How Eateries Are Altering Recipes As Tomato Goes Out Of Menu In Tamil Nadu

The hike in tomato prices, caused by heavy rains disrupting supplies, has hit food joints in Chennai.

Ranjitham, a daily wager earning six thousand rupees a month in Tamil Nadu's Villupuram district, has completely cut tomatoes from her menu as tomato prices crossed Rs 200 a kilo, a four-fold rise in just three weeks.

Now she doesn't prepare the favourite rice and sambar with tomatoes for her college going son. Instead, she prepares tamarind rice that doesn't require the use of tomatoes.

"Without tomatoes, I make rasam and mashed greens. I also alternately prepare lemon rice, tamarind rice or curd rice without using tomatoes,'' Ranjitham tells NDTV