We Indians love our dal and we love our chawal – and for us, dal-chawal is an emotion! Dal-chawal is a staple food in Indian households – it’s a simple, wholesome, and affordable meal that is easy to prepare, requires minimal ingredients, and ranks high on taste factor as well. For people living far away from home, it evokes nostalgia since it’s typical “ghar ka khana.” Talking about nutrients, you get carbs from chawal and dal is a good source of protein for vegetarians. Dal, which is made of lentils, contains fiber, vitamins, as well as minerals. Since dal-chawal is an integral part of our daily meals, would you be willing to forgo this nutritious food in order to lose weight? We ask this because carbs are the new “fat” in new fad diets and such diet programs vilify carbs without bothering to educate people about the difference between refined carbs and complex carbs. High carbohydrate rice is especially fattening. Rice, like all types, contains carbohydrates. However, white rice, which has had its outer layer (bran) removed, is stripped of nutrients. This results in a rice with a high glycemicindex and gets quickly digested.
