Restaurant Indian Food logging tips

Jthanmyfitnesspal
Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,522 Member
edited December 24 in Food and Nutrition
Hi Folks.

Hey, I've been doing this for many years, but I get pretty stymied by restaurant Indian Food-- usually eaten as take-out at home, usually for a "special meal," meaning a bit of a calorie splurge. It's fantastic! But hard to log accurately (as with a lot of restaurant food.)

I'm sure there are MFP members in the US and Europe who cook their own foods in the Indian styles and so know what is in them. With restaurant food, it's much harder to know in general. I feel like restaurant Indian food has the added difficulty of varying degrees of richness based on how the food is prepared. I'm not looking for perfection here (it is a special meal) just some guidance.

> Which dishes are on the lighter side? (I can say we like Tandoori chicken, and many of the saag dishes.)

> Which listings in the MFP database do you trust? (each dish seems to have many of them!)

Thanks!

Replies

  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
    I've been in MFP for eight years. I used to be obsessive about trying to diagnose every calorie. It was impossible. Now when I occasionally indulge in delicious Indian food, I just eat moderate portions and log extra calories. Yes, Tandoori chicken is the best choice.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,617 Member
    Logging: This is a case where, as long as it's infrequent, I'd estimate, using mid-to-higher calorie similar dishes in the database, either homemade or restaurant.

    Choices: I can't help much with that. I love Indian cuisine, even studied up and experimented a good bit with cooking it, but (1) I'm vegetarian, so my choices are different, and (2) I don't moderate at Indian restaurants, because I don't go often, so I eat as much as I want of whatever I want. And finish with rasmalai. :yum:
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,522 Member
    @AnnPT77 It's a pretty good approach for any special meal. It's a total buzz-kill to try to log it accurately. Best to cook your own meals, in general. But I'd like to eat more Indian food, so perhaps I need to learn to cook it myself!
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 8,000 Member
    At the Indian I stick to the grilled meats such as tandoori chicken as curries often swim in ghee. I like dahl and saag paneer. Big calorie saving is roti instead of naan.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,617 Member
    Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »
    @AnnPT77 It's a pretty good approach for any special meal. It's a total buzz-kill to try to log it accurately. Best to cook your own meals, in general. But I'd like to eat more Indian food, so perhaps I need to learn to cook it myself!

    It's a pretty manageable cuisine IMO, especially these days when one can source specialized ingredients online if not available locally. Much of the calorie load is from ghee or the like, and it can be reduced significantly while still giving one the yummy seasonings and other ingredients.

    That region's long vegetarian tradition make it an especially interesting cuisine for vegetarians like me. :)
  • ghudson92
    ghudson92 Posts: 2,061 Member
    I eat Indian food once or twice a week (obsessed with it), when I was losing and now in maintenance. I would say - make sure you leave yourself a generous allowance for your dinner, enjoy the food, and just log whichever entry looks good. It has worked for me so far - although I am mindful to pick more protein rich dishes and I am not a fan of rice anyway. Typically I will have paneer tikka to start, then a fish curry and a garlic and chilli naan for main, no rice and no other sides. Doesn't add up to much more than a usual dinner.
  • sammidelvecchio
    sammidelvecchio Posts: 791 Member
    This is the recipe I use to make my favorite Indian dish at home. When I get take away, I use these numbers but increase the serving size. Not totally accurate, but close enough for me.

    https://www.savorytooth.com/instant-pot-chicken-tikka-masala/
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