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Indian food could be healthy if it follows the standard rules for good cooking and Asian ratios. Fresh, high quality meats and vegetables are key. The "Asian ratio" is much in the side dishes, little on the meat. The problem with most Indian restaurants in the U.S. is that they impose values of efficiency and the "American ratio" on to their preparation. Efficiency leads to fewer trips to the food store for fresh veggies and meat and to buffet--food prepared for the masses way before it is eaten and kept warm for way too long. The "American ratio" is the reverse of the "Asian ratio." The one thing the article forgets to mention is curries made from coconut milk are very fattening, more fattening than Haagen Dazs ice cream (which is the fattiest of the big brands).
Elan's tips for eating healthy and high quality Indian food: find a South Indian restaurant and order a vegetarian dish. There is some prejudice in that sentence that I should explain. A native of India once told me that the Northern Indians that come over from India are generally entrepreneurs and business-oriented. Southern Indians are usually professionals such as doctors and lawyers. This explains why you find a ratio of about 9:1 of Northern Indian to Southern Indian restaurants. The Northern Indians, partially because of higher competition and partially because of their economic values, generally pursue the "American ratio" for their American audience and the efficiency factor (buffet and cheaper meat). That is the perspective I hold in my head that leads me to Southern Indian restaurants. However, Northern Indian dishes are covered in coconut milk curries and we already know that makes them highly desirable and addictive, but you pay for it later (as with excessively sating any human desire).
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