Let’s go out for…Indian: what to eat

Appetizers

Potato samosas

Like most Indian apps, this potato-filled fritter, a common street food and home snack in India, is a fried treat to be portioned. A typical order includes two samosas, but many Indian meals are presented family-style, so you might encounter a tempting platterful. At a SmartPoints value of 4 for each medium-size piece (about 1 oz.), watch your intake. 

Lighten it up: Potato or meat is the most common filling, but you can opt for vegetable versions to pick up some filling fiber like peas.

Vegetable bhajias

Onions are seasoned with spices and peppers, then battered and deep-fried into fritters in this popular street food. One serving (a cup) of these fritters clocks in at 13 SmartPoints value, so we suggest sharing with the table. 

Bhel puri
This cereal-like salad is crunchy and light as air thanks to a foundation of puffed rice, resulting in a SmartPoints value of 6 for a typical 1-cup restaurant serving. Just be aware of the puri and papdi, fried breads often served with Bhel puri. Add 1 SmartPoints value for each one.

Masala dosa
A crepe filled with potato and chutney and dunked in dipping sauce, masala dosa is the workingman’s breakfast burrito in India. A restaurant-size serving of just one 8-oz. serving of rolled masala dosa can deliver a SmartPoints value of 16.

Lighten it up: Look for a “spring dosa,” filled with raw and steamed vegetables and skip the sauce to save the SmartPoints. 

Mains

Tandoori chicken
All tandoori dishes — especially this moist and flavorful chicken — are top picks. This chicken is marinated in yogurt and spices, most notably paprika (which lends the distinctive color), and then cooked in the Indian tandoor (the equivalent of the Italian brick oven) sealing in juices without the need for oil. A skinless tandoori chicken breast has a SmartPoints value of 4, while the thigh and drumstick will have about 6 SmartPoints value combined.

Chana masala
“Masala” indicates any dish with a blend of spices. In the case of this vegetarian dish, those exotic flavors contribute to a simmering sauce of onion, tomatoes and ginger over whole chickpeas. Lightly sauced, with just a bit of oil, this is a protein-packed main course (and a hearty one), and a 1/2-cup restaurant serving has a SmartPoints value of 5. Dal is a similar choice, made with yellow lentils.

Shrimp coconut curry
With its lemongrass flavors, coconut, and intoxicating aromas of Kaffir lime, this is a tasty but indulgent choice. Oil and coconut milk, combined with a big side of rice, mean the SmartPoints can really add up if you're not careful. Keep it to a 3/4 cup serving of rice and about five shrimp with a spoonful of curry drizzled on top for a SmartPoints value of 8.

Lighten it up: Pass on the plain white rice in favor of some steamed vegetables, and you can trim about 5 SmartPoints value.

Lamb biryani
Biryani dishes are slow-cooked meals of meat and basmati rice, featuring flavors of nutmeg, cinnamon, mint, saffron, pepper, and other spices. 1 cup of lamb biryani is protein-packed but delivers a SmartPoints value of 19, due partly to lots of ghee (clarified butter) and rice.

Lighten it up: While lamb is a tasty and traditional choice, it's loaded with saturated fat. Instead, opt for a vegetarian biryani made from chickpeas and vegetables. A 1.5 cup serving plus a dollop of yogurt on top will total about 5 SmartPoint value.

Kerala pan-fried spicy fish
With a minimalist presentation devoid of sauce, this heavily seasoned fish is more flavorful and less fatty than your typical restaurant breaded fish fillet. Similar to blackened fish, with added fat, this dish can add up to 14 SmartPoints value for 6 oz. 

Lighten it up: This fish is often dressed with coconut oil. Ask your server to forego the oil and you’ll shave at least 2 SmartPoints value. You can also skip the sauce served with the fish and ask for a lime or lemon wedge to squeeze on top.

Saag paneer
Found on every Indian restaurant menu, this vegetarian dish includes a Popeye-size portion of wilted spinach and small cubes of paneer (Indian farmer’s cheese), making it a fairly good choice. The whole-milk cheese is usually pan-fried, but the spinach (which is rich in nutrients and fiber) is worth the trade-off. A 1-cup portion has a SmartPoints value of 8, and you’re likely to get between 1 and 2 cups.

Lighten it up: You can request to have your paneer steamed rather than pan-fried. If that change saves you just 1 tsp of oil/ghee, you'll shave 2 SmartPoints value.

Desserts

Mango lassi
This Indian smoothie is made with milk and yogurt (often lowfat) and usually flavored with sweetened fruit. As far as desserts go, you could do worse: A refreshingly cool 5-oz. serving has a SmartPoints value of just 4. However, you can also do better: choosing fresh mango can be a treat in itself. And that enjoyment comes with 0 SmartPoints value. 

Kulfi
Even at around 7 SmartPoints value for a small scoop (half a cup), this sweet Indian ice cream, made with both whole and sweetened condensed milk, deserves your consideration for unusual flavors you won’t find at your local Baskin-Robbins. Often described as cooling or smoky, aromatic cardamom pods — a spice second in price only to saffron and vanilla — traditionally lend their flavor to kulfi. When it comes to kulfi or other Indian ice creams, refer to regular ice cream on your Tracker.

Cardamom rice pudding
Many cultures have their own version of rice pudding, but India is one of the most inventive, making this a treat worth tasting. Short-grain rice is simmered in milk, flavored with cardamom and rosewater, with pistachios often added for texture. If you managed to resist the rice during dinner, this is a deserved treat when shared among the table — ideally a large table, since a half cup has a SmartPoints value of 9 to 13 (depending on if you add pistachios or not).