How many calories are in your favourite Indian takeaway dishes – and the healthiest picks on the menu
THERE are few better feelings than when a delivery driver knocks on your door to hand over your Indian takeaway.
The smell of warm spices drifts through the house and your stomach rumbles at the thought of what's about to hit it.
Treating yourself like this is an important part of life - and every now and then, it won't do cause long-term damage to your health.
However, if you're ordering fast food regularly, it might be worth taking note of quite how many calories and how much fat you're consuming.
Registered dietitian and nutritionist Jo Travers said: "British Indian takeaway food can rank quite unhealthily compared to other fast food - but it really depends on what you order.
"If you get vegetables and dal along with your main dish, it can rate pretty highly.
"But if it's all poppadoms and naan and no plants, then it's pretty much on par with pizza and fish and chips."
Eating too many calories and too much fat can make you put on weight.
As most people know, being overweight or obese puts you at increased risk of heart disease and some cancers.
So just how many calories are in your favourite dishes and is it time to switch up your order?
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You might be relieved to hear that menus contain items varying from next to no calories all the way up to almost 1,000.
When it comes to fat, there is also huge variation between dishes - from 0g to 56g.
While the exact amount in each metal tray is a mystery, as takeaways often don't reveal the figures and these differ between venues, diet websites can give us a fair estimate.
The worst offender, according to UK-based food diary app Nutracheck, is butter chicken.
The deliciously silky curry, also called murgh makhani, usually contains yoghurt, butter, oil and heavy cream - all of which ramp up the fat levels.
On average, the takeout dish will contain about 896 calories and 56g of fat.
This is almost half the recommended daily calorie intake for women (2,000) - and that's before you add rice and sides.
It is only marginally higher than the equally-creamy chicken korma (865 calories and 54g) - also made with yoghurt, with the addition of nuts.
Third on the list of the worst offenders is the crowd favourite chicken tikka masala, with 768 calories and 48g of fat.
This is around the same calorie content of as a personal Meat Lovers pizza from Domino's (747).
High and low calorie options
HIGH CALORIE
- Main: butter chicken (896)
- Sides: pilau rice (514), saag paneer (366), peshwaari naan (592)
Total: 2,368
LOW CALORIE
- Main: pork vindaloo (448)
- Sides: saag aloo, (176), vegetable samosa (146), poppadom (35)
Total: 805
Middle rankers include prawn madras (541 and 39g), chicken jalfrezi (488 and 27g), and pork vindaloo (448 and 27g).
And way down the bottom, perhaps unsurprisingly, are dipping sauces like mango chutney (38 and 0g) and raita (14 and 0.6g).
When it comes to side dishes, you might want to steer clear of saag paneer - made of cubes of cheese, spinach and onion.
This contains 366 calories per small dish, and 30g of fat - almost the same as some of the curries.
Chapatis and naans can also be pretty high in both, especially the peshwaari variety (592 and 19g).
The healthier options
Thankfully, it is possible to eat relatively healthily while enjoying a British Indian takeaway.
The key is to look for tomato-based sauces over creamy ones, avoid deep-fried items, and most importantly, not scoff too much!
Jo, from the London Nutritionist, said: "The creamy sauces are the high-calorie ones - think korma, pasanda and so on - but the tomato ones are much lower.
"However, I would say the thing to watch out for is really the carbs that go along with it.
"If you're having rice and naan, those calories really clock up.
"I always recommend sticking to a fist-sized portion of carbs at a time.
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"Indian takeaway food has some fantastic vegetable and lentil options, but avoid large carb portions."
Calorie counting websites like Nutracheck, Nutritionix and MyFitnessPal can also help you make informed decisions.
The recommended daily calorie and fat intake
The key to a healthy diet is eating the right amount of calories for your body.
This will depend on several factors, including your size, age, gender and how active you are.
If you eat or drink more than your body needs, you will put on weight, and if you consume too little, you will lose it.
The recommended daily calorie intake for men in the UK is 2,500, while women should have around 2,000.
On average, men should have no more than 30g of saturated fat per day, but women should limit themselves to 20g.
Source: NHS
