My family is of Indian origin, and we eat a lot of Indian food at home. Indian food is really delicious because of all the spices. Unfortunately most restaurants drown Indian food in oil, cream, and butter which drives the calorie content up.
If you’re cooking Indian food at home, here are some tips you can use to lighten things up:
1️⃣ Use milk instead of cream in curries
Swap heavy cream for 1% or 2% milk. You can even try unsweetened almond milk.
2️⃣ Sub tofu cubes for paneer
Use paneer in dishes like saag paneer or mattar paneer to get more protein. Make sure to use firm tofu or it’ll crumble.
3️⃣ Try brown rice or quinoa
Quina is going to contain more protein instead of white rice. Brown rice will contain more fiber.
4️⃣ Use whole wheat flour for roti/ naan
Whole wheat flour has more fiber and will keep you full longer.
5️⃣ Use oil spray instead of oil when cooking
Brans such as PAM make spray-able oil. Use this and save dozens of extra calories.
6️⃣ Add different proteins to curries
Egg whites, seitan (wheat protein), tempeh, tofu, all make fantastic curries because they absorb flavor really well. Add these to Indian food to up the content of vegetarian dishes.
7️⃣ Use lean cuts of meat in curries instead of high-fat cuts
Make curries with chicken breast instead of thigh meat and save some calories.
8️⃣ Use nonfat Greek yogurt instead of regular in raitas and marinades
Greek yogurt has way more protein than regular yogurt!
9️⃣ Swap regular potatoes with other veggies like butternut squash or sweet potato
These are still starchy carbs but have more nutrients and fiber than white potatoes. If you do use white potatoes, keep the skin on for a little bit of fiber.
🔟 Go high on the spices!
Get lots of flavor from the spices and food itself. This way, you don’t have to mask the amazing flavors with extra oil.
Which of these tips do you want to try? Comment below and let us know!
Thank you for these valuable tips!