Staying True to Your Paleo Diet

..WHILE ENJOYING SAN FRANCISCO’S INDIAN CUISINE

A casually dressed young man who clearly looked like he was fitness-motivated came up to me the other night after he had finished his meal and thanked me profusely. He said he was following a Paleo diet and was incredibly thankful to have found a restaurant he enjoyed while still sticking to his rigid diet plan that prohibits grains, legumes, dairy products, and refined sugar.

As a founder, when someone compliments our food as being “healthy” or working well with their specific diet, I feel gratified—but I can’t always take full credit. Many traditional Indian recipes—if they are made with care from fresh, local ingredients—cater to a wide variety of diets by default. So for this gentleman on the Paleo diet, it was easy to find an Indian meal that incorporated the animal protein and abundance of vegetables his diet required.

Many South Indian Staples Are Naturally Paleo

The abundant rainfall and hot, humid climate of the South Indian peninsula contributes to the thriving growth of fruits and vegetables that drive our cuisine. Paleo-friendly coconut is shredded, grated, or blended into a variety of dishes to add sweetness, crunch, and a creamy texture to sauces. Vegetable korma, for example, uses coconut milk for a rich base and is garnished with beautifully curled dried coconut shavings. Coconut oil is usually our first choice for cooking and frying (especially in health-conscious SF) and is a flavorful source of healthy fat for all diets.

Due to the incredible geographic and cultural variety in South India, many types of Paleo-friendly meat and seafood have become standard in our regional cuisine. It’s not all chickpeas and lentils. Seafood recipes dominate from the coast, and meat-based specialties made with pork, lamb, beef, and chicken are more abundant inland.  Yes, there are communities in India, like the Christians, who eat beef or pork!

Of course, the true staple of Indian food, spices, are the star in every dish. Fragrant and bold spices give Indian food its distinctive flavor and add intriguing complexity to even the simplest of dishes. Cloves, cardamom, peppercorns, and nutmeg—among an entire pantry full of other options—combine uniquely in each dish to create a sweet, smoky, or heat-filled piquancy that’s irresistibly Indian. Because of the limited foods available, Paleo diets can get boring and bland pretty quickly, but the complex spices of Indian food provide endless variety and flavor.