Indian Cuisine has always been a favorite throughout the world. The cuisine has so many mouth-watering aspects that it is one of the best options when you have dinner restaurant style. Like any other cuisine, Indian Food, when ordered at restaurants, also has a considerably low health score due to salts, fats, oils, and sugars. However, considering the lips-smacking unique flavors that the cuisine offers, we must find health-conscious alternatives and ways to skip the delicious yet unhealthy choices in the Indian Food Menu. Read below to know more!
Ways to Order Healthy at Indian Restaurants
- Choose A Salad As Your Appetizer
When you order at Indian Food, choose salad as your appetizer. The dressing that is placed on Indian Salads is a taste to behold. Be it the thick curd dressings or cheese dressings, they all bring out so many Indian flavors while keeping your Food healthy. Taste and health go hand in hand when it comes to Salads.
- Choose Seafood or Chicken Over Other Meats
You should order chicken or seafood dishes instead of ordering dishes with lamb or beef, which are comparatively higher in fat as suggested by the American Heart Association. Chicken and shrimp dishes are very common in the Indian Cuisine that brings out all the delectable spices and tastes unique to the Indian cuisine while keeping your Food Healthy Indian Food.
- Say No to Fried Foods or at least Try To.
As golden, glazed, and dazzling those fried dishes look on the Indian Food menu, they are best only when taken in moderation. These deep-fried food items are high in cholesterol, calories, and fat simultaneously and so are not counted on the Healthy Indian Food list. Even though those samosas and pakoras look mouth-wateringly delicious, you should limit yourself to trying them with control. Instead, you can opt for steamed or grilled food items that bring out the same crunch and taste of the Indian cuisine while keeping your health in check.
- Custom Order Your Thali
When you order an Indian Thali, they serve you everything from appetizers to dessert. There might be more than three curries on the thali, so you choose to have multiple curries of the same non-creamy ones in place of certain creamy curries. You can also change some of the extra creamy dishes for extra salad or other Healthy Indian Food.
- Go Easy on the Rice
You can sometimes get a bit carried away when you’re serving rice on your plate, and rice is a dish that can add a lot of calories to your Food. When eating Indian Food, you should try to taste as many dishes as possible since the menu has extensive dishes that fall under healthy Indian Food, but you should take them all in small amounts. This way, you can taste all the finger-licking good Food that the menu has to offer while being health conscious.
Now that we’ve discussed so many ways to stick to a healthy diet, let’s talk about all the dishes on the Indian menu that can represent India’s delectable spices, taste, and culture but can still be referred to as Healthy Indian Food.
Healthiest but also the Tastiest Indian Dishes to order from an Indian Menu
1. Chana Masala
Chickpea, referred to as Chana in Hindi, is used to make this dish. Chana is stewed with onions, tomatoes, and the flavorful Indian spices in a sauce made of oil and water. Chickpea is a legume, and they are associated in many studies with the improvement of heart health and less risk of chronic conditions such as Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes. According to USDA data, these might be the effect of the fiber and plant proteins that chana contains. This Healthy Indian Food can be either paired with Lavish Basmati Rice, whole-wheat roti, or deep-fried puffed bread (bhatura). Many alternative chana dishes that can be found on Indian Menus include chana-based cakes, which are called dhokla.
2. Daal
Daal is the most famous Indian dish and is a common term used for cooked and raw split lentils. These lentils are stewed with delicious spices such as garam masala, turmeric, mustard seeds or cumin seeds, cinnamon, chili, Indian Bay Leaves, asafoetida, and many more flavorful masalas. The dish is garnished with coriander and cilantro. This Healthy Indian Food is often paired with roti or rice. Lentils are also rich in prebiotic carbohydrates, plant protein, and fiber, making them beneficial to our health as it prevents certain diseases, including some cancers, many cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes. This is a high protein source for people who like vegetarian healthy Indian Food.
3. Baingan Ka Bharta
A thrill for your mouth, Baingan Bharta is prepared by grilling an eggplant over charcoal for a smoky taste or roasting it in an oven. The cooked eggplant is peeled, minced, mashed, and then mixed and cooked with onion, tomato, herbs, and unique and flavorful Indian spices. This Healthy Indian Food is usually paired with roti, which is another health-conscious choice making the whole dish a hit from the perspective of your health. The dish is naturally high in polyphenols, fibers, antioxidants, and other nutrients. This high nutrition quality of the dish makes it a luscious and delectable choice for maintaining good heart health and good sugar levels.
4. Raita
Cucumber Raita is usually found in all Indian restaurants among all the different kinds of Raita that are available on the Indian menu. This is a side dish that is made of yogurt sauce with cooked or raw vegetables, sometimes fruit, and most commonly cucumber. This is an extremely refreshing Indian dish that is nutritious at the same time. All these factors make Raita an extremely delectable and Healthy Indian Food. The yogurt provides potassium, protein, calcium, and a fresh company to a spicy dish. The yogurt boosts overall health and immunity and is a tasty probiotics source. Cucumber is a source of Caffeic Acid, which aids with water retention and decreased swelling, and also Vitamin C.
5. Alleppy Fish Curry
Alleppy Fish Curry is famous for its soft texture and delectable flavors, a flavorful side dish. A tender fish is coated with appetizing spices that bring a unique sour and sweet taste at the same time. It has a hot and tangy taste, and it instantly melts in your mouth because of the creamy coconut milk. Fish always provides the body with important proteins, minerals, and vitamins such as zinc, iron, vitamins B, A, and D. It is also a good source of phosphorous and calcium. The American Heart Association suggests that fish should be a part of the diet twice a week, which makes this dish a delectable healthy Indian food.
The Indian Cuisine has a deep and varied cultural history, with spices that have are being used for generations, making it one of the most delectable cuisines of all time. If there are diseases that can represent the culture and be a health-conscious choice at the same, there is absolutely nothing else that anyone can ask for.