Healthy options at an Indian Restaurant

Boccellin
Boccellin Posts: 137 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So my friend and I are going out for Indian food this weekend. I have no experience with Indian food, never had it before. I don't want to break the bank with calories, but I am willing to go a bit higher than usual to get a more rounded experience (not just steamed veggies). Can someone suggest a few healthy items on a typical menu in an Indian restaurant?
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Replies

  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
    Not sure what you are defining as healthy. The amount of calories really doesn't make something healthy or not. You could look to see if the restaurant has a website or browse other Indian restaurants' websites to get an idea of what might be offered and get an idea of things you'd like to try and just enjoy the experience? Maybe save up calories here and there days prior so you balance out the week?
  • desidieter
    desidieter Posts: 195
    Curries that are not cream based. Plain rice. Tandoori Chicken (which is grilled and not covered in cream). There are also lots of vegetarian options.
  • SunofaBeach14
    SunofaBeach14 Posts: 4,899 Member
    The Indians definitely don't eat healthy food, hence why all of India is overweight and Western nations are slender and athletic. Oh, and yoga.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,918 Member
    I tend to go for tandoori chicken or fish or grilled lamb cutlets with plain rice, salad dressed with lemon and a dahl (lentil dish, usually flavoured with fried onions). You won't be able to control the amount of ghee (clarified butter) that goes into the dahl, but hey. I avoid naan bread and pillau rice which are both delicious but made with quite a lot of fat.
  • desidieter
    desidieter Posts: 195
    The Indians definitely don't eat healthy food, hence why all of India is overweight and Western nations are slender and athletic. Oh, and yoga.

    Are you kidding me? Homemade Indian food can be extremely healthy. Restaurant food is a different story, but the stuff served in restaurants isn't always the best representation of the food consumed daily by all Indians. And half, if not more, of India is malnourished, not overweight. Stop making judgmental and ignorant statements when you clearly don't know what you're talking about.
  • fangedneko
    fangedneko Posts: 133 Member
    The Indians definitely don't eat healthy food, hence why all of India is overweight and Western nations are slender and athletic. Oh, and yoga.

    Are you kidding me? Homemade Indian food can be extremely healthy. Restaurant food is a different story, but the stuff served in restaurants isn't always the best representation of the food consumed daily by all Indians. And half, if not more, of India is malnourished, not overweight. Stop making judgmental and ignorant statements when you clearly don't know what you're talking about.

    Whoosh.
  • Anxieux
    Anxieux Posts: 275 Member
    The Indians definitely don't eat healthy food, hence why all of India is overweight and Western nations are slender and athletic. Oh, and yoga.

    Are you kidding me? Homemade Indian food can be extremely healthy. Restaurant food is a different story, but the stuff served in restaurants isn't always the best representation of the food consumed daily by all Indians. And half, if not more, of India is malnourished, not overweight. Stop making judgmental and ignorant statements when you clearly don't know what you're talking about.

    WHOOOOSH
  • Boccellin
    Boccellin Posts: 137 Member
    Thanks to those who actually gave me suggestions and explained a little more about what goes into some of the dishes. I looked up tandoori chicken and it sounds really good. I think I'm going to go with that. Thanks.
  • augustremulous
    augustremulous Posts: 378 Member
    Indian restaurants rarely serve healthy Indian food. They're really big on deep frying stuff and making cream and butter based sauce, all of which Indian households use rarely. The only healthy Indian restaurant I've been to in the United States is Madras Pavilion in Houston of all places.

    Tandoori chicken is supposed to be healthy, but it's not really Indian. Also, in the United States, because people can't handle the heat from a lot of cayenne, they use Red Dye #40 to make the chicken red. It's weird and artificial and has been linked with health problems.

    The techniques for finding something healthy are pretty similar to other restaurants. Avoid sauces, deep frying, and try to find as many vegetables as you can. Also don't let them convince you that a meal is a condiment. Sambar, for example, is a thick chunky soup with tamarind, vegetables, and lentils that really are a staple in South Indian households. You make a big bowl of it and add a bit of rice in it to ease the spice. What Indian restaurants in America do is give you a big serving of carbs or dosa and give you a little tiny bowl of sambar on the side to dip into.

    Overall, try to focus on chunky vegetable based stews with beans or lentils, and eat it with brown rice or plain rotis. Sambar, chana masala, rajma chana, mung bean salad.

    That said, there are a number of Indian restaurants that just do not have any healthy options. So just enjoy yourself. It's one meal :)
  • augustremulous
    augustremulous Posts: 378 Member
    The Indians definitely don't eat healthy food, hence why all of India is overweight and Western nations are slender and athletic. Oh, and yoga.

    I thought this was a joke?

    By the way, I just realized this: get the thali. That gives you a big variety of all the foods and you can see what's healthy and what's not.
  • SunofaBeach14
    SunofaBeach14 Posts: 4,899 Member
    The Indians definitely don't eat healthy food, hence why all of India is overweight and Western nations are slender and athletic. Oh, and yoga.

    I thought this was a joke?

    Shhhhh! :tongue:
  • ImpracticalGirl
    ImpracticalGirl Posts: 59 Member
    The Indians definitely don't eat healthy food, hence why all of India is overweight and Western nations are slender and athletic. Oh, and yoga.

    Are you kidding me? Homemade Indian food can be extremely healthy. Restaurant food is a different story, but the stuff served in restaurants isn't always the best representation of the food consumed daily by all Indians. And half, if not more, of India is malnourished, not overweight. Stop making judgmental and ignorant statements when you clearly don't know what you're talking about.

    Oopsie - Sarcasm detector malfunction? :tongue:
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    I'd do some aloo gobi, and tandoor chicken if I was being careful.

    Or saag paneer, because, well, saag paneer.

    And I'd do about 1/3 of the rice I'd be tempted to eat, because it's just rice.

    Have a glance.

    http://www.livestrong.com/article/381719-the-best-indian-food-for-a-weight-loss-diet/
  • ExRelaySprinter
    ExRelaySprinter Posts: 874 Member
    I normally have a Chicken Shashlik (Spicy Grilled Chicken w/ Onions & Peppers that comes to the table still sizzling :love: ). I'll have that with plain boiled Rice and a Aloo Gobi (Curried Cauliflower & Potatoes).
    If i've got a few cals to spare, i'll also have 1 or 2 Poppodoms (thin & crispy,...a cross between a Cracker and Bread) as a Starter.
    I love Indian Food!
  • Nicole_BGA
    Nicole_BGA Posts: 45 Member
    Chicken pathia (it's mildly hot) with naan (I normally steal a spoonful of my husbands mushroom rice and he has some of my naan). Ask them to cook it with no oil and no ghee. Bottom line, you're out for the evening - enjoy it!!!
  • Nicole_BGA
    Nicole_BGA Posts: 45 Member
    The Indians definitely don't eat healthy food, hence why all of India is overweight and Western nations are slender and athletic. Oh, and yoga.

    I thought this was a joke?

    Shhhhh! :tongue:

    Beach, I think your work here is done!!
  • augustremulous
    augustremulous Posts: 378 Member
    To be fair, though, if you're just comparing wealthy Indians to wealthy westerners, it's safe to say that Indians eat WAY worse. India is still a country where healthy food is cheaper than unhealthy food, so working class people eat brown rice and vegetables and limit their oil intake because it's cheaper and they need the energy to physically work for a living, while wealthy people have access to all the ghee and white rice and sugar they desire and barely exercise. And I've seen many who indulge in that easy availability. Diabetes is soaring among the wealthy in India, so that it's practically an epidemic among the highest classes.
  • SunofaBeach14
    SunofaBeach14 Posts: 4,899 Member
    To be fair, though, if you're just comparing wealthy Indians to wealthy westerners, it's safe to say that Indians eat WAY worse. India is still a country where healthy food is cheaper than unhealthy food, so working class people eat brown rice and vegetables and limit their oil intake because it's cheaper and they need the energy to physically work for a living, while wealthy people have access to all the ghee and white rice and sugar they desire and barely exercise. And I've seen many who indulge in that easy availability. Diabetes is soaring among the wealthy in India, so that it's practically an epidemic among the highest classes.

    This looks interesting. Hmmm, diabetes is definitely not soaring in Western countries. This epidemic of skinny people is killing us.
  • bikergirlalex
    bikergirlalex Posts: 34
    You're actually really fortuante, because Indian food is really healthy. My mother used to make Indian food for me when I was little, and it's all I would eat. And to be honest, I love it.

    The curries are wonderful, do eat some. It's got fantastic spices, and good Indian curry has coconut milk--which is good for your body. :laugh:

    I love Masala Dosa. That's yummy. :love: It's a long round pancake with potatoes and vegetables. That's always my go to. Something 'American' tasting (Not involving spices or anything because a lot of people hate that.:grumble: Because they're weird) is Tandoori chicken. That's pretty plain tasting.

    Enjoy it.

    Indian food is made fresh, and is certainly a good thing to experience and love! You won't break the bank with calories.

    Have fun! :drinker:
  • bikergirlalex
    bikergirlalex Posts: 34
    The Indians definitely don't eat healthy food, hence why all of India is overweight and Western nations are slender and athletic. Oh, and yoga.

    I thought this was a joke?

    By the way, I just realized this: get the thali. That gives you a big variety of all the foods and you can see what's healthy and what's not.

    ^ I think it is! :wink: At least I hope so, otherwise they're really aren't the sharpest pitchfork in the barn. :noway:
  • adityamohan
    adityamohan Posts: 3
    You r absolutly rite.. Sone people don't research properly nut there tongue is very long.. I feel sorry for them
  • Zerodette
    Zerodette Posts: 200 Member
    Get chicken badami and enjoy.
  • willywonka
    willywonka Posts: 743 Member
    Definitely the tandoori chicken and just go light on the creamy curries- but enjoy!!!
  • Redribbon73
    Redribbon73 Posts: 117 Member
    Indian restaurant food is no way like real Indian food consumed at home, we eat foods very similar to Indian food (just on other side of border to India ;))
  • stephiedee23
    stephiedee23 Posts: 9
    Nihari. It's probably not that healthy...but my lord, it's worth every calorie.
  • SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish
    SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish Posts: 831 Member
    Eating healthily at an Indian buffet is so easy, just fill your plate full of everything, eat it, and return at least once or twice. Otherwise your appetite is not healthy, and your self control is too high.
  • hactci
    hactci Posts: 7 Member
    palak paneer. Since its mostly spinach it tends to have less calories than other curries. Though they usually load it with fat, and paneer is basically cheese so its not like its going to be -The- healthiest thing on the menu, but if you don't know the calories its a safe bet to make.
  • FromHereOnOut
    FromHereOnOut Posts: 3,237 Member
    If you've never had it before, please just do a little extra cardio or something and ENJOY!

    I would also recommend thali (I love to get vegetable thali). It's basically what you'd call a "sampler". Even if not on the menu, just ask ( I think it's pronounced like "dolly", but a little more "t" than "d"). It's all very yummy.
  • augustremulous
    augustremulous Posts: 378 Member

    This looks interesting. Hmmm, diabetes is definitely not soaring in Western countries. This epidemic of skinny people is killing us.

    It is soaring in some western countries, yes. I'm not making a sweeping statement of all countries - I'm just saying that wealthy westerners generally eat better than wealthy Indians. Diabetes is soaring in the US, for example, but here you're at higher risk of every disease, diabetes included, if you are lower income.
  • JustinAnimal
    JustinAnimal Posts: 1,335 Member
    Without getting into a debate about what "healthy" means (so I'm going to use my colloquial definition, something like lower calorie), I'd say avoid anything creamy.

    Most people like murgh makhni, chicken makhni, butter chicken, chicken tikka masala (these dishes are either synonyms for each other or are very similar). The sauce is pretty much a lot of butter with cream (depending on where you go). Not low cal.

    You'll probably want things called "masala." if you get bindhi (okra) masala or channa (chick pea) masala or lentil masala, they should have a sauce that isn't as fatty.

    However, I like what HereOnOut said. JUST ENJOY YOURSELF! Indian food is too good to play the low-cal game with. Don't cheat yourself. And try something with lamb. A good lamb vindaloo could change your life!

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