Tips for cooking healthy Indian foods

Cooking-oil, Dairy foods, Chicken, Lamb, Grains, Vegetables and Sugars

Cooking oil

Oil is an important need to maintain energy and health. Equally, important is the type of fat/oil used for cooking.

1. Avoid Transfats such as Vanaspati, Dalda, and hard margarines.

2. Minimize use of Dairy or Animal fats such as: Ghee, Butter, Lard

3. Minimize use of plant oils that are solid at room temperature such as: Coconut. Avoid hydrogenated coconut oil.

4. Use unrefined plant oils that are liquid at room temperature. Mustard seed oil and Canola oil are preferred

5. To cook Masala gravy base, grind onions and garlic together. Cook the mixture without oil till most all the moisture is gone. Then add the vegetable oil. This will reduce the time oil is exposed to high heat reducing free radicals.
6. Use dry roasted cumin seeds for Tarka/Bhagar of Dal.

Dairy Products

1. To make Makhni sauce, substitute heavy cream and butter with corn starch (¼ Cup water to 1 Tablespoon of corn starch). This will reduce saturated fats.
2. Use 2% low fat milk to make Paneer or Chenna.
3. Do not fry Paneer in Ghee or even oil before adding to dishes like Paalak Paneer or Mattar Paneer.
4. Substitute Batti Khoya (Hard Khoya) with fat free dry milk.
5. Substitute Chickna Khoya (Smooth Khoya) by mixing low fat Paneer (or Ricotta Cheese), Fat free dry milks, and virgin olive oil.
6. Substitute Daane-daar Khoya (Granular Khoya) by reducing low Paneer (or low fat Ricotta Cheese) with a hint of cream of Tartar.
7. Make Dahi using 2% milk with live culture. Let it slightly over ferment. This will emulate Chach.

Chicken

Poach and de-fat chicken before making curry to reduce saturated fats. This also eliminates time for marinating chicken.

Mutton, Lamb

Poach and de-fat mutton , or lamb before making curry to reduce saturated fats. This also eliminates time for marinating the meats.

Sugars

1. Use of all simple sugars must be minimized.
2. Use lightly sweetened fruit juices to replace heavy sugar syrups in the desserts.

Grains

1. Use whole grain flours. Mix a variety of flours when making breads.
2. Use Flax seeds to widen the fiber profile and adding essential fatty acids to flours when making breads, Idli, Dhokla, or Dosa.

Vegetables

1. Incorporate a salad made from raw vegetables.
2. Incorporate new world green vegetables such as Broccoli, Collard Greens, Kale, and Turnip greens as part of the menu.
3. Incorporate new world orange vegetables such as squash and orange colored sweet potatoes as part of the menu.