You know that crucial ingredient in my tomato-onion masala? The tomatoes? Well, I got rid of them! If you love Indian food but can’t eat tomatoes, this nomato onion masala is going to change your life.
I’m sharing a tomato-less version of my onion masala! This nomato onion masala is for those of you who can’t eat tomatoes or nightshades.
Now you can make my super simple, pour-and-cook recipes from my onion masala series using this tomato-less onion masala!
“This recipe is a game changer! My partner can’t eat tomatoes due to histamine intolerance, so I’m excited to be able to cook Indian food again. I made this tonight and was shocked by how similar it tasted to tomato onion masala.”
Audrey
What is Nomato Onion Masala?
So what is nomato onion masala (for those who skipped right to this section and didn’t read a word above…)? It’s basically my onion masala sauce but without tomatoes, hence NO-mato masala.
And y’all. It’s bomb (translation: really really good!).
This nomato masala somehow tastes nearly identical to my original recipe and to be completely honest… even I’m surprised. 🤷🏽♀️I didn’t expect this tomato-free masala to be this good.
Yep. No tomatoes in here. ⬇️
You’re probably thinking “okay Ashley. you’re telling me that a bunch of carrots, an apple and a couple beets somehow taste like tomatoes?”
I know… BUT YOU GUYS. JUST TRUST ME. Somehow, these ingredients, when combined with tamarind paste and the right spices… well, it works!
Truthfully, the first time I made this, I was fully expecting this recipe to bomb (the non-millennial meaning of bomb, like, fail).
But it’s amazing. It really does taste just as good as my tomato version.
“Ashley is a genius! Indian foods have long been my favorites, but since my diet is now free of dairy and tomatoes, my options were very limited. This masala is an amazing foundation for so many of the recipes on the site and it makes the food preparation faster than picking up carry out. Seriously!”
Chance
Over the years, I’ve gotten many requests for tomato-free Indian recipes.
When I first shared my onion masala series on the blog, many of my tomato-free readers told me how much they loved the idea and wished they had a tomato-free option.
Well, now that exists!
Whether you’re allergic to tomatoes or can’t handle their acidity or can’t tolerate nightshades or are following an autoimmune diet or well – whatever your reason for avoiding tomatoes – you can now make my nomato masala and create delicious Indian recipes in a fraction of the time.
“Thank you so much for this recipe! I was devastated when I found out tomatoes are extremely high in histamine and were making my mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) worse. This stuff tastes almost indistinguishable from your regular masala and it’s made me discover I like beets way more than I thought I did!”
Anjelica
Nomato Onion Masala Ingredients:
To make this masala, you will need the following ingredients (for the full list/amounts, see the recipe card below):
- Onions: for that necessary caramelized onion flavor
- Beets: for color and sweetness
- Carrots: for their mild sweet flavor and texture
- Apple: for natural sweetness and to help cut some of the earthy flavor from the beets
- Tamarind paste: for the tanginess that tomatoes usually give a dish. Tamarind concentrate can vary by brand so I suggest adding this into the finished masala sauce 1 teaspoon at a time, tasting the sauce in between. I use and love this tamarind sauce – my recipe calls for 3 teaspoons which is the perfect amount of tang.
- Spices: the ones listed below are nightshade free, but if you can handle cayenne or paprika, feel free to add those two spices to taste.
I have a feeling that this recipe is forgiving. So if you want to reduce the beets, you can probably use more carrots instead. Or if you don’t want to use carrots, you can try pumpkin puree or some kind of squash. But if you want a foolproof recipe, try it the way I’ve written below.
Why make a tomato-less onion masala?
This recipe isn’t for those of you who can eat tomatoes. It’s for those of you who can’t.
There’s no reason to avoid tomatoes unless you have to avoid them. If you are perfectly happy eating tomatoes, please don’t for a second feel like I’m telling you to stop eating them. I personally love tomatoes. But as I’ve learned, there are many people out there who cannot tolerate tomatoes and some who cannot tolerate nightshades at all. This tomato-free onion masala is for this particular group of people.
Why am I sharing this kind of recipe? When I first started my blog six-ish years ago, I was navigating some health issues and while I’m mostly good now (still have to eat gluten-free), I can understand wanting to eat in a way that doesn’t cause pain.
If you or a loved one can’t eat a certain food group or a commonly used ingredient, I feel for you. And if you’re Indian and can’t eat tomatoes, well gosh, I really feel terrible for you. I hope that this recipe makes your life a little easier.
The following recipes have been tested using this nomato masala in place of my regular onion masala:
I will update this list as I test more recipes, though I am fairly certain this masala can be used in any recipe.
The great thing about this masala is that since it’s already cooked, you can always add more of it to a finished dish if you feel that it needs even more flavor.
- Corn Kadai
- Green Moong Dal
- Easy Indian Shakshuka
- Tawa Paneer
- Toor Dal — I suggest adding an extra ¼ cup of nomato masala to this for more flavor – though it will slightly change the color of the dal.
You can find a full list of my onion masala recipes here. Note that not all of these recipes will be suitable for those following a strict nightshade-free diet – feel free to adapt or make up your own recipes using this masala as well.
How and why to freeze this masala?
I freeze this masala in this silicone tray (the same way that I freeze my regular onion masala). Each little container is ¼ cup which makes it easy to measure and use in my onion masala recipes.
Spend a little time making this masala one day then freeze it and use it in pour/cook and easy stir-fry recipes on busy nights. Having this handy will make cooking healthy Indian food a breeze.
Time for a quick story. When I first made this tomato-less masala, I used it to make my Corn Kadai. My (very) picky husband ate it and didn’t even notice! The second he finished his last bite, I immediately blurted out that there were no tomatoes in the corn kadai. I told him all about my nomato masala and he was surprised and said, “that has to go on the blog.” I know you guys don’t really know my husband (or if you’ve read my blog long enough, maybe you do, ha) but he keeps it (a little too) real. You can trust that this masala is going to be good.
Let me know what you think of this nomato masala, my tomato-free friends!
Indian Nomato Onion Masala (Instant Pot)
Indian Nomato Onion Masala (Instant Pot)
Ingredients
- ½ cup oil neutral oil like avocado oil is great
- 2 pounds yellow onions diced
- 1 head garlic chopped
- 2- inch ginger chopped
- 1 pound carrots
- 1 apple cored and chopped
- 1 pound medium beets, scrub/rinse well but leave unpeeled
- ½ cup water
Add later:
- 3 teaspoons tamarind paste
- 3 tablespoons ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Instant Pot Directions:
- Press the sauté button on the instant pot and add the oil to the pot. Wait for the oil to get hot, then add the onions and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned (keep the stirring to a minimum in the beginning to brown the onions faster. As the onions brown, stir more frequently).
- Add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.
- Stir the bottom of the pot to scrape off any brown bits, if you have trouble with this, turn off the instant pot and let the onions sit for a few minutes, then try to scrape again.
- Add the carrots, apple and water to the pot and stir.
- Place a trivet in the pot (this is the one I use) and then place unpeeled beets on top of the trivet (if the beets seem very large, you can cut them in half).
- Secure the lid, close the pressure valve and cook for 15 minutes at high pressure.
- Naturally release pressure (if the valve hasn’t dropped on its own after 25 minutes, open to release any remaining pressure)
- Remove the trivet and the beets from the pot. Once the beets are cool enough to handle, remove the peels (they should easily slide off). Put the beets back into the pot.
- Blend the masala using a blender or ideally, an immersion blender.
- Stir in the spices and mix well, then add the tamarind paste 1 teaspoon at a time, tasting the sauce until it reaches your desired level of tanginess (different brands can vary in sourness – I use and love this tamarind paste and feel that 3 teaspoons is perfect).
- Once the masala is cool, I store it using this silicone mold which holds ¼ cup of onion masala per mold.
- Use this tomato-free onion masala in my recipes calling for onion masala. See the blog post for recipes that I’ve tested using this nomato masala.
How to make this on the stovetop
- If you’d like to make this on the stovetop, follow the directions above but rather than pressure cooking just cook the vegetables until tender and then blend. You’ll want to peel and chop the beets if you make it this way.
Notes
- I recommend the recipe as written but feel free to adjust the spices according to your diet.
- If you can tolerate nightshades, feel free to add 1 tablespoon paprika and ¼ teaspoon cayenne along with the other spices.
Francine says
Hi Ashley!
My son has a bunch of allergies including peanut/tree nut and soy, and as I’m looking for a tamarind paste I see a lot of them are “processed on shared equipment “. Could I use tamarind powder instead? And if so, do you have a suggestion on the amount if I substitute? Thank you!
Ps – We love your traditional onion masala recipes, andncant wait to try them out with this nomato option with our little guy!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Francine, check our Pure Indian Foods (a small business with amazing products) – you can send them an email and I bet the owner will let you know if their tamarind paste is safe – it’s the best one out there and organic too. He used to be super available when I’d email him in the past so I hope he can help you. I haven’t tried tamarind powder but if it’s safe for your kiddo then that’s what I’d use – I’m sure it’ll be just as tasty!
Audrey says
!!!!! This recipe is a game changer! My partner can’t eat tomatoes due to histamine intolerance, so I’m excited to be able to cook Indian food again. I made this tonight and was shocked by how similar it tasted to tomato onion masala.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Audrey, I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks for letting me know how much you like this 🙂
Tracie says
This is very tasty! Looking forward to using it a lot. One question, though. Tamarind paste is not something I’ve ever used, but after a bit of searching I was able to find a store that sells it. Is it usual for tamarind paste to have hard bits in it? It was not what I expected in something that says “paste”.
Kamala says
Nomato masala ! No dietary issues here, but the person who cooks – me – is Tired of Tomato in sooo many things. Will be trying this when the farmers markets are in full swing later this summer.
Bern Heer says
This recipe is terrific. My wife is nightshade intolerant and loves spaghetti and meatballs. I made the sauce following your basic recipe except, instead of ginger, coriander and cumin, used Italian herbs. The tamarind paste is magical. Thanks for this fantastic recipe.
Z says
Wanted to double check before I make a batch, is it really 3 tablespoons of ground coriander? Or is it 3 teaspoons of ground coriander?
Thank you!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
It’s tablespoons 🙂
Shobha says
Hi Ashley, love your recipes. Do you have recipe for “no onion & no garlic masala”
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Thanks, Shobha! I don’t have an onion-free masala, sorry! Is there anything similar you can have? Shallots?
Sarah says
Love this so much!
And this may seem like a very foolish question, but how big an apple are we talking about? The reason I ask is that I have a few wrinkly ones that I need to get through. They are both pretty small but I’m not sure if I could use them in this recipe if two are too many.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Sarah, I’d say a medium apple but if you don’t mind the sauce a bit sweeter then you can always add more 🙂
Sarah says
Great – thank you so much!!
James says
Ashley’s no-mato onion masala is amazing. I have a potassium restricted diet, which means few to no tomatoes. This masala not only makes an excellent substitute for regular masalas in Indian dishes (I’ve lived in India, so I know what the authentic tastes are), but it also works for things like Italian red sauces, too. Ashley is a genius. Thanks for making this recipe available. It’s so versatile.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
James, I’m so glad to hear that you like this masala! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Sats says
Hi! Can steamed beets be used instead ? Thanks
Roberto Kamide says
I haven’t use this recipe because my problems with GERD but I may be able to if I can cut the 3/4 of the onions! Anyway, do you have curry recipes without any trace of 🌶 peppers! Thanks!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Roberto, you can always leave the chilies out – the recipes will still taste good!
Starlene @ GAPS Diet Journey says
I have used beets in place of tomatoes and they really do work well!! I will have to try this.
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Let me know what you think!
Chance says
Ashley is a genius! Indian foods have long been my favorites, but since my diet is now free of dairy and tomatoes, my options were very limited. This masala is an amazing foundation for so many of the recipes on the site and it makes the food preparation faster than picking up carry out. Seriously! Since I like to add coconut milk in creamy recipes, I use all butternut squash for this recipe so that the dishes don’t have a pink hue (my experience using nomato sauces + cream). I doubled the recipe and my 6qt cooker struggled to keep up, I think because some of the onion bits stuck to the bottom. I ended up scooping out half, cooking, trading out the other half, cooking and then mixing in a big bowl to puree so that I would have a huge batch for the freezer. (User error, not recipe error. Just letting others know that you *can* double the recipe, but you may have to be creative.) Thank you!!!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Thanks, Chance! Happy to hear you’re enjoying this masala and making recipes with it 🙂
Jayeeta Mukherjee says
Wow! Wow! Wow! This. Is. A. Gamechanger!!! I have been trying to use less and less night-shades in my diet and would never have thought of incorporating beets and apples in place of tomatoes! This is genius! Thank you Ashley. I will make this in the very near future for sure!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Thanks, Jayeeta! I can’t wait to hear what you think of this masala!
Angelica says
Thank you so much for this recipe! I was devastated when I found out tomatoes are extremely high in histamine and were making my mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) worse. This stuff tastes almost indistinguishable from your regular masala and it’s made me discover I like beets way more than I thought I did!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Angelica, I’m so glad you like this recipe and are finding it useful! Happy to hear that you like it so much 🙂 And yes, beets are the best! Especially when fresh!
Crystal says
Veteran maker of several batches of the tomato version onion masala here. We can have nightshade veg, but I decided to try the recipe because I was out of onion masala and I had a bunch of CSA beets hanging around needing a delicious purpose. First, neither I nor my family could tell the difference in the toor dal I made last night with the nomato masala. I think one could confidently use it in any of the recipes for the tomato onion masala. Second, if you haven’t tasted the “original” version, it might be hard to tell how much tamarind you need “to taste.” You are looking to replace the sweet-tartness of the stewed tomatoes, so use enough you can tell it’s there. Locally, I can get a syrup-like tamarind concentrate (which I used this time at right around 3 tsp) or a more thin liquid version. I would guess the thin tamarind might take 2-3 Tablespoons for this recipe. Finally, between caramelizing the onions and the tomato based sauce, I had done a lot of trial and error to avoid a burn notice on my instant pot with the old recipe. (I have an 8 qt, and they are prone to tantrums, not Ashley’s recipe’s fault at all!) This version was error-free first try! Thank you for the great, time-saving and veg-filled recipe!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Hi Crystal, that’s awesome! Love that you made this and that your family couldn’t tell a difference between the two 🙂 Thanks for sharing your experience with making this – I know it will be helpful for other readers.
Julie says
Ashley you are so kind and smart!! Thank you for sharing!!
My Heart Beets says
Thanks, Julie! Glad you find this useful 🙂
Renita Sathasivam says
This has been an absolute life-saver. Thanks for sharing such a gem with us.
My Heart Beets says
Renita, that’s really great to hear! Thanks for letting me know how much you like the onion masala 🙂
Dana Chiu says
This is an excellent recipe! I could only make half a recipe because that’s all the ingredients I had. Used 1 beet that weighed 5.9 oz. after peeling (just short of 8 oz.). I wish I would have grated or shredded the beet (instead of dicing) because I ended up having to simmer it on the stovetop for over an hour. I used shredded carrots so they would have cooked in the same amount of time. For half the recipe, I used 1 T. tamarind paste…genius!! The spices added at the end were perfection! My SIL and daughter were thrilled. I included some of this in an Indian Butter Chicken recipe.
My Heart Beets says
Dana, I’m so glad you and your family liked this 🙂
Esther says
Thank you for this fantastic recipe, Ashley. I used it as inspiration to create a Nomato NoOnion Masala because tomatoes, onions and garlic trigger severe acid reflux for my husband. I used garlic oil to saute 6 cups of leek greens and then proceeded with your recipe. I then made your Instant Pot Chicken Curry and it was delicious. It was very close to the curry that my Dad used to make, which was a family favourite. it brought back such lovely memories!
Thank you for going to the effort of creating an onion masala that people who can’t eat tomatoes can make.
My Heart Beets says
Esther, that is so great to hear, thank you for sharing! And great to know about the leeks – brilliant! I am sure this info will help others looking for an onion-free masala as well 🙂
Sumita says
Can I use pre-steamed/peeled beets to use in the masala?
My Heart Beets says
Hi Sumita, yes! If you use pre-cooked beets then you can reduce the cook time to 5 minutes with a natural release. Let me know what you think of this nomato masala 🙂