Curry, on a diet?

dori2o

I love curry, but now I'm on my diet (currently lost 2lb since 2nd Jan) I don't know if I can have one.

We normally cook our own using sauces from the supermarket, but can anyone give me an idea of which ones I will be able to have now, or possibly a recipe for making my own from scratch without having to worry that I'm taking a step backwards whilst eating it.

skintlass

You can make a chicken curry that would be low in fat - you need to use spices or spice pastes instead of shop bought sauces and use tomatoes or stock to create the sauce.

floyd

Do you like chickpeas or veggies? My OH makes one for me all the time using Pataks Madras paste and a tin of tomatoes, very easy and very tasty without all the added grease. Making from scratch is also another way to go but you will need to fry the spices in oil off to stop them tasting bitter. There will be more ideas on the money saving old style forum.

What sort of diet plan are you following? Low fat, low cal, low carb, atkins? If you follow the instructions on a jar of Madras paste and use chickpeas (1 can between 2 people) and serve with the recommended portion of rice, it comes to approx 480kCal.

Curry is one of my vices so I do allow myself a 'proper' one every few weeks but I don't have naan or samosas just a veggie curry and pilau rice and 2 poppadoms and that seems to fix my craving. As long as I stick to plan I lose weight steadily .

suki1964

dori2o wrote: »

I love curry, but now I'm on my diet (currently lost 2lb since 2nd Jan) I don't know if I can have one.

We normally cook our own using sauces from the supermarket, but can anyone give me an idea of which ones I will be able to have now, or possibly a recipe for making my own from scratch without having to worry that I'm taking a step backwards whilst eating it.

Use tomato based sauces rather then the korma types and use mixed veg or even just plain mushrooms to keep the numbers down

Do read the back of the jars. Some of the jars are twice the fat and sugar content of others, usually the cheaper brands being the the lower in fat. If you dont find them flavorsome enough, fry up a diced onion with some garam masala before adding the veg and sauce to give it added ooomph

pillypilla

Mmmm curry........love it, plus my boyfriend's Indian, which helps!:j
If you wanna use sauce from a jar, just make sure it's tomato based rather than containing cream but we make them from scratch (he uses a whole host of spices so I would get a recipe book or look on-line as I haven't got the knack yet, with quantities etc!) and we use mostly vegetables, include chickpeas or prawns for protein, as it makes it more filling, lentils (dahl) is a great inclusion too and so cheap. If you have an asian shop near you, that helps cos there's some lovely weird and wonderful veg there. I love okra (bhindi) and doodi (a bit like marrow). You can ask their advice on how to cook them. We also eat brown rice as it's healthier and keeps you fuller for longer and you can have brown chappaties. Best of luck!!:beer:

absolutebounder

5 teaspoons of chilli powder per person and you will soon lose weight.
Oh and get the andrex with aloe vera balm:D

Skint_Catt

I'm on Slimming World as we are allowed curries if cooked from scratch with no added fats. I have at least one a fortnight.

Nursenerys

Hi!

These two curries are very diet friendly!

Chicken balti:

• 6-8 cardomom pods
• 1 tsp cumin seed
• 1 clove garlic
• large onion, chopped
• pack diced chicken (or extra veg / quorn instead)
• tin tomatoes
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp dried coriander leaf (or fresh if you have it)
• 1 tsp chilli powder

1. Take the seeds out of the cardomom pods.
2. Fry the seeds and the cumin seeds in hot oil until the seeds begin to 'pop'.
3. Add the onion and garlic and fry until soft.
4. Add the chicken to brown.
5. Pour over the tomatoes and simmer for 20-30 mins.
6. Stir in the coriander, garam masala and chilli powder.
7. Serve.

Quorn & chickpea curry (we don't bother with the quorn!)

• 30 ml vegetable oil
• 340.8 g Quor Chicken Style
• 110 g onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 g cumin seed
• 3 ml black mustard seed
• 2 g ground turmeric
• 2 g ground cumin
• 2 g ground coriander
• 3 g chili powder
• 6 g salt
• 10 g tomato puree
• 1 (8 ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
• 1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 235 ml vegetable stock
• 2 g garam masala

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Cook Quorn in oil until golden brown. Set aside.
2. Using the same pan, heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Cook onion, garlic, cumin seed, and mustard seed in oil for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the onion is soft.
3. Season with ground turmeric, cumin, and coriander, chili powder, and salt. Mix in tomato puree, then stir in Quorn, chickpeas, diced tomatoes, and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat, and mix in garam masala.

Ted_Hutchinson

It's the rice and the naan that are the problem weight wise. Not the fat meat or most of the veggies. I usually do a chicken curry and use a veggy curry a well to mop up the juices.

Here's a nice chicken curry

Vegetable Dhansak

If you really can't bear to have a space on the plate where the rice should be you can whizz a cauliflower in the blender till it's about rice size and put it DRY in a sealed container in the microwave and zap for a few minutes till it is just done. Not exactly the same a rice but it serves the same purpose.

shelly

Did you see the woman on Dragons Den who had made a fat free curry sauce range?
I want to try them but don't want to pay out for a minimum order online and find I don't like it. Apparently Budgens used to stock them but I could never find any.

Here's the site if you are interested http://www.tinydeol.com/index.asp


Usually when I crave a curry and I'm cutting down/dieting I just buy the lowest fat tikka masala I can find. Same with the nann.....its not a curry without a naan



If anyone has/does try the fat free sauces I have linked to can you let me know if they are any good please. Thanks

pillypilla

Ted_Hutchinson wrote: »

It's the rice and the naan that are the problem weight wise. Not the fat meat or most of the veggies. I usually do a chicken curry and use a veggy curry a well to mop up the juices.

Here's a nice chicken curry

Vegetable Dhansak

If you really can't bear to have a space on the plate where the rice should be you can whizz a cauliflower in the blender till it's about rice size and put it DRY in a sealed container in the microwave and zap for a few minutes till it is just done. Not exactly the same a rice but it serves the same purpose.

Great recipe site!! Will definately be using this! :T