I am looking for a fat free substitute to use in place of vegetable oil in cooking curries. Please help!

Jimmy H. May 20, 2016

Puree 1 peeled onion with 1 cup water. Use in place of oil, it won't give you the same results, but pretty good. The onion will provide the lubrication needed for keeping the dish moving. You could also try using vegetable broth for high heat cooking.

Sarah May 20, 2016

Thank u. That's a great idea

Greenstuff May 20, 2016

I looked at the recipe and think Jimmy Hoxie has a great idea. Even simpler, you could just skip the browning and add your chicken in unbrowned. You'll miss a little flavor, but it's not a huge revision.

Susan W. May 20, 2016

If you could link a recipe for us, that would help us finding a substitute. Off of the top of my head, just using broth would be a fine substitute.

Sarah May 20, 2016

Thanks http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/chow-mein

Susan W. May 20, 2016

How does eliminating fat improve your health? Just curious.

C S. May 20, 2016

Susan W. I don't know what Sarah's situation is, but I have a friend with chronic digestive problems and she has been told eliminating all fats will help her problem. She follows that advice carefully and feels better and sleeps better.

Susan W. May 20, 2016

Yes, it's probably none of my business. I just wondered if there was a holdout of "fat is bad" philosophy.

TomTerrific September 14, 2020

Depends. There are several different kinds of fat. Some are supposedly necessary in your diet. The saturated ones (as well as cholesterol) tend to clog arteries, especially if you have certain conditions. Most popular foods are loaded with 10-20 times more fat than is healthy. Another good substitute for any cooking oil in baking is apple sauce, and I’ve read that any puréed fruit will work.

Eydie D. April 20, 2021

I have adopted a Whole Food Plant based diet, no salt, oil or sugar. It reversed my super high blood pressure, and now I don't have to take any pills! There are many Whole Foods that contain fat: beans and legumes, nuts and seeds, even vegetables have fat, carbs and protein! Which are health promoting where, oils are not.
To learn about the detriments of consuming oils check out this video from Dr. Esselstyn (cardiologist): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_o4YBQPKtQ
Who

Foodie May 19, 2016

If your subsituting vegetable oil in curry, you can try other healthier options such as: olive oil, avacado oil, etc.... Yahoo released an article today suggesting to cut out cheap vegetable oil and replace it with avacado oil for a healthier option. (Avacado oil and coconut oil both have high smoking point and avacado oil is very neutral in flavor)

If you making thai or malyasian curry, coconut oil would be an amazing subsitute because it would further help the flavor of these asian curries since thai and malyasian curry contain coconut milk.

QueenSashy May 19, 2016

Agree with ktr on the flavor issue. But, what you can do to improve flavor is to sautee the onions with water, and grill/roast/broil the rest of the veggies on parchment paper to acquire some char/caramelization. That will improve the flavor quite a bit.

ktr May 19, 2016

If you are just looking for something to use to keep your veggies from sticking to the pan, I have tried plain water with fairly good results. The vegetables don't have the same flavor as when they are cooked in some kind of oil or butter, but since you will be adding spices it shouldn't be a very noticeable difference.

QueenSashy May 19, 2016

Hi Sarah... Can you provide more details. Are you looking to cut down on calories, or cannot use oil at all?

Sarah May 19, 2016

I cannot use oil because of health reasons

I am looking for a fat free substitute to use in place of vegetable oil in cooking curries. Please help!

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