Neera completed a degree in Nutrition and Dietetics from the University of Alberta. She has gone on to do a combined Masters in Public Health Nutrition and her Dietetic Internship upon which she will be registered with the Dietitians of Canada. She has worked as a Community Nutritionist for the South Asian population and has been featured in Flare Magazine and Family Health Magazine. Questions about food and nutrition? Calories in Indian foods? Low-fat desi-recipes or fad diets? Email her! neera@mybindi.com

< Back to Neera's Main Menu

Nutritional Value of Indian Food

Hi Neera,

I am in my last year of university and I've been surviving on cafeteria food and eating out. I am getting tired of it, and I miss Indian food (North indian). But, I always hear how north Indian food isn't very healthy because of the way it is cooked. What are the nutritional benefits of some of the more common dishes?

Thank you,

Amit

Dear Amit,

Thanks for your question.

I can certainly empathize with you about college dining! It is certainly tough finding Indian food on local university campuses.

So is North Indian food "unhealthy"? Well, I would certainly not generalize and say that it is. Compared to South Indian food, North Indian food is prepared quit differently. The methods of cooking in North India create dishes that are very rich in taste and presentation. The influence of the Mughal rulers who ruled India is perhaps most felt in their food. The Moghals were Muslim Emporers and as such the the quality of their foods had to be fit for royalty.

Hence, Mughlai food is very rich, consisting of sauces made from cream, curd and crushed nuts like cashews. Another major contribution of the Moghals is the tandoor which is an earthen oven, used to make rotis and kababs, which are pieces of meat marinated in spices or yogurt and skewered over a coal tandoor. The main advantage of the Tandoori method of cooking is that all the natural flavours and juices are sealed in and the fat is drained off thus retaining the basic nutritional values of the food. Some of the famous Mughlai dishes include tandoori chicken, seekh and boti kabab, malai koftas, and butter chicken.

From a nutritional standpoint, the rich creamy dishes are often very high in fat but on the flip-side, the tandoori dishes are low in fat. So creating a balanced meal from your choices is your best option. If you plan to have a creamy meat or subzi dish couple it with a tandoori nan without any butter or boiled rice. If you like having kabobs, a lower fat option, you can treat yourself to some biryani or a buttered nan with it. Besides, most of these foods are prepared and served for various functions like weddings.

On a more basic level some Punjabi foods do tend to be higher in fat and lower in nutritional value, than say for example, Gujurati foods. This is because basic Punjabi cooking involves tarka or vaghar. Tarka or vaghar is the sauteing of onions, ginger, garlic and various Indian spices. This is added to dals or subzis for example to give it its unique Indian taste. Problems come in when people use way to much oil or ghee to do tarka/vaghar. The fat content of your dal or subzi increases dramatically. To avoid that, don't "deep-fry" your onions, saute them in very little oil, just to achieve that golden brown colour (the flavour remains, trust me). And use vegetable oil (like canola) instead of ghee.

The other nutritional issue that tends to come up with Punjabi food is that subzis are often cooked to a "mush". Overcooking vegetables does result in loss of nutritional value. Much of the vitamins and minerals leach out of the vegetable. A popular dish like saag (spinach and broccoli puree) is a prime example, great for fiber not so much its nutrients. Dishes from the South of India tend to have vegetables that are still somewhat crisp. So, if you are making aloo-gobi (cauliflower and potatoes) try to keep the veggies as crisp as possible. And avoid adding too many potatoes to your subzis. Though a vegetable, they are a starchy vegetable (high in carbs) so you want the ratio of 'actual subzi' to 'aloos' to be 3 to 1.



In the spirit of health and wellness,
Neera Chaudhary
South Asian Nutritionist


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DISCLAIMER: This information is presented as an educational service. It is not intended as a substitute for medical advice from your physician.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------