Great news for curry lovers – not only is your favourite curry absolutely delicious, it is also really good for you! At Britannia Spice, we recognise that herbs and spices are extremely good for your health. That’s why we use so many of them in our cooking.
Spices are obviously intrinsic to Indian cooking techniques and the chefs at Britannia Spice are skilled in using them to the greatest effect. But few people realise how low in calories they are, and just how actively beneficial they can be to your health.
Most spices are extremely low in calories, only adding around 7 calories per spice to the dish. This means that we can utilise spices as a great way of making tasty, but low calorie, dishes.
Spices are also great sources of the nutrients our bodies need. Using paprika in cooking is a great way to boost the essential vitamin A in your diet and cumin, which we use in many of the dishes at Britannia Spice, is a good source of iron.
Our award winning chef, Babu Lal Yadav, extols the virtues of some of the herbs and spices we use in our cooking:
Chilli
Chilli peppers are a great way to boost the metabolism, meaning that your body efficiently utilises the energy from the food you eat. This ensures that you are healthier and can also help you to lose weight! The active ingredient in chilli peppers – capsaicin – is believed to boast lots of medical benefits.
Chilli peppers are said to stop ulcers, alleviate pain, and also stop ulcers. Yet the power of the humble chilli pepper does not stop there. There is medical research that points to the capsaicin present can also help fight prostate cancer.
Turmeric
At our Indian restaurant, we use turmeric in many of our dishes – for its delicious flavour more than its health benefits. However, turmeric is well known to be a powerful natural antiseptic and can also aid in the relief of pain. This ensures that curry can be an excellent dish to eat if you are suffering from one of the many throat infections that fly around Scotland in the winter months!
Ginger
Ginger is a remarkable little root and we use it in quite a lot of our dishes. Ginger is an active ingredient that help you burn some of the fat that you eat, and it is also great for helping the digestive system. Ginger is said to lower cholesterol and its warming properties are excellent at keeping the flu at bay!
Garlic
At Britannia Spice, one of our most popular dishes is our North Indian Garlic Chicken. Full of flavour, it’s also great to know that it’s really good for you! Garlic has been used for centuries in Asian cooking and is well known to be a great way of fighting off a cold (and vampires!). What is less well recognised about garlic is that it has antibacterial, anti-fungal and antiviral effects. It is even thought that garlic can stop blood clots forming – making it an essential ingredient for anyone with weight or heart issues.
Cinnamon
Many of the dishes served at Britannia Spice contain cinnamon. Traditionally used in British cuisine around Christmas time, the spice is warming and gives a fragrance to our dishes all year round. With research showing that cinnamon controls blood sugar levels, it’s a great way of keeping your sweet tooth at bay and ensuring you feel fuller for longer. And the fact that it’s proven to lower cholesterol is just another health benefit from this tasty little spice.
These and many more spices ensure that the food served at Britannia Spice is good for you. We hope you visit Britannia Spice this winter to enjoy a delicious curry that can actually benefit your health. After all, who ever thought healthy eating could be so much fun?
