The Best Low Carb Side Dishes to Serve with Curry – 11 Great Ideas!
From Butter Chicken, to an Indian Dahi Gosht, curries are a delicious way to add a ton of flavour and variety to your low carb diet. But what do you serve alongside these mouthwatering recipes to make it a low carb meal? What are the best low carb side dishes for curry?
Read on for 11 perfect low carb side dishes for curry.
Curry is my all time favourite food. Doesn’t matter if it’s an Indian chicken curry, a spicy Pork Thai Curry, or a Jamaican style curry. I can’t get enough, and incorporating them into my keto diet has been an absolute lifesaver that has helped me stick to this lifestyle as long as I have.
The catch is finding a suitable low carb side dish to pair it with curry and make it a meal. Generally curry is served with rice, potatoes and bread. All high carb items that do not fit into a low carb diet.
Below are 11 great side dish ideas you can serve with your favourite curry to make it into a keto friendly meal.
11 Low Carb Side Dishes For Curry
1. Cauliflower Rice
Rice is a popular pairing for curries around the world. It’s a perfect blank canvas to soak up all that delicious gravy. The only problem, rice is very high carb.
Cauliflower rice however is a healthy low carb alternative to rice and pairs wonderfully with a variety of curries.
You can either purchase pre-made cauliflower rice, or make your own at home.
2. Celeriac Bhaji
Vegetable bhajis are commonly found alongside curry and for good reason. They are delicious. Celeriac bhaji is the low carb equivalent of Aloo bhaji (potato bhaji), a popular vegetable side dish from India.
Celeriac is the root of a type of celery, and it makes a wonderful replacement for potato with just a hint of celery flavour.
Try low carb celeriac bhaji recipe with your next curry.
3. Cauliflower Bhaji
Another flavourful bhaji from India is cauliflower bhaji. Cauliflower is a wonderful low carb ingredient, not only is it low in carbohydrates, it’s highly nutritious and healthy, packed with vitamin C, potassium, and fiber.
This cauliflower bhaji recipe is simple and flavourful, it uses a blend of Indian aromatics and spices and works perfectly with many curries and kebabs.
4. Golden Turmeric Cauliflower Rice
Golden turmeric rice is another mouthwatering cauliflower rice recipe that shows how versatile cauliflower rice really is. This flavourful recipe uses Indian aromatics and spices such as turmeric to give it a distinct flavour and colour.
These aromatics naturally pair with Indian curries making this easy keto friendly side dish and perfect choice to share a plate with your favourite curry.
5. Low Carb Flatbreads
Flatbreads are truly a wonderful thing. Pretty much every culture has its own type of flatbread. With curry you often served bread like paratha, naan, and chapati, used as a vessel to scoop all that wondrous meat and gravy into your mouth. And for good reason, they are delicious.
Of course, they are way too high carb for keto which means they are off the menu for anyone following a low carb diet. Luckily there are plenty of low carb flatbreads available to buy that make a suitable replacement.
My favourite choice is Josephs Bakery low carb Lavash breads and their low carb pitas. Not only do they taste great, they are one of the few store bought low carb flatbreads that don’t make me feel like garbage.
Brush with some butter before lightly toasting them in a hot pan, and enjoy them like you would a naan or paratha, you will not be disappointed.
Here are my favourite low carb flatbreads you can either make or buy:
- Joseph’s Lavash bread
- My homemade keto tortillas (I have two, Homemade Oat fiber tortillas, and a better keto tortilla recipe)
- Mama Lupes Low Carb Tortillas
- La Tortilla Factory Low Carb Tortillas
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Feeling like you can’t enjoy any fruit on your low carb diet?
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6. Easy Cauliflower Rice Pulao
Both pulao and pilaf are common rice dishes loved the world over. Their bold flavours and simple preparation make them a great choice for pairing with your favourite curry or kebab. Unfortunately since they are made mostly of rice they are incredibly high in carbs, making them next to impossible to fit into a keto or low carb diet.
Luckily you can make extremely delicious Pulao using cauliflower rice! This family recipe for fish korma (a delectable coconut and whitefish based low carb curry) is served with a simple cauliflower rice pulao that is perfectly suited to compliment your favourite low carb curry.
7. Simple Pan Fried Cabbage
Cabbage really is an underrated low carb vegetable. We always keep a head of cabbage on hand, not only does it last for a long time, like cauliflower it’s incredibly versatile.
One of our favourite ways to prepare cabbage is to take thin slices and pan fry them in some butter or oil with salt and pepper until its just starting to brown and become crispy.
It takes mere minutes, and it’s a great lazy low carb side dish you can make when you are tired or short on time. Especially if you just spent a bunch of time preparing your favourite curry.
8. Zucchini Bhaji
This Bengali style bhaji has thin slices of zucchini fried with spices and egg making it a falvourful low carb side dish that pairs well with curry.
Relatively simple to make this recipe deserves to share a plate with your favourite low carb curry.
9. Miracle Rice (Shirataki/Konjac Rice)
Miracle rice is a low carb wonder. Made from shirataki or konjac, this rice is made almost entirely of fiber and water. It is essentially zero carbs. Shirataki rice is made from the tuber of the konjac plant which has been part of Japanese cuisine for over 1000 years.
Shirataki rice does not have the same texture as rice, it’s a bit firmer and an acquired taste. Be sure to follow the instructions and rinse it well!
Those who like it rave about its ability to replace high carb rice and soak up all the gravy from your favourite curry with near zero net carbs! It really is a miracle.
10. Cucumber Salad
Cucumber is a natural pairing with curry especially when it is in a creamy dressing. Raita is an Indian yogurt and cucumber based condiment kind of like a tzatziki that is often served with curry, biryani, and kebabs. The yogurt and cucumber provide some cooling relief from the spicy Indian dishes.
A cucumber salad can provide that same cooling relief and is very simple to make!
11. Mashed Cauliflower
Hear me out. I know this seems strange but it works. It’s not unheard of to find chicken curry or butter chicken served with mashed potatoes, especially in a UK style pub. A cauliflower mash is a great low carb substitute you can pair with a saucy curry.
My homemade low carb Italian meatball recipe is served with a cauliflower mash and for good reason. A nice creamy mash is a great way to soak up all the delicious sauces and gravies. This works great for a saucy Indian curry. Give it a try!
Any of these 11 low carb side dishes would make an excellent meal when paired with one of these low carb curry recipes.
Hopefully this list of 11 great ideas for low carb sides to pair with curry helped you find a few new favourites to try for dinner!
If you have another idea for what to serve with love carb curry I would love to hear about it down below!
Enjoy!
