Spices are at the heart of Indian food, and can eliminate the need for other -- more fatty - ingredients.
Indian cuisine is renowned the world over for its flavor and heartiness. One downside of this is that some of that flavor and substance comes from ingredients that are not healthful. Substances such as yogurt, too much red meat or oil can create a cuisine that is simply too high in cholesterol -- and a high cholesterol level can lead to serious heart problems. With this in mind it is invaluable to be able to make delicious Indian food, but without the high cholesterol content. Add this to my Recipe Box.
Instructions
1. Cook using little or no meat. One major benefit of Indian cooking is that the flavor from the spices can negate the need for meat to provide the taste focal point of the dish. Use spices such as turmeric, red chili powder, coriander powder, cumin seed, mustard seed, ginger and make the dish with vegetables instead of meat.
2. Use low-fat yogurt in your Indian cooking. Most of the sauces and curries in Indian cuisine use yogurt as a thickener, so simply replacing this potentially fatty key ingredient with a low-fat option is a great way to reduce the cholesterol content.
3. Do not use too much oil in your cooking. Indian dishes are often packed with oil (sometimes called "ghee" in Indian restaurants,) thus full of cholesterol. Cutting down on the oil content will reduce fat and can cut down on the cholesterol content.
4. Use foods that help lower cholesterol in your recipes. Foods that fit this description (and suit Indian cooking) include almonds and walnuts, fish (but not fried), green vegetables and fruits, and onion juice.
Tags: cholesterol content, high cholesterol, Indian cooking, Indian cuisine, Indian food, that flavor