Want to lose weight? Try salads. Even better, stick to a Mediterranean diet for a few months. If these are ideas you dread you`d be surprised to know that certain Indian foods actually hasten weight loss.

Here are 6 foods that improve heart health and check weight gain when cooked with minimal oil.

Chillies: Chillies have a fat burning component, capsaicin, that increases metabolism. So, include all the chilli you want to - red or green - and you can literally sweat your fat away!

Vagaarela Green Chillies: This Gujarati delicacy can be had with rice and kadhi

Ingredients:
1 cup - thick salt
10 to 12 - green chillies

To temper:
2 tbsp - oil
1 tsp - mustard seeds
1 tsp - fenugreek seeds
1 tsp - cumin seeds
1 tsp - coriander seeds

Method:

Slit the chillies vertically and remove the seeds.
For tempering heat the oil, add mustard seeds.
When the seeds splutter add cumin, fenugreek and coriander seeds.
Saute the chillies in tempering for a while.
Add all the salt and saute for a while to make it crisp.

Source: Anita Raheja
Image: www.sxc.hu