I've never had Indian food - and I am CRAVING spicy food!!! Anyone have the skinny on Indian food? How healthy is it, and can you recommend some healthy dishes? I can't really tolerate rice, fried foods, or sugar. Any suggestions?
Food Indian Food?
- Thread starter LivinLuxuriously
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If you're not a vegetarian, the tandoori is sooo delicious and low-carb! Tandoori, some salad, and stir-fried bell peppers sound so delicious right now.
From someone who grew up in an Indian household, with apparently a good indian cook, I HATED the food. I developed stomach problems from it as a kid, meaning I couldn't handle her adult spices and would throw it up. the doctor told my mother to stop giving me such foods, but she continued. Next thing you know as a kid I'm stuffing food in a paper towel, hiding it when she wasn't looking, to dispose of after she left the kitchen. However I was able to make a bowl of pasta in no time flat by 5th grade because of this LOL. I personally do not have any taste for the food, if I want something spicy I go for carribean chicken or salsa. I'm an Italian by heart, I live on pasta based meals. Healthy wise I guess it is healthy depending what you're eating. However the way they fry it may not be the picture of health, a lot of oil is used with long time frying. Unless you meant healthy for dieting? Then no this wouldn't be the food for that IMO. Many of the foods are rice or oil fried based though.
Indian cuisine is my absolulte favorite!
In fact that's what we had last night for dinner. I don't like meat too much, so I enjoy tandoori shrimp or fish. But usually I order vegetable dishes such as Baingan Bharta (sp?), which is eggplant, tomato, onion, etc. with spices or Aloo Ghobi (sp?), which is cauliflower, potatoes and spices.
Three other things I love are Naan (the bread), raita (yogurt and cucumber dip, sauce, etc). I dip my Naan in it. And Dahl Makani (sp?) which are lentils simmered in a tomato broth! Heavenly!
Hope you get to try this style of eating soon!
In fact that's what we had last night for dinner. I don't like meat too much, so I enjoy tandoori shrimp or fish. But usually I order vegetable dishes such as Baingan Bharta (sp?), which is eggplant, tomato, onion, etc. with spices or Aloo Ghobi (sp?), which is cauliflower, potatoes and spices.
Three other things I love are Naan (the bread), raita (yogurt and cucumber dip, sauce, etc). I dip my Naan in it. And Dahl Makani (sp?) which are lentils simmered in a tomato broth! Heavenly!
Hope you get to try this style of eating soon!
Ooh Indian is definitely one of my FAVORITE foods. I like the chana Masala (chickpeas) Vegetable Jalfrazzi, Sag paneer (spinach). What you should do is go to an Indian restaurant during the week during the early day (before dinner) Most of them have buffet style lunch so you can have a little of everything!!! The bread (naan) is good. Oh and Dosai is awesome! Not all Indian restaurants serve Dosai. Its like a big pastry puff with spicy potato filling.
Oh they have great dessert too!! Kulfi, or their famous rice puddings are my favorite!
Oh they have great dessert too!! Kulfi, or their famous rice puddings are my favorite!
Indian food is not healthy haha! Everything has tons of oil in it. Oil and onions is the base of almost every dish. They use alot of curry powder which is full of salt. Tandoor is actually the oven they use to cook the "tandoori" items in. You can have tandoor chicken, kabobs (beef), goat, lamb, fish, shrimp etc. Its coated with tikka masala which is a mixture of spices combined into one. They also add yougart and lemon to this maranade. Chicken tikka masala is a yougart and whipped cream dish with plenty of spices and oil. its suppose to be eatin with roti -tortilla made of wheat- or naan -flat bread-. tandoori naan are the best because they are oven baked and fresh. samosas are the best..they are appetizers that are little triangles filled with either ground beef or roasted potatoes with seasonsing and clenatro and pees, you dip them into "chuntney" which is yougart, green peppers, cilantro,mint and salt. they have diffrent varaiations of chutney, but this one is the most famous.
They also have bryani--which is white basmati rice cooked with either veggies or beef or chicken. its really good. Also, they have other dishes like nihari, which is a beef stew cooked which you eat with naan or roti. anyways, there is A TON more of food. i spent the summer in pakistan, Iran and palestine and saudia arabia..so im very familiar with the food in those areas...lemme know if you have any questions!
edited to add: gulab jamman is the best desert! its flour balls cooked in syrup and then left in syrup until they get a bit soft...its the most fattening thing in this world haha! there is a ton more of things I could tell you, but id be here forever
They also have bryani--which is white basmati rice cooked with either veggies or beef or chicken. its really good. Also, they have other dishes like nihari, which is a beef stew cooked which you eat with naan or roti. anyways, there is A TON more of food. i spent the summer in pakistan, Iran and palestine and saudia arabia..so im very familiar with the food in those areas...lemme know if you have any questions!
edited to add: gulab jamman is the best desert! its flour balls cooked in syrup and then left in syrup until they get a bit soft...its the most fattening thing in this world haha! there is a ton more of things I could tell you, but id be here forever
Jeffrey Steingarten, the food writer in Vogue claimed in an article a while back that if you eat only the vegetarian Indian food, you will lose weight--that no one gains weight, as long as you don't eat the meat dishes (I am not a vegetarian, so this is not my attempt to promote this--but it was a convincing article. I just haven't tried it yet). I do love Indian food. Someone I know from India though, takes about "ghee belly"--people she knows getting fat from too much clarified butter.
I LOVE Indian food. I often go to this one Indian buffet in Philly suburb and they have around 20 different dishes laying out. My favorite is naan(indian bread similar to pita bread) Chicken tikka masala which isn't too spicy and goat curry. They have lots of good vegetarian dishes containing chick peas...etc.
^^^Sunshine I read your comment and it made me really sad.
I also have to say I think it's quite rude to make negative generalizations on the cuisine of an entire country based on your bad experience with one indian restaurant that you happened to live next to.
There are SO MANY DIFFERENT types of indian food that to generalize is silly.
My family comes from south india and the cuisine is fresh, vegetable and grain based....vegetarian with some dairy products...and NON SPICY. Very different from many types of north indian cuisines. We use certain strategic spices like cumin for it's digestive properties and turmeric for it's antiseptic properties (in other words it kills germs). The food is delectable, wholesome and healthgiving...based on ayurvedic principles of living in harmony with nature. It is subtle and nuanced and extremely delightful imo. It is the food i truly crave, now that I'm an adult.
For people who think Indian food is too spicey and oily, i would venture to say that you have only been to certain north indian restaurants....they make food that way at the restaurants because it's what they think westerners like. I would suggest seeking out a south indian brahmin restaurant if you want a different experience....the food is very fresh, subtle, varried and not oily at all. ....pm me if you want recommendations on what to order
I also have to say I think it's quite rude to make negative generalizations on the cuisine of an entire country based on your bad experience with one indian restaurant that you happened to live next to.
There are SO MANY DIFFERENT types of indian food that to generalize is silly.
My family comes from south india and the cuisine is fresh, vegetable and grain based....vegetarian with some dairy products...and NON SPICY. Very different from many types of north indian cuisines. We use certain strategic spices like cumin for it's digestive properties and turmeric for it's antiseptic properties (in other words it kills germs). The food is delectable, wholesome and healthgiving...based on ayurvedic principles of living in harmony with nature. It is subtle and nuanced and extremely delightful imo. It is the food i truly crave, now that I'm an adult.
For people who think Indian food is too spicey and oily, i would venture to say that you have only been to certain north indian restaurants....they make food that way at the restaurants because it's what they think westerners like. I would suggest seeking out a south indian brahmin restaurant if you want a different experience....the food is very fresh, subtle, varried and not oily at all. ....pm me if you want recommendations on what to order
this is the food I'm talking about! Ghee is extremely good for you when used in moderation, but in excess....ghee belly time! That's funny.