Healthy Indian Meals

A healthy, balanced diet contains a variety of different foods such as plenty of vegetables and fruit, protein rich foods such as meat, fish, lentils and pulses, combined with slow-burning, starchy foods such as wholemeal bread or basmati rice.

The key to a healthy diet is to eat the right amount of food for how active you are and to make sure that you maintain a balanced diet across these food groups.

To help make your Indian meals part of this healthy balance, why not try one of our top 10 tips for lighter, healthier Indian food.

1. Choose tomato based varieties of sauce or ready meals which are naturally low in fat. For example, Patak's Rogan Josh, Balti and Dopiaza cooking sauces all contain less than 5% fat.
2. Rather than adding cream to sauces or pastes, why not try a low-fat alternative such as plain yoghurt or Quark.
3. Use Basmati or Brown rice rather than plain white rice. Not only do they taste better but they also burn more slowly, helping to maintain your energy levels for longer.
4. Traditional Tandoori dishes are often lower in fat because they have little or no sauce. Why not try one of our Patak's Pastes and mix 50:50 with plain yoghurt to use as a marinade.
5. Bored of chicken but want a healthy alternative? Many of our favourite Indian dishes can be cooked with prawns, turkey, white fish or vegetables.
6. Indian cuisine is traditionally rich in vegetable dishes. Make the most of the fresh vegetables that are in season - simply chop and add to the sauce along with your choice of meat, or follow one of our seasonal recipes.
7. Drinking plenty of water is recommended as part of a healthy diet, but remember that water won't help to cool a spicy mouthful - it simply spreads the heat around your mouth! Instead, serve a cool “lassi” yoghurt drink or fruit smoothie with your meal.
8. Not all Indian meals need to be served with rice or naan breads. For a light, summer meal serve Tandoori fish or chicken with a simple salad and Raita dressing.
9. Cut the fat content of your cooking by using one-cal oil or investing in a spray oil canister to spritz lightly over meat, fish or vegetables before browning.
10. Try to avoid adding extra salt during cooking - if you want to add extra flavour, why not try using fresh herbs, spices, extra garlic or fresh chopped tomatoes.

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