I know in Indian cooking we be adding lots of oil and butter, sometimes even frying em. Also is overcooking them till they’re soggy bad? I feel they taste better that way
Depends on what the alternative is. But in most cases If your choices are something like 1000 calories of veggies in a heavy sauce versus 1000 calories of lasagna then yes, it is “healthier” to still balance your macro’s and micro’s with veggies. Also to the followup question, it’s my understanding you lose some nutritional value the longer you cook veggies but the method used is most important.
There’s nothing wrong with frying them, but I wouldn’t do it everyday. Instead try steaming them, it will make them soft and delightful. For instance I steam broccoli and dip them in hummus.
Another option is to bake/broil them. You can take the raw veggies, mix in a bowl with a little bit of olive oil, salt, spices (I use garlic), and a little teriyaki sauce (or soy/Worcestershire). Once fully covered, place em on a cookie sheet and bake/broil them. You want them kind of crispy. Also delightful with hummus or as is.
But that’s the best part about indian food, oil and butter are adjustable as per person taste. I’m south indian (kerala) , so we don’t use butter or ghee in our food although we do use coconut shavings instead and it can be avoided if you don’t like it.
Most of our veggie dishes are mostly steamed under a lid than fried in oil . We use a tbsp or two of oil for mustard seeds/ garlic n ginger for a whole dish - that’s it, or idk if it was only my mom who cooked like that (she was a nurse, so she was very strict about cooking healthy)
Indian here. Indian cooking can be super low on oil and butter. Don’t make the restaurant type food and make some good home style food (Aloo gobi, mattar paneer, etc.). Any recipe where cream, butter, lots of oil or ghee are added is geared more towards “party” food and not daily home food.
There’s multiple ways of looking at this.
Most vegetables are more effective when paired with a fat, which cooking veggies tends to do. Too much fiber can cause bloating and digestive discomfort, even if it’s healthier, and cooking breaks down fiber.
However you also lose a lot of nutrients. Vitamin C for example can be reduced a lot in your food when cooked.
I take a little of column A, a little of column B approach.
Some raw veggies, some cooked veggies.
Frying food is typically not a good idea as an everyday staple. Even if you stay below the smoke point of the oil (temperature at which the oil starts to do bad chemical stuff), the calorie count of your food increases quite a lot, when compared to boiled or steamed equivalents. Some vitamins might also be sensitive to high temperature.
I’d say go online and search some really yummy salad recipes, and start to experiment with making raw veggie salads yummy! (don’t forget to “cheat” a little also, with bits of cheese, pomegranate seeds or raisins or fruits in the salads, hopefully making them even more yummy).
And of course you should still have your fav fried foods once in a while as well.
If you are in India and buy vegetables from a crowded market, it is actually better to overcook them so as to kill all the germs and parasites. Also, washing them thoroughly - even if it means losing a few vitamins - is a must.