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Who says you can't cook without tomatoes?

Tomato prices have been hitting the roof recently. Here are a few alternatives you can consider...

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Remember the scene in 3 Idiots where Raju Rastogi (Sharman Joshi)'s mother complains of vegetable prices making it seem like she bought them at a jeweller's? From the time tomatoes began selling for Rs 120 a kilo, the rants on social media and jokes haven't stopped.

“I wonder what the hullaballoo is all about?” asks food anthropologist Meghna Kashyap. “It isn't like this sub-continent ever ate tomatoes before the Portuguese got it along from South America in the 16th Century.” According to her, the climate in India suited this members of the Solanaceae family and several varieties of it began to be grown across the subcontinent. “From the lively cherry tomatoes found in the hilly regions of India to the heirloom, roma, pear, and the biggest variety beefsteak are all found across South Asia.” She cites National Horticulture Board figures to point out how India’s production is nearly 15 million tonnes per year. “Most of it is consumed domestically. At 6 million tonnes, Andhra Pradesh alone provides over 35% of India's total tomato produce with Karnataka a distant second at 1.8 million tonnes. Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Chattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, and Jharkhand, in that order also produce tomatoes.”  

She also underlines how cuisines across the length and breadth of the subcontinent have had their own specific locally sourced souring agents which gave them a signature taste. “While most of peninsular India, from the Indo-Gangetic plains to the Deccan plateau relied on lemon/tamarind, the north has always used dried raw mango (amchur) powder while the Western coastal region has used kokum (or Kodampuli in Kerala) to give their fish curries and dal the perfect twang. Seasonal fruits like Spondias (ambada) or the sour Roselle leaves (gongura) have been used in the Deccan plateau and the Krishna-Godavari basins to create the perfect foil for the fiery dals, pappus and mutton/fish curries, this region is known for.” According to her, most of these souring agents are still available and can provide a nice back-to-roots twist to the usual recipes which have come to incorporate tomatoes over time. 

Executive chef at of deGustibus Hospitality (which runs Indigo Delicatessen) Jaydeep Mukherjee,  echoes Kashyap. “I will advice homemakers and those cooking at home to look for cheaper alternatives like pureed tomatoes from a tetra pack till the prices drop.” We ask him if he has made that change himself and he is quick to point out that in a fine-dining restaurant this is not an option. “I don't have the luxury of changing either the menu or the ingredients every time the prices change. In fact, for cooking at the restaurant one has to choose not only the exact ingredients, but also the freshest and best quality.”

Other celebrated chefs like Rajeev Bhadani too insist there is a lot one can do with recipes which conventionally use tomatoes using tamarind or lemon. “The right kind of onion-based gravy with the ginger garlic paste using one of these souring agents, one can even cook non-vegetarian curries.”      

A cook at one of Goregaon's well known Udupi joints let out another secret on condition of anonymity. “We have switched to tamarind for souring and for the thick base in the gravy we have begun adding pureed ash gourd.” 

Instead of cribbing about tomato prices, maybe it is time to think of alternatives. Sounds yummy, doesn't it? 

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