Humbled by tomato? An expert’s tips on making its alternatives part of regular cooking

Over the last few weeks, we have found substitutes for the pricey tomatoes that add character to cuisines. Food blogger, home chef and cooking teacher Nilima Nitin shares some tips for dealing with curd, kokam and more.

“Like tomatoes, several alternatives help not only in increasing taste and bringing tanginess but also the volume," says Nilima.

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In the last few weeks, cooks at homes, restaurants and roadside stalls have been pinched and humbled by the rising tomato prices. In Pune, Nilima Nitin, home chef and food blogger with the YouTube and Facebook channel ‘Cook with Nilima’, easily transitioned to alternatives that added flavour to dals and curries and ensured nobody missed the tomato too much.

Many others, too, experimented in their kitchens. Though the tomato prices are stabilising, keeping the alternatives a regular part of cooking for the character and different flavours they bring is a good idea. “Like tomatoes, several alternatives help not only in increasing taste and bringing tanginess but also the volume. In rich gravies, we need to add more onion paste and paste of nuts like cashews or magaj (watermelon or poppy seeds). One can add Kashmiri red chillies for colour,” says Nilima. Here are some other tips from her:

Tamarind: When we make tamarind pulp, it’s not to be treated as chutney in which we need to add jaggery. You soak tamarind in warm water for a few minutes, squeeze the pulp and then pour directly into the dal. Every household has its way of using tamarind. My mother-in-law used to add it as tadka, but tamarind can also be added to dal or amti while boiling. There is a slight difference in flavour.

Kokam: kokam can be added to dal. If you add it to sabji, it will change the colour and taste. This is a common part of Maharashtrian cooking and, unlike tamarind, reduces acidity while leaving you with a sour taste. Kokam can be cooked or used directly in dal with jaggery.

Curd: It is important to remember that when we add curd in sabji, it should not curdle. The flame has to be slow and you need to stir it continuously. It is added after the onion is sauteed and the main masalas are cooked. The masalas are often mixed in curd and added to the onions.

Amchoor: Amchoor will give only the taste but not increase the body of the sabji or dal. It will not change the colour either. Amchoor is in powder form and does not need cooking. It is best for paneer sabji and mixed vegetable curries, among others, when you want to retain the tanginess and bring sourness without changing the colour.

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