Tomatoes are ubiquitous in Indian kitchens. We may come from any region, culture or background, but these little red blobs of juice keep our food and energy going. There are so many region-specific delicacies based on tomatoes, be it shorba or rasam, thick or light gravies, stir-fries and dips, chutneys and achaars, eaten year-round.
At their best, the tomatoes are fresh, ripe and juicy, with their squishy, plump pulp that creates the typical umami flavour that is so important to deliver an amazing result. Dish after dish, we wish to maintain the consistency of the "wow factor" as we serve it on a platter. But as any seasoned or even amateur chef has observed, if the quality of the tomatoes varies, which they do, because after all, it's a natural and seasonal product (sometimes we get a softer red variety, sometimes we get more of the tight green-patched ones), then the final taste of the dish can be remarkably different from one recipe to the next.
Plus, there is always the factor of time! But there is a common solution to take care of all these and more!