Saucy Substitutes For Tomato

My cook has been in a bad mood for the last couple of weeks, and I suspect it’s the absence of tomatoes in my pantry. North Indian cooking relies heavily on tomatoes. With the use of tomato, even a novice can whip up something flavourful in the kitchen.

Tomato lends a unique umami flavour to any preparation; it’s the one plant food with a well-rounded, ‘meaty’ flavour that comes from its heavy load of glutamates, reinforced by its unique crimson colour. It should be no surprise, then, that my cook, who is a hardcore non-vegetarian, is in a sour mood.

As a practicing nutrition therapist, I often have to put together dietary plans with the exclusion of a particular food or food group. Some of my clients happen to be patients of Bladder Pain Syndrome (BPS), and I advise them to cut back on tomatoes, which is a known culprit of symptomatic flare-ups. Suggesting wholesome and nutritious recipes without tomato or with tomato-alternatives is common practice for me.

Cooking methods like roasting, sauteing and caramelizing are excellent options when cooking without tomatoes. These processes can enhance the flavours of the veggies and reduce the need for tomatoes.

Here’s an easy pasta recipe that calls for roasted red bell pepper instead of tomato.

Red Bell Pepper Pasta
Ingredients:

Red bell pepper, 2 medium sized

Olive oil, 2 tbsp

Onion, 1 finely chopped

Garlic cloves, 4-5 minced

Water, 1 cup (you can save the water in which you boil the pasta)

Full-cream milk, ½ cup

Pasta (any kind), 250 g

Salt & pepper to taste

Basil leaves (shredded) and Parmesan cheese (shavings) for garnish

Method:

Cook the pasta as per package instructions and save some of the water while draining. Set aside.

Place the red bell pepper on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes at 240℃.

Once baked, cover the pepper in some foil and allow it to rest for 10 minutes. This makes it easier to remove the skin later.

Heat some oil in a pan, add the chopped onion and cook until translucent. Add the minced garlic and cook for another minute.

Remove seeds of the bell pepper, peel off the skin, and chop finely.

Blend together the chopped bell pepper along with the cooked onion and garlic, and the pasta water and milk, until it forms a smooth paste.

Add this blended sauce back into the pan and cook for 5 minutes on a low flame.

Add the cooked pasta to the prepared sauce and combine well. Add salt & pepper.

Garnish with basil leaves and parmesan cheese.

More tomato substitutes
Red bell pepper is not the only substitute. Pumpkin is another great alternative to tomato. Commercial kitchens have resorted to using pumpkin, as evinced by their daily purchases. Tomatoes are being swapped with red and orange pumpkin. A dash of vinegar or lemon juice added to pumpkin puree promises to mimic the flavour of tomato.

Another time-tested substitute for tomato is yoghurt or curd. I often prepare rajmah (kidney beans) with curd instead of tomatoes to mix things up a little bit. The boiled beans are cooked in a paste of browned onions. You then add some garlic paste and cook until it’s browned. In the meantime, you can whip some thick and creamy curd to make it into a smooth paste. Add this paste to the beans-onion-garlic mix. Add some spices, like coriander and red chilli powder, and the beans are ready to eat. Curd also works as a great substitute in rice recipes like biryani.

Tamarind is a valuable ingredient in many curries, dals and veggie preparations. Adding tamarind pulp to veggies such as karela (bitter gourd) and brinjal can work wonders for the taste.

Raw mango is in season and it’s a great ingredient for salads, chutneys, veggie preparations, and the delectable aam panna. The seed of the raw mango when immersed in a curry or a dal dish can enhance the flavour manyfold. Dried mango powder (amchur) is a good substitute when fresh raw mango isn’t available.

Amla (Indian gooseberry), otherwise sought after for its immune-boosting properties, can lend a unique bitter-sour punch to dry preparations of veggies that can otherwise taste bland.

Kokum has made its way to the North Indian menu and is quite a favourite. Be it a kokum drink or kokum in dal, the flavour is special.

Why has there been a tomato shortage, and what can we do differently?
When I started writing this article, the idea was to suggest nutritious alternatives to tomato in food preparation. But in the midst of my writing, I thought it worthy to shed some light on why this acute tomato shortage has occurred in the first place. The unprecedented rain (thanks to the now clearly undeniable climate change) has been devastating not just for crops but for many life forms. Our role must not end at simply scouring for tomato substitutes. While it is fun to diversify the diet with new ingredients, let’s also keep in a mind some simple things that we can do in the kitchen to reduce the burden on the planet.

Minimise waste in as many ways as possible. This topic deserves a piece of its own, but for now, let’s focus on the valuable parts of vegetables that we unknowingly discard. Be it radish leaves, cauliflower stem, or pea shells, all of these are edible portions of the veggies, loaded with nutrients & fibre. Until two generations ago, these bits were regularly featured on the plate. Veggies and fruits eaten with the edible peels offer numerous health benefits. When the peel is not edible, remove the thinnest layer possible. Less waste generated reduces the burden on the planet.

Practice waste segregation in the kitchen. This ensures minimal waste ending up in the landfill, and the wet waste can easily be composted.

Conserve water wherever you can. For one, the water used to wash rice and dal can be used to water the plants. Do not pour it down the drain but collect it for the plants. This water contains nutrients that your plants will benefit from.