sabified
    sabified Posts: 1,035 Member
    Whenever I go, I usually find similar items on MFP as what I get in the thali... and I tend to go with options that are either from another restaurant or on the higher end, because lets be honest- you know they're using cream and ghee (liberal amounts) for whatever they make. And most items can be found in the database... you may need to try different spelling variations but you can get more than enough. And when in doubt, use malai paneer (I usually go with Brars) for creamy paneer dishes or butter chicken for creamy chicken (though thali's are generally veg from what I know).

    The entire thali is usually much above 1000 cals... if it doesn't seem right then I add a tablespoon or 2 of ghee or butter just to pad it. I'd rather overestimate than under. Also pay attention to how much butter you have on your roti's/naans.
  • garyhorder
    garyhorder Posts: 21 Member
    thank you so much for the reply, i thought it would be a high kcal count due to the cooking ingedients, my only choice now seems to be to cook it myself... but it never tastes as good as traditionally made
  • awinner_au
    awinner_au Posts: 249 Member
    its the roti/chapattis that will blow out the calories. If you eat out, sodium is always going to be a problem whatever the cuisine. IMO you got to eat what you like. Just bank up the cals with excercise and you will be fine. I eat out atleast once a week and mangage to keep it under control. Vietnamese this week, lebanese last week....
  • Janet39
    Janet39 Posts: 280 Member
    I love a curry.

    Most Indian food is heavy on the oil.

    I am currently running curry trial's from the Slimming World book. They do seem to be getting a lot of the flavour in without the fat. I am cooking and freezing so I have ready meals.

    Although tonight is Sweet & Sour.
  • surfin_bird1981
    surfin_bird1981 Posts: 8
    I live near Bradford, I love Prashad!! They won Gordon Ramsay's best Indian restaurant and came 2nd overall across all cuisines.
    I am a vegan and luckily for me, they only serve vegetarian and vegan cuisine mmmmm

    I cook a lot of Indian inspired dishes at home but obviously don't use ghee, I tend to use a lot of coconut oil for cooking.
    Prashad have a brilliant cookery book with loads and loads of healthy dishes in there.

    PS - MFP has most indian dishes (restaurant) on here.
  • StrongBeautifulDesi
    StrongBeautifulDesi Posts: 12 Member
    Not all indian food is greasy and bad or high in calorie. Paneer, most lentils, soya nuggets, and even most chicken, goat curries can be made healthy with healthier ingredients. Like you cN replace creamy curry ingredients like cream n butter with heart healthy oils like coconut oil, coconut milk, yoghurt, cashew or almond paste.

    Well having said that, if you end up in an indian restaurant, remember a nan could be as much as 350 calories, and a cup of goat or any creamy curry about 400. Just eat smaller portions and maybe request for a roti or nan without butter.

    Indian food at restaurants can be greasy. But if you love it, find out names of the dishes and try and make them at home. You will discover spices you never knew existed and maybe end up making nice curries that are both guilt free and tasty.

    I make healthier versions of chinese, thai, continental and indian food at home. That is one of my primary goals, to understand food, calories and build a healthy relationship with food.

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