Indian Food

Indian food works very well for a diet.  Indian food, particularly south Indian food, is mostly vegetarian, so it is low in calories and fat and high in fiber and protein.  In practice, most Indian restaurants serve reasonable portions of food unlike many Mexican or Chinese restaurants.  This is especially important to those of us who have an ingrained need to clear our plates.

Most Indian dishes are flavorful.  Some are spicy hot but usually can be ordered with less heat if that is your preference.

The best Indian foods for the diet are those that have lentils known as dal in Hindi.  Besides being nutritious, foods with dal are filling.  (Tip: drink a glass of water before, during and after a meal with dal to really fill up.)

As with any other types of food, avoid dishes with fried foods and cream sauces.  Most Indian restaurants are fairly good at labeling their dishes especially those that contain meat.  However, they are not very good at identifying which ones contain paneer (cheese), butter, or cream, so vegans be aware.  You can ask your waiter or counter person about what their dishes contain.  Most servers are helpful but language and thick accents can be a problem, so it is best to do some research in advance.

See the Wikipedia article about Indian Food for more detail.