Is Indian Food Healthy?

If someone asks you, “Is Indian food healthy?“, your answer will probably be no. If so, you are undoubtedly thinking of the thick, spicy curries and the heavy, fatty desserts that have become so popular all over the world. However, what you don’t really know is that Indian food has most of the healthiest food options available. Healthy Indian food is a widely unexplored region for most people due to the above stated misconceptions.

Traditional Indian cooking never focuses on a single nutrient. In fact you will find that healthy Indian foods perfectly adhere to the food pyramid that guides you to your recommended intake of each nutrient. People who want to stay fit, vital and in good shape are often advised by nutritionists to try healthy Indian meals. There is also a wide variety of healthy Indian food options, so imagine how entertaining losing weight could become with healthy Indian dishes.

Why Indian Food is Healthy

People who take the time to explore Indian culture will find that it is a colorful blend of rich tradition and timeless elegance. Even as Indians advance more and more internationally, the modernity fails to erase their passion for the earth. Likewise, Indian food derives its tastiness from an array of fresh vegetables, earthy spices and exotic fruit. All healthy Indian food choices that you will find will have a balance of all the nutrients in the amount you require so you don’t have any need for the numerous vitamins and food supplements that dominate the world nowadays.

Almost all Indian food contains spices like ginger, turmeric, garlic and green chilies as the basic ingredient to start with so that you benefit from their medicinal healing properties with every dish. Traditional Indian food always incorporates fresh produce and makes the most unappealing vegetables taste delicious. The home-made quality and natural intake of vitamins and minerals gives you the most nutritionally correct diet without all the artificial preservatives that are creeping their way into your daily diet. All in all, people looking to lose weight or eat healthy need to look into traditional low calorie Indian food and enjoy getting in shape.

Healthiest Indian Dishes

Have you ever thought of a healthy meal as being totally delicious and scrumptious? With healthy Indian food options, you get nutritionist-approved meals that are so tasty you will never know that you are on a diet. Who would have known that low fat Indian food was the answer to all diet related angst? Some healthy Indian food options include:

Spiced Corn and Rice Pilaf – A perfect example of the wonders of Indian food, this is basically a healthy twist to the magic corn that everybody loves so much. Substitute the butter for some extra-virgin olive oil, add pinches of cardamom, cinnamon and cumin with rice and chicken broth and there you have it! A low calorie meal, appropriate for diabetes and heart patients both that will wow your taste buds and deliver all your required nutrients.

Healthy Indian Food: Spiced Corn and Rice Pilaf

Paalak Paneer – Also known as Saag Tofu, a basic combination of tofu and spinach made substantial by the addition of tiny amounts of cumin, garlic, mustard seeds, ginger and low fat yoghurt, it hardly takes half an hour to make the whole thing. As an added bonus, you get Vitamin A, C, Folate, Calcium, Iron and Magnesium to go along with this high potassium, gluten free meal. People suffering from hypertension or diabetes should really opt for dishes like this one. Quick, delicious and healthy, there’s no going wrong with Saag Tofu.

Healthy Indian Food: Paalak Paneer

Corn Flatbread – This griddle cooked flatbread is the healthier option as compared to pancakes and can even be converted in to a main dish with some dip to accentuate the taste. Using basic items like ground yellow corn flour, all-purpose flour and just a dab of butter, you can get this easy-to-make flatbread ready in no time. To add some bursts of flavor use fresh ginger, green chilies, red onion and garden-fresh cilantro.

Healthy Indian Food: Corn Flatbread

Ginger, split pea and Vegetable Curry – A stew like curry that really makes vegetables delicious to eat. Picture a hot vat of hearty vegetable curry with some freshly baked bread and you will be drooling in no time. The yellow split peas, also known as chana daal are rich in protein. These along with some sweet potatoes, spinach and perhaps even eggplant, make for the perfect detox diet. It will literally make you forget that you are dieting.

Healthy Indian Food: Ginger, split pea and Vegetable Curry

References:
Eating Well for a Healthy Heart Cookbook – A Cardiologist’s Guide to Adding Years to Your Life (2008) – Dr. Phil Ades.