What I'd Order at an Indian Restaurant to Lose Weight

The tandoor is your best friend at an Indian restaurant. High heat, big flavor, no cream.

John Schaefer, fat loss coach for 27 years · Updated October 2026

Type your goal weight and every order below shows how much of your calories and protein it covers. Same math I use with clients: goal weight x 12 for calories, goal weight x 0.7 for protein.

What do I order?

Tell me where you're eating and your goal weight. I'll tell you exactly what to get, with the calories and protein.

Want me to email you your numbers? Your calories, protein, carbs and fats for your goal weight, plus this page so you have it at the table.

Answers are estimates from published nutrition data, not medical advice.

What I order

Tandoori chicken

Lunch style

With kachumber salad and raita

500calories55gprotein

For a 150 lb goal: 28% of your calories and 52% of your protein for the day.

Chicken tikka masala with one naan

Carb meal

Your carb meal, naan or rice, not both

1,000calories50gprotein

For a 150 lb goal: 56% of your calories and 48% of your protein for the day.

Chicken tikka plus dal

Lunch style

How I order it, the calories and the protein are in the Eating Out Playbook, along with 60 other chains and 25 kinds of restaurants.

See the Playbook ($7) →

The move: Order tandoori or tikka for the table first, then one curry to share instead of one each.

Skip these

Butter chicken with rice1,100 cal
Garlic naan basket700 cal
Two samosas500 cal

Drinks: Kingfisher is about 150 calories. A mango lassi is closer to 300.

Estimates for a typical restaurant portion in the US. Treat them as a close guide.

How I fit any restaurant into the day

Protein firstEat the protein, then the vegetables and fats, then the carbs. You're satisfied before the bread matters.

One carb meal a dayBread, rice, pasta, potatoes, fries. Keep the big carb hit to one meal. On a night out, that's dinner.

Zoom out to the weekFat loss runs on your weekly average. One dinner out is easy to absorb when the rest of the week is steady.

The Eating Out Playbook

Every restaurant you go to, already figured out.

60 chains and 25 kinds of restaurants, including every indian spot. Search the place you're going, pick an order, and see how it fits your goal weight before you sit down. Works on your phone, $7 one time.

Get the Playbook Free: my numbers

Quick answers

What is the healthiest thing to order at an Indian Restaurant?

Tandoori chicken: With kachumber salad and raita. Around 500 calories and 55g of protein.

What should I skip at an Indian Restaurant when I'm losing weight?

Butter chicken with rice (1,100 calories), Garlic naan basket (700 calories), Two samosas (500 calories).

What about drinks?

Kingfisher is about 150 calories. A mango lassi is closer to 300.