7 Desi Recipes to Try for Weight Loss

Losing weight doesn’t have to be tricky, challenging, or all about eating diet food. It should be about eating healthy food that keeps you full, doesn’t starve you, and provides your body with tons of nutrients.

When you eat the right and healthy food, along with exercising, losing weight becomes easier. Also, adapting to a lifestyle of eating healthy and delicious food without starving yourself is the key to losing and keeping the weight off permanently.

For instance, quinoa is a healthy grain for losing weight. Switching to quinoa recipes for weight loss provides you nutrients and keeps you full, helping you lose weight effectively. It is a perfect replacement for rice or even your chapati (quinoa flour roti is a thing!)

Similarly, swapping processed food with homemade meals can make a ton of difference to your weight loss journey. Also, what you drink matters too! Sugary drinks like juices or diet soda don’t do any good. Instead, switch to green coffee or tea, or coconut water to help enhance metabolism while losing weight.

After reading this, you must be wondering what weight loss recipes you can make at home? Well, don’t look any further, as we are listing some of the best desi (Indian) recipes below.

Pre-workout ritual 

Green coffee with soaked nuts 

The first thing to have in the morning is green coffee before your workout. It will help boost your metabolism. Use instant green coffee or fresh green coffee beans to make your green coffee. Along with this, eat some soaked almonds, walnuts, raisins, and any other nuts you love. It will give you enough energy to have a great workout.

Top 7 Desi Recipes to Try for Weight Loss 

Breakfast

1. Quinoa Upma

Quinoa recipes for weight loss can be desi with ease. Upma is a staple Indian breakfast and many people have it religiously in their breakfast. While semolina isn’t bad, it has a high GI index, and replacing it with quinoa can make your breakfast healthier. 

Ingredients-

• Cut any vegetables like onion, capsicum, carrot, potato, and more into small pieces.
• Get 1 cup of quinoa and clean it properly
• Oil- 1 tbsp
• Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
• Curry leaves- 4-5
• Peanuts- ¼ cup
• Boiled water- 1 ½ cup
• Spices (salt, pepper, turmeric)
• Lemon juice- 1 tbsp

Recipe

• In a pan, add oil and let it heat. After that, add mustard seeds, peanuts, and curry leaves to the oil. Let it crackle. 
• Now, add all the vegetables and sauté them with some salt. Add the rest of the spices.
• Next, add the clean quinoa and boiled water. Mix it well and cover it.
• Keep stirring in between.
• When you see the quinoa cooked and fluffy, turn off the flame. Mix it once more and add lime juice above for a taste. Also, use coriander leaves to garnish the dish.

2. Lentils and spinach pancake (moong dal palak cheela)

Moong lentils (the yellow or green ones) are high in protein and also lightweight. Adding spinach to it makes it even healthier as green vegetables are high in many nutrients.

Ingredients-

• One cup-soaked moong dal (overnight); grind it next morning
• Spinach (chopped into small pieces)- 1 cup
• Salt
• Pepper
• Cut and sliced green chili- 2
• Olive oil or ghee

Recipe

• In the ground lentil, add spices, chilly, and chopped spinach. You can also add other vegetables you like.
• In a pan, spread some oil or ghee. Then pour the batter and spread it evenly. Once you start seeing bubbles, turn it over. Once it becomes crispy, plate it up and enjoy with green coriander chutney. 

3. Oats Idli 

An extremely delicious way to start your day can be this amazing breakfast. Oats Idli is low in carbs and high in protein, it is an ideal addition to your weight loss program and can help you achieve that desired weight you promised yourself. It is a highly nutritious Idli compared to the one made with rice batter. 

Ingredients- 

• 2 Cups neuherbs oats
• 1/2 litre curd (slightly sour)
• 1/2 tbsp channa dal
• 1 tbsp mustard seeds
• 1 tbsp urad dal
• 1/2 tbsp oil 
• 1 cup carrots, grated
• 2 tbsp coriander, finely chopped
• 2 tsp green chillies, finely chopped
• 1/2 tbsp turmeric powder
• 2 tbsp salt
• A pinch of fruit salt

How to make Oats Idli- 

• Take a Tawa and dry roast the oats until it turns slightly brown and then take a mixer and powder the oats.
• Now add some oil to a Pan along with mustard seeds, urad dal, channa dal and allow the mustard to sputter and the dals to turn golden in color.
• It’s time to add some chopped chilies, coriander, and grated carrots.
• Now add a pinch of turmeric powder and fry for a minute.
• This seasoning will be added to the powdered oats mixture along with curd to make a batter like that of Idli. 
• Now add more curd to the mixture to achieve consistency, and say “no” to Water. 
• Grease the Idli steamer plates with oil and pour the batter into it. 
• The ideal time to steam the Idli is minutes.
• Poke an idli with a knife and check if the batter does not stick to the knife.
• Now it’s time to enjoy the nutritious Idli along with Coconut chutney or the ketchup of your choice.

Lunch

4. Methi ajwain parantha

Methi (fenugreek) is another rich green vegetable that you should eat regularly. A simple recipe that can keep your weight in check is methi ajwain parantha. Don’t worry! You only need a little bit of ghee to make this, so it doesn’t have a lot of fat. 

Ingredients-

•  Methi- 2 cup
• Whole wheat flour or barley flour- 2 cups
• Water
• Ghee
• Ajwain (carom seeds)- 1 tsp
• Salt
• Green chilies- 2

How to make Methi ajwain parantha 

• Cut methi into small pieces after washing it properly. 
•  In a big bowl, take flour of your choice, at least two cups. Now, add salt, chilies, ajwain, and other spices if you like. Add methi and use water to knead the dough.
• Now, take the small dough, make a ball, and flatten it using a rolling pin.
• On a pan, spread some ghee, put the parantha, and
• Enjoy it with yogurt (a good probiotic source) or some pickle.

5. Quinoa with rajma (kidney beans)

Another quinoa recipe for weight loss. In this recipe, we are swapping rice with quinoa for more protein, fiber, and nutrients. And rajma (kidney beans) is a favorite and staple Indian dish.

Ingredients-

• Quinoa- 1 cup
• Water- 2 cups
• Salt

How to make Quinoa with rajma-

• Put Water into a bowl and let it boil,
• After some time, add quinoa and salt to it.
• Cover and cook till they are soft and fluffy.
• Make rajma gravy as you desire and enjoy it with quinoa.

Dinner

6. Quinoa and feta salad

Want to have light dinners which are tasty too? Try this quinoa recipe for weight loss in a salad form. It is a cooked salad, so everyone can enjoy this.

Ingredients-

• Quinoa- 1 cup
• Mix capsicum- ½ cup
• Onion-1
• Broccoli- 1
• Lime juice- 1 tsp
• Apple cider vinegar- 1 tsp
• Feta cheese- 200 gram
• Garlic- 2 cloves

How to make Quinoa and feta salad-

• First cook your quinoa. In a pan, sauté vegetables, onion, and garlic (or oven roast them separately)
• In a bowl, add vegetables, onion, and garlic with some spices like salt, pepper, and chilly.
• Add quinoa to the mix and add lime juice and natural apple cider vinegar.
• Crumble the feta and spread over the salad, and enjoy. 

7. Oats and Matar Cheela

This desi dish is an excellent option to add to your daily diet for supporting your weight loss program. Oats and Matar Cheela are thick, loaded with nutrients and come along with the superb richness of peas. It consists of protein with low fat and helps you feel loaded for longer. 

Ingredients-

• 1/2 Cup rolled oats
• 2-3 Garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup peas
• 1/2 inch Ginger
• A pinch of hing
• 1-2 Green chillies
• 1/2 tsp ajwain
• Salt/rock salt (as per taste)
• Desi ghee (as per need)

How to Make Oats Matar Cheela-

• Soak the rolled oats overnight. 
• Boil the peas for one or two min. 
• In a grinder, add boiled peas, garlic, green chilli, ginger, ajwain, hing and salt. Grind everything into a chutney (paste).
• It’s time to drain the water and clean the oats well.
• Mash the oats and add the paste. Mix everything together.
• Now, heat a Tawa and grease with some desi ghee on it.
• Add a spoon of mixture you made to the Tawa and spread it evenly.
• Cook it on medium to low flame from both sides till it turns golden brown in colour. Add some ghee on the edges if required. 
• You are all set to enjoy the delicious cheela with some ketchup by the side.

With these recipes, you will have meals with proper nutrients. Green coffee, apple cider vinegar, and lemon water are perfect to detox in the morning while enhancing metabolism. Oats and quinoa recipes for weight loss are impeccable for any meal, so do try it. Lastly, remember, don’t starve yourself. Just eat nutrient-rich food in moderation, and you will lose weight quickly.