Hey Neela.
Welcome to the thread! I'm so glad new lo-carbers are joining in.This thread is kinda slow, but very motivating.
It's nice to know you've taken to Indian food now.I can totally understand your situation when as a kid you hated it,well, so do my kids.They want to carry "junk" in their brown bags to school.I feel as you grows older you tend to get back to your roots and the basics.Now i eat every single food that i once hated as a kid , be it ginger, garlic, or green veggies.
Saag or palak paneer is very easy to cook. Just blanch spinach in boiling water so that it 's soft and tender. Do not throw away the water.Blend with some green chillies till it becomes a paste( depends on how smooth or coarse you want it). In a pan or wok drizzle some oil/ ghee (i use olive oil).put in a spoonful cumin - let it be golden brown , add crushed or chopped ginger, garlic- abt 1 tsp,add some dried red chilli peppers(optional), red chilli powder, paneer cubes and saute' for a few minutes.You can also add 1tbsp onions and tomatoes if you like (i don't since onions are high on carbs)Mix the spinach puree and let it cook for 5-10 mins to get the right flavor and consistency.You can add the water you saved from blanching if the spinach gets to thick in consistency.Add some salt towards the end and your dish is ready. You can garnish with a dash of butter/ ghee/ heavy cream.
You can try cooking tandoori veggies, chicken too. Just mariate all veggies or chicken in some olive oil, Tandoori masala, ginger garlic paste, some salt, roasted cumin powder, orange-red (tandoori color) and carom seeds(1/2 tsp).Omit yogurt to keep it lo-carb
Remember to cut the veggie, chicken pcs slightly thick.Keep aside for a cpl of hours.Let it cook in preheated oven or on outdoor grill (yummy
) drizzle some oil in between to keep the pcs tender.cook for abt 10-12 mins till the pcs are tender inside and crispy/smoke/ charred on the outside.Sqeeze some lemon juice on top or sprinkle chaat masala and serve.
Hope this helps.
Gotta go feed the roaring monster in my tummy now!
B'bye and keep lo-carbing!