Indian food / healthy choices??

I don't know why, but lately I've been craving Indian food and thinking about doing carryout tonight.  Here are some of my top choices, so let me know what you think as far as healthy goes:  Avial: Garden fresh vegetables, coconut sauce, exotic spices. Baigan Bartha: slices of fresh eggplant baked on a low flame, mashed with tomatoes, onions, and cooked with Indian spices. Chana Masala: Chick peas in exotic spices Malai Kofta: Potato, cheese, and dry fruit balls in a creamy sauce (would only have 1 because of the potatoes) Shrimp Bhuna: Shrimp cooked with seafood sauce, coconut, lemon juice, tomato, ginger, garlic and bell pepper. Do these sound like healthy choices? Of course I'm not planning to order them all, but will probably decide on 2 or 3, which will give my DH and I plenty of leftovers.

I don't care for Indian food so I can't help you decide what dish.  I would stay away from any sauces as you don't know the hidden sugars.  How far out are you?

i'm 18 months out.  The sauces in these dishes are curry based, so no sugars and they usually use fresh coconut and not any added sugar.

I would stay away from items with coconut and coconut milk as this contains a lot of fat. Indian food in general does have a lot of spice and fat to it although I can agree that it is wonderful...

I would go more for tandori grilled items, the Baigan Bartha sounds good as does the Chana Masala. One of my favorites was the Chicken Tika Masala (spelling may be off). It is a tandori grilled chicken with the masala sauce.

They have lots of lental based sauces that are good too...

It's funny you mentioned Tandoori because I was thinking about getting some Tandoori chicken......yummy! The dishes I mentioned in my post are curry based and they use fresh coconut.  The majority of the menu is vegetarian, with the exception of the tandoori chicken and some seafood.

Commercially prepared Indian food is full of fat and sugar - almost as bad as chinese food - tandoori items should be safe......the marinade is mostly yogurt based although there will be some sugar.  I would avoid anything with coconut milk.....saturated fat.......darn...now I"m hungry for indian food - I'm too suggestable!!!!!  Susan

I do try to avoid anything that might be swimming in sauce or with a lot of sugar.  This cafe has gotten rave reviews from several of my DH coworkers, who are Indian.....so hope thats a good sign! Sorry to get you craving indian food also, but the tandoori does sound good!!!!

My nutritionist says NO Indian food unless I cook it myself - unless I find a frozen one with less than 8 grams of sugar per serving. Rice is okay ONLY in small portions to avoid bloating. Coconut milk is high in sugar and fat - so I would avoid it at all costs. Some people even say no Chinese food either because of the fact that most places add sugar to the food, not to mention the fat content. I am giving some cashew chicken a try - the cook has promised me not to add sugar. I would suggest if you are going to a restaraunt, try something like Tandoori chicken - its baked with spices and not in a sauce. You can also call ahead to the restaraunt and explain your requirements - they may point you in the right direction.

I love Indian. I usually make it at home that way I control the heat etc. Tandoori Chicken and Chickpea Stew are my favs. I'm already making Chinese tonight but Mmmm Indian sounds good.

Good Luck with it, ~Michelle