Basic Curried Tomato Sauce – no fat added

This is the basic curried tomato sauce that I made often. You can add low fat coconut milk or cashew cream if your fat budget allows. ;-) I like it just as well without the fat and whether I add fat is a function of what we had to eat earlier in the day. You can make this sauce a day or two in advance and reheat it on top of the stove with some fresh veggies tossed in. If you keep cooked brown rice in the refrigerator you can have dinner on the table in 15 minutes or less. Here is what I did today:

Basic Curried Tomato Sauce – no fat added
Makes 4 servings approximately 8 ounces each

Ingredients:

1 cup yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic, smashed, peeled and finely minced (approximately 1 tablespoon)
1 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated or finely minced (if organic I don’t bother to peel just thoroughly scrub)
½ cup water to sauté aromatics
14 ounces tomato sauce
2 cups tomatoes, peeled and diced
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon coriander seed, toasted
½ teaspoon cumin seed, toasted
½ teaspoon black mustard seed, toasted
1 dash asafoetida (aka hing)
1 dash cardamom, ground
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (increases the absorption of the turmeric so be generous)
1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
sea salt to taste

Directions:

Water sauté the onions, garlic and ginger until just beginning to soften, approximately 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for thirty minutes stirring occasionally. Taste the sauce for flavor and adjust to your taste. Remember that the overall flavor of the dish will be diluted by the plain veggies and rice you add. I tend to make my sauce on the spicy side knowing that it will be tamed by the other ingredients.

Allow the sauce to cool and store in a tightly sealed container until needed.

To serve add fresh veggies (carrots, potatoes, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, shredded kale, shredded cabbage, mushrooms or anything really) and until they are warmed through. We like this over brown rice, quinoa, millet or even pasta. Sometimes I finish it with sliced almonds, other times I add a few roasted cashews. You can also top with a dollop of cashew crème fraiche. I also like to sprinkle it with parsley or cilantro just before serving.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 66.45
Calories From Fat (9%) - 5.79

Total Fat - 0.69g
Saturated Fat - 0.1g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 527.5mg
Potassium - 637.63mg
Total Carbohydrates - 14.45g
Fiber - 3.63g
Sugar - 8.38g
Protein - 2.97g

Comments:

I have loved Indian food since college. My best friend was from Madras and she introduced me to spicy southern Indian food. As a teenager that grew up in Indiana I was not too familiar with Indian food but it grew on me very quickly. As much as I love Indian food when you order it out it frequently contains a lot of fat, frightening amounts actually. However when you make it at home you have control over the amount of fat in the dish. This sauce has great flavor and no added fat. I think it is wonderful example that healthy no oil added food can have big voluptuous flavor and be good for you. Veggies enrobed in this sauce are always tasty.

Unrelated note:

It is a very odd feeling to have dinner almost finished and I haven’t had lunch yet. Dan is going to get home tonight wondering who I am and what I have done with his wife. ;-) We have been having huge salads for dinner almost everything night for the last week. It really felt like we needed a little cooked food for change. Of course we will be having a green salad on the side to go with our cooked food. In the old days I used to make a curried vinaigrette that we both liked. I will need to come up with an Indian flavored salad dressing for our dinner tonight. As soon as I figure out what this means I will be back to share the recipe.