Tamatar ka Lep (Tomato Sauce)

Usually when I need tomato sauce I either wing it or make something based on one of my go-to pizza sauce recipes. I'm also not averse to buying ready-made tomato sauce depending on how much I need and how much effort I feel like putting in. And, occasionally, when I need tomato sauce for an Indian dish, I'll make something based on the spiced tomato sauce recipe that Iyer provides in 660 Curries.

Unfortunately, his recipe takes the approach of adding some ghee and spices to a ready-made tomato sauce. And, frankly, if I'm going to the effort making an Indian-spiced sauce, I don't want to also have to buy a ready-made sauce. Ready-made sauces are for when I'm feeling too lazy to make something myself.

So I usually end up starting with a tin of crushed tomatoes (or purée some whole tomatoes), add a few of my own seasonings, and go from there.

It's generally a little bit different every time. Usually it involves some form of garlic and onions, a bit of salt, pepper (if I remember), and whatever else sounds good to me at the time. I ended up tossing a bit of bottle masala in this time because I figured that was a nice, complex spice blend that would help make up for the fact that I was starting with plain, unseasoned tomatoes. I think, in the past, I've also tossed in Italian seasoning (since most commercial tomato sauce available here tends to be vaguely Italian). The point is, you've got options. I'm just writing something down here to give an idea of some of them.

Tamatar ka Lep

Adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1-2 Tbsp. ghee
• 12 green cardamom pods
• 4 bay leaves
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 1 (828mL) can crushed tomatoes
• 1-2 tsp. ground Kashmiri chilies
• 1/2 tsp. dhania-jeera masala
• 1 tsp. bottle masala
• 1-2 tsp. fried garlic or garlic paste
• 1-2 tsp. fried onion
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt (or to taste)
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground

Directions

1. Heat the ghee over medium heat.
2. Add the cardamom pods, bay leaves, and cinnamon sticks and sizzle for 1-2 minutes.
3. Add the crushed tomatoes and sprinkle in the chilies, masalas, garlic, onion, salt, pepper, and/or whatever other herbs and spices you'd like to use.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the oil begins to separate (25-30 minutes).
5. Remove cardamom pods, bay leaves, and cinnamon sticks before using/serving.
6. Sauce should keep in the fridge for ~2 weeks.