Is Indian food fattening/high in calories?

Question

I'm in college and there's always an Indian food station in the food place. I really like chicken samosas and like chicken masala w/ rice or whatever it's called. They all taste really good and fill me up, but are they high in calories? The sauce always seems really creamy and fattening so I don't know if I should get it all the time.

Answer 1

The answer is yes, the Indian food that you like is high in fat and calories.

Samosas are deep fried curry puffs, both the nature of the cooking process and the structure of the samosa will inevitably make it high in fat due to the retained oil.

Most curries served in restaurants are high in fat due to the ingredients used.  In India, energy comes from staples such as rice and chapati (unlevened flatbread), lentils and beans...all of which are rich in carbohydrates and are cheap.  Curries are not used to provide nutritional energy in the average Indian's diet as some have suggested.  They are traditionally more token foods consumed in small amounts (more like a condiment) with much larger quantities of bland filler such as rice.

Curries eaten in Western countries tend to be direct copies or adaptaions of traditional Indian dishes and these are often high in fat, especially the meat dishes.  We also tend to eat them in far larger portions than what is traditional.

Traditionally in India, fat in a dish such as a curry is seen as a sign of affluence and wealth and a layer of fat or oil on top of a freshly presented dish was regarded as a good thing, especially when entertaining guests. This means that many Indian dishes are high in fat by nature. Ingredients used include:

1) Ghee (clarrified butter),

2) Thick rich yoghurt (similar to Greek yoghurt)

3) Mustard oil (which is simply fat like any other oil)

4) Cocoanut milk (high in fat by nature),

5) Cocoanut cream (extremely high in fat),

6) Cream (not common but occasionally)

As you can see, the above ingredients do not make low fat or low calorie eating but it gets worse.  Western restaurants and take-aways tend to use the cheapest ingredients possible and these are often the least beneficial to the health.  In India, lean meat is generally preferred for cooking, but a restuarant will substitute fattier cuts of meat to reduce costs.  This means a Western curry tends to be even fattier than one from India.

Basically, regard the curry you see in the take-away or the restaurant as having evolved from a celebratory dish, something extravagant served at special occasions or maybe once or twice a week in the homes of wealthier families.  Anything made as a special treat tends to be unhealthy because the richness and texture comes from the use of fat.

In your own home, should you wish to cook curries yourself, you can actually make Indian food one of the healthiest cuisines to prepare, but naturally this is only because you add all the ingredients yourself.

Answer 2

Yes, Indian Cuisine is generally high in fats, carbohydrate, calories. Traditionally they needed all this to provide enough energy cos majority of them are doing 'rough' works ie farming, plantations, labourer etc so their body metabolise all the fatty and creamy foods well. So unless you are a very very very hard working person, I suggest you take them only occasionally.

Answer 3

Well, the samosas are fattening because they're deep fried. Overall, yes, Indian food is high in fat and calories, especially things with cream sauces and/or coconut milk.

Answer 4

Most authenic "ethnic" cuisines are high in fat.  Fat is usually the most inexpensive way to provide enough calories for the family.  The other ingredients provide the vital nutrients and make the fat taste good.  A typical example is refried beans.  You can easily make delicious nonfat refried beans but the authentic recipe will have lots, and lots of lard.  Similarly, authentic Indian foods is made with lots of fat.  If you make it at home you can cut the fat way down.  The restaurant probably doesn't bother.