Consistently voted Britain’s best dish, we love a curry.
From korma to keema and balti to bhuna, we can’t get enough of that complex blend of spices. Whether you like yours mild, delicately infused with coconut or searingly hot, packed full of mouth watering chillies, pulling back the foil lid to reveal the rich colours and sensational smells before piling your plate high is a familiar weekend routine across the country.
Whilst a spicy curry can certainly come back to haunt you the next day, they can present more of a problem for those living with food intolerances. If you shy away from a tasty tandoori, because curries just ‘don’t agree with you’, it might be worth thinking about the individual ingredients. You may discover that one simple element is to blame. If you can identify your specific trigger, you can replace it and continue to enjoy a Friday night feast without the unwanted side effects.
Herbs and Spices
You can’t say curry without thinking of spice but is a particular one of them causing you trouble? Curries commonly make use of a range of flavourful spices to add depth to a dish. Everything from cinnamon to garlic and mustard to ginger are used to create our most loved meals.
Whilst a particularly spicy dish can make you feel a little delicate, if you find this occurs more often than not, it could be worth pinpointing the particular ingredient so you can remove and replace it.
Dairy
Creamy curries such as kormas and tikka masala are usually made using dairy to create a rich sauce. If cows’ milk is a problem for you, you can still enjoy the delicious flavours with a chicken tikka, minus the sauce.
If you’re making your own versions at home, try substituting dairy with coconut cream to recreate the a food intolerance friendly sauce.
Lentils
Lentils feature highly in Indian dishes, such as Daal and can present digestive issues for people who are sensitive to them. Happily, there are plenty of delicious veggie and bean alternatives to tuck into when choosing from the menu.
Chicken, beef and Lamb
Often we assume the dairy or gluten in a meal is responsible for symptoms such as bloating but, as we all experience unique and individual reactions to the foods we eat, meat can be as much of a trigger food as any other. With a rise in plant-based diets, there are more veggie and vegan options available than ever before. This is fantastic for who have an intolerance to certain types of meat. Asian menus typically boast a wide variety of meat free meals and most meat dishes can be subbed with tofu, seitan or ‘meaty’ veg such as mushrooms or aubergine.
If you’re feeling left out when it comes to takeaway treats, why not try some of these substitutes. If your trigger foods are still a mystery, take control of your diet today with a quick and accurate Smartblood home-to-lab test.