Low carb Indian Food.

simply_h

Well-Known Member
Messages
200
Hello All,

Need some help for someone else.

My friend is 65 year old male, who has type 2 but is using insulin; he also has cholesterol and has rheumatoid arthritis. He has also had a heart by-pass around 16 years ago.

Now I have been chatting to him about low carb, but as he is of Indian origin and is vegetarian.

His last HbA1c was 72, which is not good.

So I need your help for meals and snacks that are Indian, which he wife can make him.

As then I can put these new meals to them both and show them that Indian food can be low carb too.

Any ideas?

Simply.
 

WhitbyJet

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,597
I have a few, but here are some to get started, I dont know where they originated from, I hope not from a copyrighted cookery book, but these have been tried and tested by myself and family and are delicious.


Paneer Methi Palak
Per Serving:

Calories 88g
Protein 9g
Carbohydrates 6.5g
Fat 3.6g

Ingredients:
1 teacups chopped spinach
1 teacup fresh fenugreek (methi) leaves a pinch soda bi-carb
25 mm. piece of ginger
1 chopped onion
3 chopped green chilies
100 grams sliced paneer
3 teaspoons oil
Salt to taste
Method :
Chop the spinach and fenugreek leaves finely.
Add 2 teaspoons of water and the soda bi-carb and cook on a slow flame until soft.
When cooked, drain out the water and blend the leaves in a liquidizer.
Chop the ginger finely.
Heat the oil and fry the onion for 1 minute.
Add the green chilies and ginger and fry again for a few seconds.
Add the blended leaves, paneer and salt.
-----------------------------------------------------
Spinach and Vegetable Delight
Ingredients:
4 teacups chopped spinach
1 tablespoons gram (chana) dal 100 grams chopped mixed boiled vegetables (french beans, carrots, cauliflower, green peas)
1 chopped tomato
1 chopped onion
25 mm. Piece ginger, minced
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon chilli powder
2 teaspoon oil
Salt to taste
Method :
Soak the dal in water for 3 hours, Drain.
Heat the oil and fry the onion for 3 minutes.
Add the vegetables and tomato and fry again for 3 minutes.
Add the ginger, turmeric, coriander and chili powders and salt and mix well.
Add the soaked dal and cook for 2 minutes
Add the spinach and cook for 2 minutes while stirring continually.
Cook the mixture in a pressure cooker until 2 whistles.
Beat the mixture with an egg-beater.
----------------------------------------------------

Tomato and Cauliflower Curry
Per Serving:

Calories 67
Protein 3g
Carbohydrates 10g
Fat 2.4g
Ingredients:
1/4 kg. Tomatoes
1/4 kg. Cauliflower
4 teaspoons gram flour (besan)
10 guar or clustered beans, cut into pieces
10 okra (ladies’ fingers), cut into big pieces
2 tablespoons sliced white pumpkin (lauki)
2 slit green chilies
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds a pinch asafetida
2 teaspoons oil
Salt to taste
Method :
Cook the tomatoes and cauliflower in 6 teacups of water until soft. Blend in a mixer.
Mix the gram flour with ¼ teacup of water and add to the mixture.
Add the remaining vegetables, green chilies, chili powder and salt and boil for 15 minutes.
Heat the oil and fry the mustard seeds and cumin seeds until they crackle. Add the asafetida.
Add to the mixture and boil again for 5 minutes.
----------------------------------------------------

Flatbread >>> http://nzlowcarber.weebly.com/almond-flat-bread.html - use Indian spices for this

Cauliflower Pilau Rice(now this is a hit even with cauli haters)
Grate cauliflower (easiest in a food processor) to resemble grains of rice, melt ghee, fry a finely chopped onion, 3 cardamom pods, 3 cloves, 1 piece of cinnamon or cassia bark, one bay leaf, fry until the onion becomes pale golden, then set aside. Place grated cauliflower into microwavable dish, cook on high for 5 - 6 minutes, stir into the ghee mixture.
 

WhitbyJet

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,597
I have just spoken to my lovely Indian friend Rema, she suggested that your friends probably eat too much rice, potato/potato flour, chickpeas, lentils and breads.
Are they testing their bg levels?? Is it possible for them to reduce the higher carb ingredients and make more use of paneer, eggs and lower carb vegetables, eg mushrooms, aubergines, peppers, spinach instead? I mean it all depends on how low carb they want/need to go.

Thicken curries with guar gum, that works pretty well.

Rema is making lower carb flat bread using the oatbran bread recipe (in the recipe section here), she adds nigella seed, coriander, garlic or onion flakes to the dough mix, then instead of baking a loaf, she spreads the mix onto a well greased baking tray to give her a flat bread. You can add chopped fresh coriander leaves before baking or brush the baked bread with a little ghee and sprinkle fresh coriander leaves on top.

Aubergine curry:
1 large aubergine
2 tablespoons ghee
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 onion, cut into chunks
1 green or yellow pepper, cut into chunks
1/2 tablespoon minced ginger root
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tomato, diced
110g (4 oz) plain yoghurt, Greek yoghurt is good
1 fresh green chilli, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
half bunch fresh coriander, finely chopped
Preheat oven to 230 C / Gas mark 8.

Cut aubergine into chunks, place aubergine on a medium baking tray. Bake 20 to 30 minutes until tender. Remove from heat and set aisde..
Heat ghee in a saucepan over medium heat. Mix in cumin seeds and onion, sautee for a couple of minutes, add the pepper, sautee until vegetables are tender.
Stir in ginger, garlic, curry powder and tomato, and cook for 1 minute. Stir in yoghurt. Mix in aubergine and chilli, and season with salt. Cover, and cook 10 minutes over high heat.
Remove cover, reduce heat to low, and continue cooking about 5 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves to serve.
 

sandra1960

Member
Messages
18
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Other
Dislikes
Ignorant people,
Hi WhitbyJet

I have copied and pasted the Aubergine curry it sounds delicious, i will get hubby to make it 1 night in the week and let you know how it went..

Sandra
 

Sid Bonkers

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,976
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Customer helplines that use recorded menus that promise to put me through to the right person but never do - and being ill. Oh, and did I mention customer helplines :)
I would just say that the same advice that that is given here is right for every culture Simply, perhaps copy Daisy's advice to newly diagnosed and give it to your friend so they can adjust they diets accordingly, and test, test, test. :)


WhitbyJet said:
I have just spoken to my lovely Indian friend Rema, she suggested that your friends probably eat too much rice, potato/potato flour, chickpeas, lentils and breads.
Are they testing their bg levels??

Your friend is about right I think WJ :thumbup:
 

daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
Hi Simply :)

For ease of reference, here is the information that Sid mentioned that I give to new members. I hope it will be useful for your friend. I am giving you the link which you need to give to your friend as the links in here won't work if you just copy the information.

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=17088
 

WhitbyJet

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,597
More from Rema, prepare desserts ahead, they can e eaten as snacks in between, eg yoghurt and berries, add spices, chopped nuts as desired.
Or any of these:

COCONUT CUSTARD
2 3/4 cup coconut milk
6 eggs
Artificial sweetener to = 1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
Nutmeg, cinnamon, cardomom, orange/rosewater, anana flavouring, as desired

Combine eggs, sweetener, salt, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and blend well. Slowly add the coconut milk and beat slightly. Pour into a lightly buttered 8-inch baking dish and sprinkle top with nutmeg. Bake 5 minutes at 230C and reduce heat to 180C for an additional 15 minutes.


COCONUT PINEAPPLE PUDDING
1 Can of Coconut Cream
1 pkt of low cal Pineapple Jelly

1 CAN OF COCONUT CREAM (read laels to pick the one with lowest carb content) heat in a microwave dish till hot enough to melt the packet of low cal Pineapple Jelly.
Mix well, add 100 ml of extra fluid i.e. cream , cream cheese etc if desired to make up to 500ml.(or leave plain for a firmer set) Leave in the Fridge to set.

KULFI
1 1/2 litre single cream
sweetener equivalent to 1/2 kg sugar
1/4 pint of double cream, malai (optional)
1 tbsp. corn flour or arrowroot flour
1 tbsp. semolina (sooji)
3-4 tbsp. cold milk or water
A few strands of saffron (optional)
50 gm. almonds, blanched and chopped
1/2 cup green pistachios, blanched and chopped
1 tsp. green cardamom powder (ground illaichi)
A little rose water or Kewda water

1. Soak pistachio and almonds in hot water, leave for 1/2-1 hour. Hot water loosens the skin. Peel the skins off. Slice thinly or chop in a nut chopper. Do not put in food processor, it will make them too fine & paste like.
2. Boil the cream in a wok/karahi/kadahi, until it is reduced to half. You must keep stirring it regularly. If it catches or burns, you have to throw away the whole amount because the taste of burnt cream is rather unpleasant. A heavy bottomed pan or wok works better, as the cream is less likely to catch.
3. Keep scraping off the cream-skin from the sides and bottom of the pan every few minutes and putting it back in the simmering cream. It is this skin that gives the kulfi it's distinctive, rough texture.
4. Dissolve corn flour and semolina in 3-4 tbsp. of cold cream or water.
5. Add this, saffron and cardamom powder to the milk. Stir continuously and boil for a further 5-10 minutes, until the mix thickens like custard. If it is too thin, add a little more corn flour dissolved in cold milk and cook for a further 5 minutes.
6. Cool.
7. Add chopped almond powder and pistachio.
8. Whisk double cream until thick and fluffy, add cream and sweetener to the cooled condensed cream, and fold in gently.

Variations
Chocolate flavoured Kulfi; add 3 tsp. cocoa powder dissolved in 2 tbsp. of cold milk, along with cream.
Strawberry kulfi; add 200 ml. of strawberry pulp, along with the cream.

And dont forget IanD's almond porridge, add spices or flavourings, we have a jar of it ready to use, just add milk or cream, makes a wonderful quick snack.

I dont know all that much about insulin, but your friend will need to reduce insulin if he is eating lower carb, thats where frequent testing comes in.
I hope some of my suggestions are helpful and that your friend - and everyone else reading this - can be healthy.
 

Cobra3164

Well-Known Member
Messages
123
Dislikes
Diabetes
Thanx for recipe. To be honest I didnt think there were any indian food recipies I could eat, mind you that doesnt stop me having a meat vindaloo yum.

Yours mouth watering

Simon aka Cobra3164 :mrgreen:
 

vibez_well

Member
Messages
9
Type of diabetes
Type 2
oh wow. i was desperately searching for some indian recipes.
this is great ! i'm going to give these a try and then ofcourse test myself to confirm its working for me.

thanks :thumbup: