Are you bored of continental cuisines and desire to taste the familiar Indian recipes? Is it cholesterol and such things that keep you away from Indian food and spices? Well, you don’t need to give up ghee for olive oil anymore. Indian food is healthy as well as tasty. Try including the following ingredients in your regular diet and maintain good health and taste your favourite Indian dish.

Cardamom: It helps in digestive process and boosts your metabolism by burning extra body fat resulting in weight loss. Try including few cardamom pieces into the cup of your evening tea for good health.

Garlic: It is used as a major ingredient in cooking for health reasons. Strong bacterial effects, reduction in cholesterol and fat in body are reasons why ginger-garlic paste is found in almost all the Indian dishes.

Buttermilk: It is a low fat refreshing and healthy drink. It can be prepared at home.

Cabbage: It eventually slows down conversion of sugar and carbs to fat and so it helps you in weight loss. It also works as an antioxidant. You can either cook it or eat raw.

Chillies: Chillies increases your metabolism and thus helps in burning excess fat.

Cinnamon & Cloves: These spices helps in maintaining blood sugar level in your body and produce insulin. Sprinkle cinnamon powder in your tea and cloves can be added in rice or dale.

Curry Leaves: Curry leaves helps to reduce the fat in the body. Lowers the cholesterol levels and works as a detox. Include curry leaves in your curry or dal to get good taste and healthy body.

Honey: A perfect morning begins with warm water and honey drink. It helps burn fat and will keep your body healthy.

Millet: Millet is a coarse grain, which has high fibre content. Fibre helps control cholesterol and burn fat. Use this in your meals and stay healthy.

Moong Dal / Mung Bean: Moong dal is one of the best foods to have on a daily basis. It is not just rich with Vitamin A, B, C and E, but also has calcium, iron, potassium and fibre contents in large quantity. Intake of this on a daily basis will help you control your cholesterol, blood sugar level and fat.

Mustard oil: Rich in antioxidant and some most essential vitamins Mustard oil is a healthy oil to be used for cooking. It will lower your cholesterol level and keep your heart healthy.

Turmeric: Turmeric is among those few edible products that contain curcumin. It protects heat by reducing the bad cholesterol level (LDL), decreases the chance of clotting, and prevents high blood pressure attacks. Use of half a teaspoon of turmeric in your daily meals will keep you healthy and fit.