Steam it instead of frying it
Fried momos and koftas hide a lot of oil - a plate of 5 fried momos is about 600 kcal, but the steamed ones are only 330. Steaming uses no oil at all, so the same food fills you up for less than half the calories.
Frying makes food tasty, but it soaks up oil. Oil is almost pure fat - about 884 kcal per 100 g. One tablespoon of oil is close to 124 kcal. Steaming uses zero oil. The same dumpling, idli, or kofta cooks just fine in hot steam. So you keep the flavour and drop the oil calories. Every number below comes from a real recipe or food database.
Steamed food is boring and tasteless.
mostly falseMostly false. Some of India's best-loved snacks are already steamed - idli, dhokla, and momos. People queue for hot idli with chutney, and that soft white idli is steamed, not fried. Spongy dhokla is steamed too. Steaming is not a sad diet trick - it is normal, everyday cooking that happens to use no oil.
Steamed vs fried - the same food, different oil
Your usual fried order: 5 fried momos
A roadside fried-momo plate is about 5 pieces. Each fried momo is near 120 kcal. So the plate is about 600 kcal. Most of that extra bite is the oil the momo drinks while it fries. The veggie filling is fine - the frying oil is the trouble.
Assumptions: 1 pan-fried momo ~120 kcal (Tarla Dalal: 361 kcal for a serving of 3 = ~120 each). 5 momos x 120 = 600 kcal. The filling and wrapper are the same as the steamed one - the extra ~54 kcal per piece is absorbed frying oil.
Order the steamed momos instead
This is the biggest oil saver on the plate. Steamed momos are the same dumpling, just cooked in steam. Five steamed momos are about 330 kcal. You save about 270 kcal - that is like skipping 30 g of frying oil, for the exact same food.
Assumptions: 1 steamed veg momo ~66 kcal (Tarla Dalal). 5 x 66 = 330 kcal. Saving vs the 600 kcal fried plate = 270 kcal. At 8.84 kcal per g of oil, 270 kcal is ~30 g of oil not eaten.
Small tips that add up
- Idli and dhokla are already steamed, so they are light - one idli is only 33 kcal. Frying leftover idli in butter soaks up extra oil, so eat it soft with chutney instead.
- For kofta, bake or simmer the balls instead of deep-frying. A baked doodhi kofta serving is about 92 kcal and 3 g fat, next to 362 kcal and 24 g fat for fried malai kofta. The lighter veg and light gravy help too, not just skipping the fry.
- Use a non-stick tava with a tiny oil brush, not a pour. One pour can add 2-3 tablespoons of oil before you notice.
- Pick just one swap to start. The steamed-momo swap alone saves about 270 kcal a plate. Do not change everything on day one.
The bottom line
Steaming uses no oil, and oil is 884 kcal per 100 g - so the same dish can cost less than half the calories. Five fried momos are about 600 kcal; five steamed momos are about 330. A fried malai kofta serving is 362 kcal; a baked one is about 92. Pick the steamed version of one dish you already eat, and you skip a real puddle of oil.