Stuffed tomatoes are easy enough to make on a busy weeknight and elegant enough to serve at a dinner party. They don’t require much effort to make (especially if you use my tip to hollow out tomatoes) and will get you plenty of praise from family and friends.
We’re Stuffing Tomatoes with Potatoes!
Think of these Indian spiced stuffed tomatoes as tomato samosas — juicy red tomato vessels filled with a bright, tangy, spicy potato filling.
This recipe is also known as bharwa tamatar, which means stuffed tomatoes. It’s vegan and gluten-free, two things that many stuffed tomato recipes are not. If you are vegan or are hosting someone who is, this is such a stunning dish to make. It’s sure to impress.
“This recipe is so flavorful! I’ve been wanting to try it out all summer and now that tomato season is ending I finally made the time. Why did I wait so long?! The combination of warm spices and tangy tomato is perfect and so much lighter than most stuffed tomato recipes. I love the idea of using potato instead of a grain for the filling- brilliant!”
Sarah
How to Make Stuffed Tomatoes:
Prepare the tomatoes: pick ripe, firm tomatoes of similar size with flat bottoms – they’ll be easier to work with. Slice the tops off, then scoop out the insides of the tomato. Save everything you scoop into a bowl – the pulp, seeds, water, etc.
- Tip: If you have a melon baller, use that to scoop – it makes the process so easy!
Make the stuffing: first, you need to boil potatoes – I like to boil potatoes in the instant pot. Then, we’ll make the spiced potato filling using onions, all of the insides of the tomatoes, boiled potatoes, and a combination of spices including tangy amchur and roasted cumin powder. The result: a flavorful, tangy, spicy filling.
Time to Bake: fill the tomatoes with the potato filling, put the tomato caps back on, and bake. That’s it!
What to Serve with Stuffed Tomatoes?
Stuffed tomatoes are hearty enough to stand alone as a meatless main, but if you’re having guests, I would suggest serving it as either an appetizer or as one of several main dishes.
I also suggest serving the tomatoes with a side of Indian flatbread or rice. Here are a few ideas:
These Indian spiced stuffed tomatoes taste as good as they look! Give this recipe a try and let me know what you think. 🙂
Ingredients
- 1 pound gold potatoes
- 6 large tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 onion diced
- 1 green chili minced (remove seeds for less spicy filling)
Spices:
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon amchur dried green mango powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- ½ teaspoon roasted cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ÂĽ teaspoon black pepper
- â…› teaspoon cayenne to taste
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- 2 tablespoons chopped mint
Instructions
- Boil potatoes (I use this Instant Pot method to boil potatoes), then remove the peel, add them to a bowl, and mash – it’s fine to leave small lumps of potato, it doesn’t need to be smooth. Set aside for now.
- Slice the tops off the tomatoes and set them aside. Remove the insides of the tomato with a spoon or melon baller and place them into a bowl.
- Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat, then add cumin seeds. Once the cumin seeds turn brown, add onions and green chili and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the edges of the onion begin to brown.
- Increase the heat to medium-high and add the tomato pulp/juice to the pan and cook for 10 minutes. Keep the stirring to a minimum to allow the tomatoes to reduce.
- Turn off the heat, add the boiled potatoes and spices and mix well. Then, add lemon juice, cilantro, and mint and mix well. Let the mixture cool down.
- Once cool, stuff the tomatoes with the filling, then place the tomato cap on top. Place the stuffed tomatoes in a casserole dish.
- Drizzle oil on the tomatoes (about half teaspoon oil per tomato) and sprinkle each tomato with a pinch of salt.
- Bake at 400F for 25 minutes.
Sarah says
Hey Ashley,
This recipe is so flavorful! I’ve been wanting to try it out all summer and now that tomato season is ending I finally made the time. Why did I wait so long?! The combination of warm spices and tangy tomato is perfect and so much lighter than most stuffed tomato recipes. I love the idea of using potato instead of a grain for the filling- brilliant!
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Thanks, Sarah! I’m so glad you made it and liked it so much! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you 🙂