What's in your Indian Takeaway? | safefood (2024)

FAQs

How unhealthy is an Indian takeaway? ›

However, food prepared outside of the home has been found to contain considerably more dietary fat and less fibre and micronutrients than food prepared within the home. Traditionally, Indian diets are low in fat and high in fibre and rich in fruit and vegetables.

Choose Grilled or Tandoori Dishes

Popular choices include Tandoori Chicken or Tandoori Paneer (cottage cheese). These dishes are not only lower in calories and saturated fats compared to their fried counterparts but also retain the essence of Indian flavors.

Pizza and Chinese meals tend to be the highest in salt, and pizza and Indian highest in total sugars. For fat, and especially saturated fat, it shows pizza and English meals to be the highest and Chinese the lowest.

The average calorie content of these takeaways was high - 1,338 for Indian food and 1,436 for a similar-sized Chinese takeaway. There were 23.6g of saturated fat in the Indian meal - the daily recommended intake is 20g for women and 30g for men.

The actual sweetness and creaminess of such curries meanwhile, usually comes from fried onions and either cashews and/or dairy products. Instead of (or in addition to) onion, ground coconut may be used. White poppy seeds and/or watermelon seeds are also used in some creamy sauces.

If you have never tasted Thai curry before, the yellow curry is definitely the best dish to start with the bright yellow color is from the turmeric spices and yellow mustard seeds. The yellow curry isn't always the same everywhere. But, you can always guarantee to enjoy a creamy taste created from the coconut milk.

Skip: Chicken Tikka Masala

But like many Indian dishes that were originally low fat, the modern recipe for chicken tikka masala is anything but. An average portion has whopping 1,249 calories and 90.8 grams of fat. A lot of that comes from the ghee and heavy cream.

Well that depends on where you are eating. If you go to a fast-food style, Americanized Chinese restaurant serving “fried everything” with MSG, then no, it's not healthy. However, many ingredients in traditional Chinese dishes are abundant in nutrients, and work to keep your health in good shape.

What is the #1 unhealthiest food? ›

Some Indian dishes are heavy on sugar and unhealthy fats. Opt for dishes with tomato-based sauces rather than creamy ones, and inquire about sugar content when dining out.

Not all Indian food will beat out the others, though simple vegetarian fare likely will. A heavy hand with the oils can make them surprisingly heavy and less-than-optimally healthy. I'd say a simple pizza -- crust and modest amounts of sauce and cheese -- is likely the healthiest.

'Go for grilled dishes over fried; chicken and fish over fattier meats, like lamb; tomato or veggie sauces rather than creamy ones; and steamed rice over fried,' advises Tilt. She also suggests avoiding sides and other add-ons unless they're vegetables, as well as eating mindfully and being aware of portion sizes.