Tips for Healthy Indian Cooking

Indian cuisine, with its delicious blend of spices and oils, makes for a delicious and interesting dining experience. Like most foods, there are some dishes and methods of preparation that are healthier than others, particularly when dining out. The best way to enjoy Indian food is to prepare it yourself and to follow healthy cooking tips.

• When dishes call for basmati rice, use the brown basmati in place of the white. Because only the outermost layer, or the hull, is removed when processing brown rice, it has a higher fiber content and retains more of its nutrients than white rice.


• Decrease the amount of oil that you normally use in your dishes by half. If you require more, or less, adjustments the amount accordingly until you've obtained the desired taste.


• Use low fat substitutions for full fat items such as yogurt, sour cream or coconut milk.


• Cook with plenty of fresh spices. This will help you to either reduce or eliminate your use of salt.


• Use only a small amount of ghee in your cooking. Try adding it at the end, after the food has mostly finished cooking. This will still add flavor to your dish, but will reduce the amount of fat. If you prefer, eliminated the ghee altogether and use sunflower or olive oil in its place.


• In recipes that call for paneer cheese, use tofu as a substitution.


• Try baking food that are traditionally fried, such as fishcakes or samosas, to reduce the amount of fat.


• When making bread, use flour that is made of whole grains.


• Minimize the amount of sugar that you use. Sweetened fruit juice may be a useful replacement for sugar syrups.