Healthy Ways To Cook Indian Curry

Tuesday, August 7, 2012, 17:56

Curry is a staple Indian dish. Also known as sabzi in Hindi, curries form the base of a meal. In short, an Indian cuisine food especially meal is incomplete without a curry. Indian curry is much different from the plain curries in different cuisines. However, curries are also considered unhealthy as they are made with oil or purified butter. Rich Indian curries are considered as an unhealthy dish. Well, you can try to make your Indian curry healthy by using these tips. The following tips will not bring down the taste or flavour of the ingredients, but will prove nutritious.

Tips to make Indian curry healthy:

Cooking method: The method you use for preparing curries should be healthy. Deep frying and baking are few unhealthy cooking methods for preparing curries as you need lots of oil or butter to make it. Steaming, pressure cooking, sauting or light frying (stir-frying) are healthy methods to cook Indian curries.

Less oil: Do not think that Indian curry can only be made tasty by pouring in as much as oil as possible. This will make the curry unhealthy. Oil is rich in fat, calories and bad cholesterol (LDL). These things can make you prone to heart conditions and also make you fat. To stay fit, active and healthy, use healthy oils such as olive oil to make the Indian curry tasty and healthy!

Yogurt or coconut milk over whipped cream: Cream adds a texture and taste to the Indian curry. However, cream is filled with fats and calories that can deposit in your body. So, you can use skimmed milk or cream that is low in calories. To be on the safer sides, use yogurt or coconut milk to add a similar taste and texture to the curry and make it a healthy Indian dish.

Whole spices: Indian dishes do not become tasty unless you add spices to it. Use healthy spices such as cloves, cumin, coriander, fennel, fenugreek, cardamom, peppercorns and black pepper as they are filled with nutrients. They also add a different flavour to the dish. You can roast these spices and then use them to add a strong aroma to the dish.

Tamarind or tomato puree over tomato ketchup: Tomato sauce or ketchup can be the cause of acidity. If you want an easy to digest meal, exclude tomato ketchup or sauce and include tamarind or tomato puree in the ingredients list. Most of the cooks down South use tamarind to make the curry sour. It is a healthy alternative for fancy tomato ketchup.

These are few healthy ways to cook Indian curry and make it tasty. Decrease the amount of oil, add more fresh green vegetables, healthy spices and then, your healthy Indian curry is ready to eat!