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While curries can certainly be very healthy, when they're eaten with all the accompaniments, they can sometimes be relatively high in calories. If you're watching your weight there's no need to cut curry out of your diet, instead try these simple tips to reduce the calorie content of your favourite dish without compromising on flavour. 

1. Enhance your rice

Instead of eating white or pilau rice (with added oil), try boiled brown rice instead. The flavour and texture of the brown rice can actually enhance the meal, but if you're missing some of the flavour from the pilau, try adding a few smashed cardamom pods. 

2. Swap the naan for poppadoms

Yes, we all get cravings for a piece of warm buttery naan every now and again, but a poppadom can also serve as a satisfying side. Try dipping it in a cucumber raita instead of a sugary chutney. 

3. Try Tandoori

If you're craving curry but want to eat a light meal like a salad, try baking some chicken tandoori and adding this to your salad or sandwich in place of regular chicken. This will satisfy your cravings and will be more satisfying than plain chicken. Our delicious Tandoori spice paste makes it easy to incorporate tandoori chicken into your meals.

4. Go Vego

You can cut calories from your favourite curry by simply swapping the meat base for vegetables and tofu, chickpeas or lentils. This will also boost the nutritional value of the meal, loading you with vitamins and minerals while still ensuring you get a good hit of protein. 

5. Add extra spice

While sometimes it can feel like diets make us cut out all flavour, the good news is spices are actually beneficial to health and weight regulation. Recent research has shown that cumin powder can help kick-start weight loss and improve cholesterol levels. Black pepper, ginger and cardamom are also great weight loss spices. This means an extra spicy curry can be an excellent way to stimulate weight loss.

Making your own curry is the only way to ensure you know the health value and calorie count of what you're eating. Our range of Indian spice pastes make it easy to create your own healthy curries at home. 

Posted by: The AHG Team, March 24, 2016 11:33 AM Link to this article