Mamta's Kitchen - A Family Cookbook





Tomato puree

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On 16/02/2012 04:02pm, Guest wrote:

I have a north indian mutton curry recipe that calls for 1 cup of tomato puree. Am I right in thinking that it will mean fresh tomatoes pureed in a food processor and not the double concentrated stuff out of a tube or jar? I don't want to ruin it. Lol

On 16/02/2012 05:02pm, Askcy wrote:

I suppose it depends on the quantities of other ingredients and how many it will feed. For a dish serving 4-8 people 1 cup of double concentrated tomato pur?e as found in the UK would be a serious amount to be using.

Steve

On 16/02/2012 06:02pm, Askcy wrote:

I've just re-read my own post and realised it could be read to mean the amount would be serious and meaning 1 cup of concentrated pur?e, but thats not what I meant... I mean if you put that much in for a normal dish it would be way too much (unless you were making tomato sauce or something)

Steve

On 16/02/2012 06:02pm, Kavey wrote:

It's hard to know without asking the original author of the recipe...

For me, puree usually does refer to tomato puree, that one can buy under that name from the supermarket. And you can get regular or double concentrated varieties.

Passata is liquidised tomato, again, you can buy it that way from the shops, or could liquidise tinned or fresh tomatoes for something similar.

And then you have tinned tomatoes, either whole or chopped.

And of course, fresh.

What is the source of your recipe, so we can see if we can work it out?

Who is the author?

Kavey

On 16/02/2012 07:02pm, Guest wrote:

If you google "dhaba mutton curry" it's the first one you'll see. Sorry I couldn't paste the website here. I access the internet using my old mobile phone. I do think using tomato puree like you get in a uk supermarket would be too much though.

On 16/02/2012 08:02pm, Askcy wrote:

just searched and indeed it does say 1cup... and the second recipe you get if you search says 2 cups !!

Steve

On 16/02/2012 08:02pm, Askcy wrote:

and another just says use 1 large tomato !

Steve

On 16/02/2012 08:02pm, Lapis wrote:

I'd use just a tin of toms. I wouldn't add chilli powder to the onions, it might

burn, in fact I'd use fresh green chilles. And I don't understand the note about not adding the toms 'til the mutton has cooked, in fact the toms need to be cooked out. And no sprinkles of garam masala?

On 17/02/2012 12:02am, Heather wrote:

Recipes do sometimes use the term 'tomato puree' to mean pureed canned or fresh tomatoes, while the other stuff is much more correctly called tomato concentrate or tomato paste, both of which give a much clearer idea of what is meant. My strong belief is that the pureed but not concentrate kind is what is meant here.

On 17/02/2012 02:02am, Mamta wrote:

If you read the recipe, it is from a 'Dhaba', a fast food, road side restaurant in India. These places cook delicious food with whatever fresh ingredients are available/in season, even using yoghurt when tomatoes are expensive. I would be very surprised if they would have used tomato puree as we know it. I am sure they mean pureed fresh tomatoes. I would use pureed fresh tomatoes, a cup of bought 'puree' will be too much for 500 gm meat in my opinion.

The recipe is not that different from others, except for the order of adding ingredients perhaps.

Mamta

On 17/02/2012 12:02pm, Winton wrote:

I love tomatoes but a cup (half a pint) of condensed pureed tomatoes sounds horrific!

I'd just go for a tin of tomatoes by preference. I'm sure a couple of tablespoons of puree would be suitable as well though.

On 17/02/2012 12:02pm, Lapis wrote:

my first meal in India was in a dhaba, but not a real one, just a restaurant made to look like one, complete with the little crude bed, meant for tired truckers. The kitchen was very gruby, just like the real ones, I found out later. Alhough I visitd a few, I couldn't bring myself to eat anything in them.

On 17/02/2012 01:02pm, phil wrote:

I see we've been using the French term 'pur?e' in two slightly different ways in our household here in France. On the one hand, it means mashed potatoes, with butter added. On the other, it's what we call the double concentrated tomato paste we buy in tubes, for use in a Chinese dish.

Yes, a cup of double-concentrated tomato paste whould be way too much. And yes, anything with a tomato-based sauce needs to be properly cooked. Some of the tomato stuff they put on pizzas here in France is way under-cooked, and tastes bitter.

We use a lot of tinned plum tomatoes, but not in Mamta's delicious chicken jalfrezi: you really need fresh tomatoes for that.

On 17/02/2012 02:02pm, Rajneesh wrote:

That tubed tomato paste is too concentrated. I use tinned plum tomatoes to slowy cook lamb curry in and would use a spoonful of tubed paste just because i happen to have it in the refrigerator.

On 17/02/2012 06:02pm, phil wrote:

Yes, Rajneeseh, I also use tinned plum tomatoes for Indian sauces: the paste is too concentrated for that purpose.

But I use that tomato paste from a tube for a Chinese sweet and sour recipe by Yan-Kit So, which contains Worcester sauce, soy sauce, sugar and vinegar. There's a somewhat similar mix suggested by Mamta for her barbecued meats marinade.

Phil

On 17/02/2012 10:02pm, Winton wrote:

and for the ubiquitous Chicken Tikka Masala (CTM) you can use a can of 'Condensed Cream of Tomato' soup!

On 18/02/2012 05:02pm, phil wrote:

Oh my god! Sounds dreadful!

On 18/02/2012 09:02pm, Winton wrote:

Afraid Phil Chicken Tikka masala has been found to be the most popular dish in British restaurants!

Perhaps not a coincidence that 57.3 millions cans of (heinz alone) tomato soup were sold last January in the UK (enough to fill 9 olympic sized swimming pools)

All comfort food for the Great British public?

On 18/02/2012 10:02pm, Guest wrote:

Thanks for the replies. I ended up using a tin of chopped tomatoes and I couldn't find green garlic so I used spring onions/scallions instead. I followed the advice about not frying the chilli powder with the onions and the end result was gorgeous. Will be making again. Thanks!

On 19/02/2012 02:02am, Mamta wrote:

I am glad it worked out.

On 19/02/2012 02:02pm, phil wrote:

Yes, Winton, they say that chicken tikka massala has displaced fish and chips as the THE British national dish. Sadly, most of it bears no resemnblance to proper Indian food (our kids had some in a motorway service station some years ago: it looked like Indian food, but had NO spices whatsoever in it).

Properly cooked chips, made from the right potatoes, and good fish in a light batter, is surely preferable to that kind of thing.

Phil

On 19/02/2012 02:02pm, Martin wrote:

When it is clear that the recipe actually asks for tomato puree, (-you know the thickish paste) I've been using sun dried tomato puree for meals that have considerable mixed flavours and it makes a world of difference! I probably would use ordinary tomato puree for tomato sauces say, for pasta & salsas.

Give it a go!

Martin

On 20/02/2012 02:02am, Mamta wrote:

Sun dried tomato puree is more tasty than ordinary one, though a little more expensive.

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