Number of Calories in Indian Food

Full of vegetables and aromatic spices, Indian food can make a lean and nutritious meal -- provided you choose the right dishes. If you're watching your weight, steer clear of dishes made with cream. These tend to be far heavier in calories than foods made with tomato sauces, or those baked in the tandoor oven and served dry.

Palak paneer and other Indian dishes with rice on a dinner plate. (Image: elifranssens/iStock/Getty Images)

Calorie Details

A serving of palak paneer, a spinach dish with cheese cubes, contains about 270 calories per 10-ounce serving, although the exact count will vary according to the recipe. Chicken tikka masala, which contains cream, may have more than 400 calories per serving. In contrast, plain tandoori chicken contains only about 230 calories per serving. An 8-ounce serving of yellow dahl, a lentil dish, may contain about 115 calories. Tack on about 80 calories per one-fourth of a naan flatbread, and about 100 calories per half-cup of boiled basmati rice.