These are the 10 South Indian veggie fries I tested, measured, and tracked so you know exactly what you're eating, with real protein, fiber, and calorie numbers for every single one.
When I got gestational diabetes, I had to start tracking everything I ate. And the hard part wasn't cooking. It was finding the numbers.
Every South Indian recipe I found online said something like "193 calories per serving." Per serving of what? How many grams? I had no idea what to put on my plate.
So I built my own database. I weighed every vegetable before cooking and after. I tested how much it shrinks in the oven. I calculated the nutrition for each one. These numbers aren't lab-perfect, but they're from my actual kitchen and consistent enough to use. Consistent estimates beat guessing every time. This post covers all 10 veggies I tested: baked frozen okra to oven roasted eggplant, all tracked.
The other thing I needed was recipes that work for real life. I have a toddler and a full-time job. I can't be standing at the stove every night. Oven recipes changed everything for me. Most of these take 5 minutes to prep and then the oven does the rest. And most of them freeze really well, which means I cook once and rotate them for months.
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Why I Even Made This Series
When I started looking up nutrition for South Indian food, I noticed nobody was doing this for vegetable fries. There was some data for curries and rice. But a basic okra fry? Nothing reliable.
I wanted to know which veggies are actually worth it if you're eating them every day. Which ones have the most fiber? Which ones have protein? And which ones can I make on Sunday and pull from the freezer all week?
That's what this series is about.
Most of Them Go Straight in the Oven
8 out of 10 veggies in this series are baked. That was the whole point: no standing at the stove, no stirring every two minutes, just put it in and walk away.
Two I couldn't make work in the oven: spinach and beetroot.
Spinach needs really high, direct heat to cook off all the water fast. The oven just steams it and makes it watery. Stovetop only.
Beetroot was a different problem. It needs enough oil and direct contact with the hot pan to caramelize. When I tried it in the oven, it kept that weird earthy smell I really don't like. Stovetop fixed it.
Protein and Fiber Rankings
This is the part that surprised me. I expected okra to win everything. It didn't.
One thing to know before you look at the numbers: I didn't cut the oil to hit a number. The nutrition is what it is because I cook them the way they're supposed to taste.
Raw Vegetable Comparison (per 100g raw)
| Vegetable | Serving | Calories | Protein (g) | Fiber (g) | Fat (g) | Carbs (g) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Okra | 100g | 33 | 2 | 3 | 0.2 | 8 |
| Dondakaya | 100g | 73 | 1.4 | 3 | 0.2 | 2 |
| Green Beans | 100g | 34 | 2.0 | 3 | 0.3 | 7.4 |
| Beetroot | 100g | 43 | 1.6 | 2.8 | 0.2 | 9.8 |
| Green Cabbage | 100g | 28 | 1.0 | 2.5 | 0.2 | 6.4 |
| Eggplant | 100g | 22 | 0.9 | 2.4 | 0.1 | 5.4 |
| Spinach | 100g* | 29.4 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 0 | 3.5 |
| Cauliflower | 100g | 28 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 0.2 | 4.7 |
| Potato | 100g | 81 | 2.3 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 17.8 |
| Green Bell Pepper | 100g | 20 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 4.8 |
*Serving size adjusted from original recipe
Cooked Recipe Rankings (per serving)
| Recipe Name | Serving Size | Calories | Protein (g) | Fiber (g) | Fat (g) | Carbs (g) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oven Roasted Green Beans Fry | 1 serving (155g cooked) | 170 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 21 |
| Baked Frozen Okra | 1 serving (100g) | 112 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 18 |
| Oven Roasted Dondakaya Fry | 1 serving (105g cooked) | 204 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 5 |
| Oven Roasted Eggplant | 1 serving (105g cooked each) | 69 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 11 |
| Baked Frozen Cauliflower with Garlic Chili Powder | 1 serving (130g cooked) | 85 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 12 |
| Andhra Beetroot Fry (Beetroot Vepudu) | 1 serving (100g cooked each) | 138 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 20 |
| Oven Roasted Cabbage Fry (Indian Style) | 1 serving (120g per serving cooked) | 111 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 16 |
| Andhra Spinach Fry (Palakura Vepudu) | 1 serving (90g cooked) | 69 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 8 |
| Oven Roasted Potatoes | 1 servings (70g cooked) | 110 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 20 |
| Oven Roasted Bell Peppers | 1 serving (180g cooked each) | 78 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 9 |
| Total | - | 1,146 | 38 | 55 | 45 | 140 |
Green beans won. Both protein and fiber. 9g of fiber and 6g of protein per serving. I really did not see that coming.
Dondakaya ties with okra on fiber but it has the most calories in the whole series at 204 cal. Good to know if you're tracking.
Bell peppers came in last. Only 2g fiber and 2g protein. But that's actually fine. Bell peppers aren't here for nutrition. They're here because they add a lot of volume and flavor for very few calories. Think of them as a filler, not a protein source.
Potato surprised me the other way. Almost no fiber at all. But that's not the whole story. When you cool down oven-roasted potatoes, they develop something called resistant starch. It works differently in your body than regular carbs and doesn't spike blood sugar the same way. I'll write a full post on that later.
For okra, I actually have 5 different recipes if you want to mix it up. The basic baked one is 112 calories. The Besan Okra goes up to 200 calories but you get 10g protein and 10g fiber. Worth it.
Freezer Results: 9 Out of 10
One thing I tested for every single recipe was whether it could be frozen. I wanted a rotation I could actually stick to, and that means batch cooking on weekends and pulling things from the freezer during the week.
Here's what happened:
| Veggie | Freezes? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Eggplant | Yes | Biggest surprise of the whole series. No texture change, no liquid. |
| Dondakaya | Yes | Texture held up really well. |
| Green Beans | Yes | Undercook slightly before freezing for the best result. |
| Cabbage | Yes | Perfect every time. |
| Cauliflower | Yes | Comes out great from frozen. |
| Bell Peppers | Yes | A little liquid forms but it just mixes into the rice. Fine. |
| Beetroot | Yes | Had to switch to stovetop first to get good freeze results. |
| Okra | Yes | Texture holds but you probably don't even need to freeze it. Lasts 4 to 5 days in the fridge. |
| Spinach | Yes | You have to cook off all the water first. If there's any moisture left before it goes in, it turns mushy. |
| Potato | Needs a trick | Gets rubbery if you freeze it fully cooked. Undercook it first. |
9 out of 10 freeze. Only potato needs a trick: undercook it first or it gets rubbery.
I use Souper Cubes for portioning, 1-cup or ½-cup size depending on how much I want. Freeze flat, stack once they're solid. Most of them reheat in 2 to 3 minutes in the microwave straight from frozen.
What I Actually Reach For
After going through all 10, four are in my fridge every single week: green beans, okra, beetroot, and cabbage. All oven. All freezer-ready. These are my regulars.
Eggplant is the new one. I honestly didn't expect it to freeze that well. It's slowly becoming a regular too.
Cauliflower I make it when I can find it. Frozen florets aren't always in stock and it rotates in and out depending on what I have.
Bell peppers I use more as an add-on than a side. I'll throw them into something else rather than eating them on their own.
What a Full Meal Looks Like
Veggie fries don't exist on their own. They're always part of a bigger plate for me. Here's what a typical meal looks like with green beans as the veggie side. The whole plate comes to 665cal calories, 45g of protein, and 16g of fiber.
| Recipe Name | Serving Size | Calories | Protein (g) | Fiber (g) | Fat (g) | Carbs (g) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Easy Broccoli Rice with Bone Broth | 1 serving (165g) | 145 | 7 | 2 | 0.1 | 29 |
| Tomato Pappu | 1 cup (~110 g of cooked dal) | 154 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 26 |
| Oven Roasted Green Beans Fry | 1 serving (155g cooked) | 170 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 21 |
| Oven Baked Chicken Thighs | Indian Style | 1 bowl (~100g) | 196 | 25 | 2 | 8 | 7 |
| Total | - | 665 | 45 | 16 | 20.1 | 83 |
That's a Wrap
If you've been following along, thank you. This series took a long time to build and I learned a lot. Some of it is in the data. Some of it is in the freezer results. And some of it is just finally knowing which four veggies I actually want to have ready in my fridge on a Sunday night.
If you try any of these, tag me on Instagram @thalimethod. And if you leave a star rating on the individual recipe pages, it really does help this blog show up on Google so other people can find this data too.
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