There are so many salads, toasts, sandwiches out there that are labeled under healthy food. But sometimes as an Indian, we may miss the flavors and spice aroma from the Indian delicacies which we don't find among the toasts and sandwiches. Right? What is your favorite Indian dish? Biriyani? Or Butter Chicken? Comment down below and let me know your favorite Indian recipe.
We often assume most of the Indian curries and other dishes may be unhealthy as they involve oil in high quantities—and that’s true. For example, we use vegetable oil as the first step for cooking curries, frying onions to garnish our Biriyani, or marinating the meat for the Korma. This oil contains unsaturated fats and oxidizes when they’re heated which is dangerous to our body tissues and can trigger inflammation, a known risk factor for causing heart attacks by causing blood-vessel plaques to unstable.
These clarifications, for the present, are only theory, since this is among the primary investigations to compare head-to-head, what ends up to the ones who stop consuming animal fats and move to vegetable oils to the individuals who stay with animal fats. It doesn't imply that butter and ghee should now make up the greater part of the eating routine, however, it proposes that stacking up on vegetable oils isn't a particularly extraordinary thought all things considered.
So which oil to use for a healthier by-product?
Let’s check out the smoke point of oils.
Smoke point is the temperature at which oil starts to burn and smoke, and when the oil is heated beyond this fats start to break down pans gives the smoke an off-smell and taste. Behind the scenes, the oil releases harmful compounds like carcinogenic, cancer-causing free radicals. That implies an oil's smoke point eventually influences how nutritious the cooking oil is for your body.
For deep-frying, we need the oil to have a temperature between 175° and 200° C. These temperatures are required so that a crust is formed on your food just when it hits the oil; seals the food from outside and prevents from absorbing much oil into the interior. As the oil gets so hot, your choice will need to be with a smoke point of essentially 200° C. Safflower oil and rice bran oil are wonderful because they can withstand searing temperatures of practically 250° C. You can likewise choose peanut oil and sunflower oil in case you're searing at 230° C.
We by and large have to go after monounsaturated fats for sautéing or pan-frying. These healthy fats are fluid at room temperature (when contrasted with saturated fat like margarine and coconut oil that are strong at room temp). My favorite healthy fats for searing are avocado oil and olive oil.
Olive Oil
As oils and fats are exposed to high heat, they tend to get damaged. Especially for the oils high with polyunsaturated fats such as vegetable oil. When overheated, they can shape different destructive compounds, including lipid peroxides and aldehydes, which can add to cancer. On the off chance that you need to limit your openness to possibly hurtful and cancer-causing compounds, you should just cook with fats that are stable at high heat.
Olive oil has a good smoke point and is oxidative stable.
Olive oil is 73% monounsaturated, 11% polyunsaturated and 14% saturated.
Thus, the heat-resistant monounsaturated and saturated fats are 87% of olive oil. Additional virgin olive oil is gotten from the main squeezing of the olives and offers various bioactive substances, including strong antioxidants and vitamin E.
So we have seen which oil is recommended to use depending on its purpose and why. As Indian cuisine involves oil to be used at different points, I suggest using olive oil in place of other oils. With that said, let’s go through some mouth-watering Indian dishes that are also healthy for you.
1. Hyderabadi Khatti Daal
The unique ingredient of this recipe is the tamarind pulp (although you can use lemon juice as a substitute if you don’t have tamarind or don’t like tamarind), as it gives the sour, tangy flavor to the recipe and it’s used traditionally.
Why I love this recipe is because, it goes great with just plain rice, green chutney, and plain yogurt (Dahi) or Raita; sometimes I eat Bhuna Gosht (Roasted Mutton) with the combination. It has all the nutrients needed for the body and on top of all, Khatti Daal is very easy to make with the simplest of ingredients which is why this is my primary choice on weeknights for dinner.
2. Bhindi Masala (Okra Fry)
This recipe uses a minimal amount of oil and has one of the nutritious vegetables: Ladyfinger. It helps in digestion due to its high fiber content and a good source of antioxidants. This recipe is recommended for women who are pregnant as it contains Vitamin B. My favorite part of this recipe is to top the dish with a spoon of Desi Ghee and eat it with white rice or Roti and plain yogurt.
3. Daal Gosht (Lentils Mutton)
Daal means ‘lentils’ and Gosht means ‘mutton’. So we have a non-vegetarian recipe here. This is a delicious and healthy recipe— a stew made from lentils of your choice, mutton, and other ingredients such as ginger, garlic, onions, spice mix, etc. What’s the magical part? Dip the roti in gravy and a piece of meat or mix with rice and put in your mouth: a burst of flavors in your mouth and peace of mind as you are eating a healthy meal.
4. Punjabi Chhole
This is one of the popular North Indian dishes that no one doesn’t know about. The chickpeas are cooked with onions, tomatoes, and other spice-blend. I recommend to not buy the canned chickpeas from the store as it contains preservatives and rather opts for soaking the chickpeas in the water right at your kitchens. I also add chicken broth to the chickpeas while cooking which can make it more delicious and healthier; I love to eat it with roti and it tastes as good as it is.
5. Chicken Tikka
The best option for making sandwiches or rolls or even eating it just like that. I love Chicken Tikka; I personally also smoke the final byproduct with coal—by pouring 2 or 3 drops of oil on a lump of lit coal and keeping it in the pot closed until the smoke goes away completely (usually 15 minutes). The smoky taste is nice with the chicken and makes it more appetizing with the smell.
So, we have more Indian cuisine recipes that are healthy but I’ve picked my favorite five of them. Hope you make them and enjoy the taste while also eating with peace of mind due to their nutritional value. It has an incredible amount of spices that just enhances the flavor of the food which you don’t find in any other cuisine. And the spices that are useful to your body in terms of health. Even the Masala Tea is full of spices and ginger that just takes the taste to next level and boosts the nutritional quality.
Talking about the usage of oil, almost all Indian cuisine recipes involve the use of oil in different quantities at different stages of cooking. For example, while making Bhindi Masala, the first step is to heat the oil for sautéing the ladyfinger pieces and further spluttering cumin seeds and caramelizing onions; or we use oil as the last step to prepare the tadka (temper) the lentil curry for Hyderabadi Khatti Daal or Daal a Gosht. Thus, oil is a primary ingredient in cooking these recipes but it’s our choice of the oil we use that determines the health benefits. As I mentioned, the use of oils that contains polyunsaturated fats in high quantities (like vegetable oil) is dangerous but to replace it with oil with monounsaturated fats such as Olive or Coconut Oil. I prefer using Olive Oil as I dislike the flavor Coconut Oil gives.
So that’s it about the flavorsome Indian cuisine. The rich flavors and replacing them with healthier substitutes is the option to choose. What are your other substitutes for making the recipes healthier?
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