Dining Out With IBS: Indian 

Do you have Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)? Have you struggled with bloating, stomach cramps, gas, or worse after eating Indian food out for dinner? Have you wished you had a clear guide on what you can or cannot eat to avoid your IBS symptoms? What if you are following the low FODMAP diet for IBS? What Indian dishes can you eat, and which ones should you stay clear of? Well, read on! 

Whether you are craving Indian food like samosas, naan, chana dal, saag paneer, or chicken tikka masala, onions often play a big role, as do garlic, beans, lentils, wheat, and various kinds of dairy, too. Garlic, onions, wheat, beans, and dairy often cause gastrointestinal issues for people with IBS. 

All these beloved ingredients and menu offerings contain FODMAPs, which are limited on the low FODMAP diet, especially during the Elimination Phase. In fact, A 2022 study, called Determination of FODMAP Contents of Traditional Indian Regional Recipes, found that more than 73% of traditional Indian restaurant offerings were quite high FODMAP. But we still crave these dishes. This article is about dining out and indulging in your Indian favorites.

Learn which Indian menu items are likely low FODMAP and less likely to trigger digestive symptoms, or that can be prepared to your specifications. 

Expand Your Choices With FODZYME

Learn how to use the digestive enzyme blend FODZYME to help you enjoy dishes that are high FODMAP, and to ensure you avoid potential digestive upset due to unforeseen ingredients present in a meal. 

To begin, please read our articles on general Strategies For Dining Out With IBS, and FODZYME®: Digestive Enzymes To Help With Digestive Distress, then come back to this article.

What Can You Eat At An Indian Restaurant? 

We have created a Quick View list of foods for you immediately below, but you must read this post in its entirety for vital FODMAP information you need when ordering at an Indian restaurant.

Quick View: Indian Food Menu Options You Can Order During the Elimination & Challenge Phases of the Low FODMAP Diet

Note: These lists assume classic approaches to these Indian dishes. Preparation can vary. For important details, please read the full article.

Low FODMAP Options:

• Plain rice.
• Idli: Rice lentil cakes, plain.
• Paneer.
• Dosa: Plain.
• Toor Dal: Plain.
• Sabudana Khichdi: a popular Indian dish made with tapioca pearls, whole spices, roasted peanuts, potatoes and fresh curry leaves.
• Items from a Jain restaurant: They do not use garlic or onions; inquire about other ingredients in dishes
• Ask about tandoori meats and poultry. They might have low FODMAP seasonings.

Order & Use FODZYME:

These are options you can order if you are using FODZME Digestive Enzymes as directed. 

• Samosas.
• Pakoras.
• Saag or Palek Paneer.
• Roti, Chapati, Puri, and Naan.
• Paneer Dishes.
• Rogan Josh Dishes.
• Tikka Dishes.
• Curry Dishes.
• Chicken Makhani (Butter Chicken).
• Biryani Dishes.
• Korma Dishes.
• Raita.
• Lassi.
• Masala Chai.

Detailed Guidelines For Ordering Indian Menu Options

The rest of this article provides you with the details you need about dining out Indian with IBS.

A Note On Garlic, Onions, Legumes, and Wheat 

The low FODMAP diet is not entirely free of FODMAPs; the suggested low FODMAP serving sizes are based (partially) on FODMAP thresholds that are known to trigger irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms in most people. This is how it is possible to have lab tested certified foods that contain garlic and or onion, like Sriracha and Worcestershire Sauce, and to have low FODMAP servings of items made with wheat flour, and even bread itself. The diet is very much dependent on serving size.

All this information can be found in the Monash University app and FODMAP Friendly app, which are essential tools for following the low FODMAP diet. If you are not familiar with the two primary low FODMAP diet apps, please be sure to read these two articles:

• How To Use The Monash University Low FODMAP Diet App
• How to Use The FODMAP Friendly Low FODMAP Diet App

When dining out Indian, we are bombarded with large amounts of onion, garlic, wheat, dairy, beans, lentils, and higher FODMAP vegetables. This is what puts so many of your favorite Indian dishes into high FODMAP territory. 

PRO TIP: Use Your Monash App With The India Filter

Did you know that you can go to the Food Guide within the Monash app, scroll to the bottom and click on the India flag to see all the Indian food that has been lab tested? They have lab tested many items, ranging from paneer to amchur (mango powder), various gourds, to ghee and idli. This is a quick way to acquaint yourself with what is low or high FODMAP within your chosen cuisine.

Strategies When Dining Indian 

If you are following the low FODMAP diet, when you scan an Indian menu, you will probably see garlic and/or onion in most of the offerings, in addition to beans, lentils, wheat, dairy, and vegetables with high FODMAP content. And your heart sinks. What can you eat?

Pro Tip: Be well acquainted with the Monash University and FODMAP Friendly apps. Keep your smartphone handy for quick checking.

Here are some general tips, then look at dishes that are low in FODMAP or can be prepared low in FODMAP, and then also look at strategies for eating those dishes you crave that are high in FODMAP.

What Is Curry?

Indian cuisine is much more than “curry”, although that is what many people think of when they hear of Indian food.

The closest translation for “curry” is “sauce” or “gravy”. A dish that is labeled as curry or curried will be in a spiced sauce, but the spices and aromatics used to make it can vary.

When you pick up a jar of “curry” powder at the store or see a dish labeled “curried” on a menu, you cannot know what is in it without reading the labels and asking questions.

Unfortunately, neither Monash nor FODMAP Friendly have detailed what kind of curry powder they lab tested, so even though they show low FODMAP servings, this is of little use. Did the blend contain garlic, for instance? Your restaurant server will hopefully be able to answer your questions.

Curry leaf is an actual plant – Bergera koenigii – and it has been lab tested and has low FODMAP serving sizes.

Look For Jain Cuisine

Jain vegetarianism is practiced by followers of Jain culture and philosophy. Their cuisine is lacto-vegetarian and excludes root and underground vegetables such as garlic and onion – a boon to those following the low FODMAP diet! No need to ask if these high FODMAP foods are in the dishes. They never are!

In addition, they forbid other high FODMAP foods such as honey and mushrooms.

Beans, Lentils, Indian Food & FODMAPs

Indian food makes liberal use of beans, such as toor dal (split yellow beans), chana dal (Bengal gram bean/split chickpeas), urid dal (black gram bean), moth bean, and various lentils as well, all of which have fairly high FODMAP content, but many do have low FODMAP serving sizes.

It is very easy to overdo a serving size, so acquaint yourself with serving sizes within the Monash and FODMAP Friendly apps. Please read our Explore An Ingredient: Lentils.

Also, ask how they are prepared. Onions and/or garlic are frequently included.

Adjusting Heat Level

Indian restaurants occasionally ask you how hot and spicy you want a particular dish. While the capsaicin in chiles is not a FODMAP issue, it can be a gut irritant. Hopefully, you know your tolerance for spice, and when in doubt, order your dishes “mild.” Here are some menu terms to understand:

On The Mild Side

• Anything Korma tends to be more mild.
• Vegetable Biryani is a good mild choice.
• Dal Makhani: Lentils, beans, cream and spices; tends to be mild.
• Tikka Masala can be mild.
• Butter Chicken can be mild.
• Tandoori can be mild.
• Saag Paneer: A good mild choice.
• Pasanda: A curry with cream and spices, which can be mild.

Bring On The Spicy Heat!

• Anything Vindaloo tends to be spicy/hot.
• Jalfrezi: This Bengal stir-fry is often spicy.
• Madras: Anything with this in the title is typically a darker brown sauce, heavily spiced.
• Phall: (Also spelled Phaal, Fal, and other spellings). A tomato based curry with a real spicy kick.

Please read our article, All About Chile, Chili & Chilli & The Low FODMAP Diet.

Low FODMAP Ingredients Found In Indian Food

There is good news! Many ingredients commonly found in Indian cooking have low FODMAP serving sizes. Here are some items to look for on menus that are suitable even for the Elimination Phase. Use your apps to determine specific serving sizes:

• Ghee.
• Coconut oil.
• Mustard Oil.
• Coconut milk.
• Rice, millet.
• Chickpeas.
• Asafetida: Also known as hing or spelled asafoetida, is the dried sap of the ferula plant and has an onion/garlic-like flavor. 
• Potatoes, tomatoes, spinach, carrots, many gourds, guar beans, yard-long beans, cucumbers, chayote, cabbage, beetroot, sweet potato, turnip, jicama, eggplant, okra, jackfruit, green beans.
• Almonds, peanuts, walnuts.
• Rice flour, cornflour, sorghum flour.
• Guava, pineapple, plantain, banana, coconut, lychee, starfruit, oranges, papaya, pomegranate, cantaloupe, avocado.
• Cane sugar, palm sugar.
• Spices: To list just the most popular – ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, turmeric, cumin, coriander, Garam masala, chiles, fennel, curry leaf, black pepper, clove, fenugreek seeds (methi), mustard seeds, nutmeg, star anise, mint, parsley, and cilantro, which is called fresh corinader or Chinese parsely in Indian cuisine.

Low FODMAP Indian Menu Choices

Here are some good low FODMAP choices, but always ask how dishes are prepared, and use your Monash University and FODMAP Friendly smartphone apps to determine serving sizes:

Low FODMAP Options:

• Plain rice.
• Idli: plain.
• Paneer.
• Dosa: Plain.
• Various Beans and Lentils: Plainly prepared, which may or may not be possible.
• Sabudana Khichdi: a popular Indian dish made with tapioca pearls, whole spices, roasted peanuts, potatoes and fresh curry leaves. 
• Items from a Jain restaurant: They do not use garlic or onions; inquire about other ingredients in dishes.
• Ask about tandoori meats and poultry. They might have low FODMAP seasonings.

High FODMAP Indian Dishes You Can Enjoy, Using FODZYME

Now we come to the fun part! You are craving samosas served with chutney, Indian breads, dal, curries, and tender marinated meats fresh out of the tandoori oven. Guess what? It is all possible! With the help of targeted enzyme supplementation, you can enjoy all these Indian dishes. 

FODZYME is a digestive enzyme blend that is specifically formulated to aid in the digestion of fructans (found in garlic, onions, wheat, grains, and vegetables), galacto-oligosaccharides, referred to as GOS (found in beans, legumes, and nuts), and lactose (in dairy products). 

Oftentimes, people who are sensitive to multiple FODMAPs find they tolerate moderate amounts of fructose and polyols when using FODZYME. We generally recommend limiting foods very high in polyols and fructose, however, eating foods with these FODMAPs in the context of a larger, balanced meal with FODZYME, can often mitigate polyol and fructose sensitivities. FODZYME is used with the first bite or first few bites of FODMAP-containing food, which maximizes the enzymes’ ability to support digestion of your meal.

As mentioned before, many Indian dishes are heavy with garlic, onions, legumes, wheat, lactose, and high FODMAP vegetables, and FODZYME can specifically address these ingredients.

Have your FODZYME at hand and go ahead and order:

• Anything with Yogurt.
• Any kind of Chutney.
• Any kind of Pickles.
• Eggplant Bharta: Onions.
• Samosas: Wheat and peas.
• Pakoras: Chickpea flour and various vegetables.
• Chutney: Varies but often contain onions and/or garlic.
• Saag or Palek Paneer: Dairy, possibly garlic/onions.
• Chana Masala: chickpeas and onions, possibly garlic.
• Roti, Chapati, Puri, and Naan: Wheat.
• Papadum/Pappadum: Lentils.
• Anything Dal
• Aloo Mattar Paneer: Dairy, peas, possibly onion/garlic
• Aloo Tikki: Onions, garlic, peas, possibly wheat.
• Mutter Paneer: Peas, onion, dairy.
• Bhaji or Bhajia: Chickpea flour and onion.
• Anything Tikka: Such as Chicken Tikka Masala.
• Anything Korma: Onions and/or garlic, dairy, possibly nuts.
• Anything Rogan Josh: Onions and/or garlic.
• Anything Tandoori: Onions and/or garlic.
• Malai Kofta: Onions, garlic, possible cream, wheat, cashews and/or raisins.
• Chicken Makhani (Butter Chicken): Dairy, garlic, sometimes cashews and onion.
• Biryani: This is a rice dish that typically has many ingredients; ask about what is used.
• Raita: Dairy, possibly garlic.
• Gulab Jamun: Dairy and wheat.
• Barfi: Dairy; possibly high FODMAP nuts or chickpea flour.
• Doodh Peda: Dairy.
• Lassi: Dairy, often with various fruit.
• Masala Chai: Dairy.

FODMAP Stacking at Indian Restaurants

We have presented the ideal approaches here, but we know it can be difficult to figure everything out in the moment, even if you plan ahead. Then, there is FODMAP stacking to calculate, which occurs when we eat too many low FODMAP ingredients at once, creating a high FODMAP situation. For instance, you might choose a dal dish with a low FODMAP amount of beans, but by the time you take into account the garlic and onion used in the recipe, and the naan eaten alongside, the dish has become high FODMAP. Calculating stacking, especially on the fly in a restaurant, can be extremely challenging.

You are sitting there at the restaurant, friends are ordering, and it’s your turn—what do you do? We keep FODZYME in our bag or pocket just for this kind of situation. Being able to choose almost any dish and know that we will have the digestive help we need not only brings peace of mind—it allows us to have the food we want.

Let’s Make A Reservation!

We hope you are uplifted by this information! Now you know how you can enjoy your favorites at your little local hole-in-the-wall, or Indian chain restaurant. With FODZYME, we look forward to eating out again. FODZYME comes in jars as well as individual packets. We keep the packets in our bag or pocket and dine out without worry. There are samosas, chapati, curries, and tandoori dishes in your future!

Read All of Our Dining Out Guides

Whether it is Indian tonight, or Tex-Mex tomorrow, we have the low FODMAP dining out guides you need:

• Dining Out With IBS: Italian 
• Dining Out With IBS: Mexican & Tex-Mex 
• Dining Out With IBS: Chinese 
• Dining Out With IBS: Indian 
• Dining Out With IBS: Greek  
• Dining Out With IBS: Thai  
• All About Sushi & The Low FODMAP Diet