Red Lentil and Bulgur Patties
Mercimek köftesi combines soft red lentils, fine bulgur and herbs in hand-shaped patties served on lettuce.
The Turkish pantry
Tomato paste
Tomato paste is concentrated tomato, with salt-free canned paste and salted salça among the forms.
Last updated:
Concentrated tomato paste. The nutrition reference is canned paste without added salt; salted salça and pepper paste are separate forms.
Types & forms
Tomato paste
Concentrated tomato flavor with less water than purée.
Salted tomato salça
Check the salt before seasoning the dish.
Pepper paste · comparison
Made from peppers, not tomatoes.
What to look for when buying
- Choose tomato paste when the recipe specifies it, checking added salt.
- A tube, jar or can describes packaging rather than a guaranteed concentration.
Prepare & cook
- Measure the concentrated paste rather than replacing it spoon-for-spoon with passata.
- Cook it with the onion or other ingredients at the recipe’s stated stage.
Store it well
- Refrigerate opened paste according to the label.
- Use a clean spoon and freeze small portions if the product instructions permit.
Substitutions depend on the dish
Tomato purée
Adds more liquid and less concentrated flavor; the recipe will need adjustment.
Nutrition
Tomato products, canned, paste, without salt added (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program) [1]
| Nutrient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 82 kcal |
| Protein | 4.32 g |
| Total fat | 0.47 g |
| Saturated fat | 0.1 g |
| Carbohydrate | 18.9 g |
| Dietary fiber | 4.1 g |
| Total sugars | 12.2 g |
| Sodium | 59 mg |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg |
| Calcium | 36 mg |
| Iron | 2.98 mg |
| Potassium | 1,010 mg |
| Vitamin D | 0 µg |
Canned tomato paste without added salt. Salted salça and different concentrations may have different values. Values are rounded for readability; “not reported” does not mean zero. A “<” value is below the source’s measurement limit.
Nutrition values come from the reference source named above. They are published reference values, not our own measurements. Actual products and cooking methods may change the values.
At the Turkish table
Tomato paste colors and seasons our mercimek köftesi. It is not interchangeable with the fresh tomato in piyaz.
Cook with Tomato paste
Aksaray Tava
Small pieces of lamb baked with tomatoes, green peppers and whole garlic in a rich tomato and pepper sauce, served with warm lavaş.
Baked Lentil Dumplings (Home Version)
Small, closed lentil dumplings baked first until golden, then finished in hot water. Serve with garlic yogurt and red-pepper butter, with extra yogurt and herbs on the side.
Bread with Beef and Garlic Yogurt
Warm pide topped with garlic-mint yogurt, ground beef in tomato sauce and red-pepper butter.
Bulgur Salad
Fine bulgur coated with tomato and pepper pastes, lemon, pomegranate molasses and fresh herbs.
Chicken Skewers
Yogurt-marinated chicken thighs grilled with peppers and served on warm lavash.
Cornmeal Soup with Croutons
A smooth cornmeal and milk soup served with tomato-paste sauce and butter-toasted bread cubes.
Denizli Stuffed Dried Eggplant
Dried eggplant shells filled with beef, rice and currants, gently cooked in a tomato-and-pepper sauce. Currant-filled dried eggplant is associated with Denizli. This home version uses onion, herbs and mixed tomato and pepper pastes; local variations exist.
Eggplant and Beef Casserole
Roasted eggplant layered with minced beef and tomato, with an optional chickpea variation. The optional chickpeas reflect a documented Afyonkarahisar variation. This oven adaptation roasts the eggplant instead of frying it and has no béchamel topping.
Eggplant Stuffed with Meat
Soft eggplants filled with beef, onion, peppers and tomato, baked in a light tomato sauce.
Eggplant-Wrapped Meatballs
Individual meatballs wrapped in crossed eggplant strips and baked with tomato and pepper caps.
Green Lentil and Noodle Soup
An Afyon soup of whole green lentils and thin dried erişte noodles, with onion, tomato paste and flour. A little mint butter can be spooned over each bowl.