Tamarind chutney is the soul of Indian chaat. Two tablespoons: 42 calories. Sounds small until you realise that every plate of pani puri, bhel puri, chaat, and samosa is drowned in it. A typical chaat plate uses 4-6 tablespoons: 84-126 calories from the chutney alone. The sev is blamed. The chutney escapes notice. Tamarind Chutney … Read more
A bowl of clear tomato soup is 50 calories. Sweet corn soup: 100. Hot and sour: 80. Manchow soup: 120. Cream of mushroom: 180. Soup ranges from genuinely light to surprisingly heavy depending on the base. Clear broths are diet-friendly. Cream-based and Chinese-restaurant soups are calorie traps disguised as starters. Soup is genuinely one of … Read more
Sambhar is the unsung hero of Indian nutrition. At 90 calories per bowl with 5g protein and 3.5g fibre from toor dal and mixed vegetables, it is one of the most nutrient-dense accompaniments in any Indian cuisine. Lighter than dal (150 cal), lighter than rasam rice, and infinitely lighter than the gravies North Indians eat … Read more
A bowl of Indian kachumber salad (onion, cucumber, tomato, lemon) is 25-35 calories. It is the closest thing to a free food in Indian meals. For comparison: 1 papad is 50-90 cal. 1 tbsp pickle is 28 cal. A whole bowl of salad costs less than a single papad or a spoonful of pickle. Yet … Read more
One roasted papad is 50 calories. One fried papad: 90 calories. Most Indians eat 1-2 papads per meal without counting them. Two fried papads per meal, twice a day: 360 extra calories daily. That is 10,800 calories per month. 1.4 kg of potential fat. From papad. The side dish that nobody believes has calories. Papad … Read more
Green chutney is the lightest condiment in Indian cooking. Two tablespoons: 12-15 calories. Made from mint, coriander, green chilli, and lemon, it is essentially blended herbs with zero oil in the basic version. Compare that to 2 tbsp coconut chutney (35 cal) or pickle (28 cal). If you need flavour without calories, green chutney is … Read more
Two tablespoons of coconut chutney is 35 calories. Most South Indians eat 3-4 tablespoons with each dosa or idli, plus refills. A typical South Indian breakfast with unlimited chutney can include 60-100g of coconut chutney: 70-115 calories from the accompaniment alone. The idli is 40 calories. The chutney can cost more than the main dish. … Read more
Home raita with plain curd and cucumber: 60 calories per bowl. Restaurant raita with cream, boondi, and extra salt: 150 calories. Boondi raita: 120 calories because the fried boondi adds 40-60 calories of oil. The curd is light. What goes into it determines whether raita is a diet food or a calorie trap. Raita is … Read more
One tablespoon of Indian pickle is 25-30 calories. That sounds harmless. But most Indians eat 2-3 tablespoons per meal, twice a day. That is 100-180 invisible calories daily from pickle alone. 3,000-5,400 calories per month. Nearly half a kilogram of fat per month from something nobody counts. Pickle is the most overlooked calorie source in … Read more
A bowl of plain fruit salad is 80 calories. A bowl of fruit chaat with chaat masala and lemon: 85 calories. A bowl of fruit custard: 280 calories. A bowl of fruit cream: 350 calories. The same fruits go from 80 cal to 350 cal depending on what you drown them in. The fruit was … Read more