We all love to eat eat Indian food – but how do dishes such as butter chicken and chicken tikka masala stand up to keto? Indian food features a wide variety of warm, comforting flavors and spices. However, many dishes contain ingredients that cannot be eaten on a low-carb diet, such as breaded foods, bread, potatoes, rice, noodles, and certain sauces.
You can eat low-carb at most Indian restaurants by sticking with meat, fish, or cheese cubes and low-carb vegetable-based dishes, such as kabobs and stir-fries.
Be sure your meat is not breaded and watch for sauces that contain sugar or flour. You will also need to hold any bread that comes with the dish.
Here are the top lowest-carb and keto-friendly dishes you can order at an Indian restaurant. We’ll show you what to say when it’s time to order so that you can modify your dish accordingly. If the Indian restaurant has cauliflower rice, make sure to take full advantage!
Tandoori Murgh
Tandoori Murgh features tandoori chicken that is grilled over coals in a cylindrical clay oven called a tandoori.
The dish features chicken marinated in yogurt, garlic, ginger, lemon juice, and tandoori spices, which usually include cumin, coriander, turmeric, cayenne pepper, and more.
You can also order Tandoori seafood or shrimp. This dish is usually served with rice, lentils, or potatoes.
Be sure to hold these and eat the tandoori chicken or seafood only. Or ask for a mixed greens salad with oil and vinegar dressing instead.
What to order: Tandoori Murgh without the rice, lentils, or potatoes. Ask for a mixed greens salad with oil and vinegar dressing instead.
Murgh Tikka
This dish features boneless chicken marinated in yogurt, spices, herbs, and fenugreek leaves. It’s served with rice, lentils, or potatoes.
Be sure to hold the starchy sides. Ask for a side greens salad made with oil and vinegar instead. You’ll also want to make sure this dish is not breaded.
What to order: the Murgh Tikka without the lentils, potatoes, or rice on the side. Ask for a side greens salad with oil and vinegar instead.
Murgh Malai Tikka
This dish features boneless chicken marinated in cream cheese or cheddar cheese with fresh herbs and spices.
You’ll want to hold the starchy side that accompanies the dish, such as rice, lentils, or potatoes. Ask for a side house salad with oil and vinegar dressing instead.
What to order: the Murgh Malai Tikka without the rice, potatoes, or lentils on the side. Opt for a side house salad instead with oil and vinegar dressing.
Murgh Angaar
This dish contains boneless chicken thighs marinated in a blend of mint and cilantro spices and then roasted until golden brown.
It comes with a side of potatoes, rice, or lentils. Be sure to hold these and eat the chicken only. Or ask for a side house salad with oil and vinegar.
What to order: the Murgh Angaar with a side house salad and oil and vinegar instead of the rice, lentils, or potatoes that accompany the dish.
Seekh Kebab
Seekh Kebab features minced lamb mixed with garlic, onions, ginger and other spices cooked and served on a skewer over rice.
You can make this dish low-carb by eating the lamb skewers only. Instead of rice, ask for your skewers to be served over a bed of lettuce or steamed low-carb vegetables, such as broccoli.
What to order: the Seekh Kebab without the rice. Request to have your skewers served over lettuce instead.
Kali Mirch Shrimp
This dish features jumbo shrimp (you can also get fish) marinated in cream cheese, yogurt, herbs, and spices served over rice.
You’ll want to hold the rice, potatoes, or lentils and make sure the shrimp is not breaded. Ask for a side house salad made with oil and vinegar dressing instead.
What to order: the Kali Mirch Shrimp without the starchy side, such as potatoes, rice, or lentils. Have the shrimp served over a bed of lettuce instead.
Murgh Lababdar
This dish contains boneless chicken cooked with garlic, ginger, mint, fenugreek leaves, yogurt and tomato sauce or coconut milk. It’s usually served with rice.
You can make this dish low-carb by holding the rice. Ask for a side salad made with oil and vinegar dressing instead.
What to order: Murgh Lababdar without the rice. Ask for a side salad with oil and vinegar in place of the rice.
Murgh Punjabi Masala
This dish contains chicken cooked with onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, herbs and whole spices. It’s served with rice.
You’ll want to make sure that the meat is not breaded. Also, be sure to hold the rice and ask for a side salad instead.
What to order: Murgh Punjabi Masala without the rice. Ask for a side mixed green salad with oil and vinegar instead.
Murgh Korma
This dish contains boneless chicken made with cream, yogurt, almonds, cashews, garlic, ginger, herbs and spices. It’s served with rice.
Be sure the meat is not breaded and there is no flour in the sauce. Ask for a side house salad instead of rice.
What to order: Murgh Korma with a side house salad and oil and vinegar dressing instead of the rice.
Lamb Bhuna
This dish contains boneless lamb cooked with fenugreek leaves, onions, garlic, ginger, fresh tomatoes, and herbs and spices. It’s served with rice.
You can make this dish low-carb by asking for a side house salad made with oil and vinegar instead of rice.
What to order: Lamb Bhuna with a side house salad and oil and vinegar dressing instead of rice.
Lamb Chettinad
This dish features boneless lamb made with peppercorn, mustard, coconut, and tomato served over rice.
You can keep this dish low-carb by asking for it to be served over a bed of lettuce instead of rice.
What to order: Lamb Chettinad served over a bed of lettuce instead of rice.
Lamb Saag
This dish features boneless lamb cooked with fresh creamed spinach, herbs, and spices. It’s served over rice. You will find this dish at many an Indian restaurant.
You can make it low-carb by holding the rice.
What to order: Lamb Saag without the rice.
Saag Paneer
This dish contains cheese cubes and fresh spinach cooked together with cream, and fresh herbs and spices.
You can use it as a side dish to any of your meat-based dishes instead of rice, potatoes, or lentils.
What to order: ask for Saag Paneer in place of rice, potatoes, or lentils as your side dish to a meat-based entree.
Paneer Tikka Masala
This dish contains marinated pieces of cheese cooked in a creamy tomato sauce.
It would make a good side dish to your meat-based dishes. Be sure there is no flour in the sauce.
What to order: the Paneer Tikka Masala as long as there is no flour in the sauce. Enjoy as is or with a meat-based dish.
Matar Paneer
Matar Paneer is a good low-carb dish if you’re also a vegetarian.
It features cheese cubes and green peas cooked with onions, tomatoes, and cream.
What to order: the Mater Paneer in place of a meat-based dish if you’re low-carb and vegetarian.
Karahi Paneer
This dish contains cheese cubes tossed in a spicy tomato sauce with red and green peppers.
You can enjoy it as-is or in addition to your meat-based dish. You may want to be sure there is no flour in the sauce.
What to order: the Karahi Paneer either as-is or in addition to your meat-based dish.
Baigan Bhartha
This is another excellent low-carb dish for vegetarians.
It features roasted eggplant puree cooked with onions, tomatoes, herbs and spices.
Be sure to hold any rice that accompanies the dish and ask for a side house salad instead.
What to order: the Baigan Bhartha without any rice. Opt for a side house salad instead.
Conclusion
Many Indian restaurants serve dishes that contain low-carb ingredients, such as meat, fish or cheese marinated with herbs and spices in a cream-based sauce. Another great keto-feature is the amount of coconut milk in most dishes.
Enjoy one of these with a side house salad made with oil and vinegar dressing instead of rice, potatoes, or lentils.
You will want to make sure your meat is not breaded and there is no flour in your sauce. Enjoy water or unsweetened tea as your beverage.
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*Featured Photo by asinskki/depositphotos
