I like to cook variety of dishes. Sometimes, I find myself not having all the ingredients for a particular dish so I end up improvising. I might replace one veggie/item with another like potatoes instead of paneer/cottage cheese etc. Whatever I feel will work well for a particular dish. It does help save a lot of extra cash but sometimes the taste is compromised. What about you?
I find myself doing this almost all the time as I am always running out of veggies or a particular ingredient before I am able to go grocery shopping again. Sometimes a dish asks for corn for example and a replace it with beans or sometimes it asks for squash and I use potato instead. This is a good method incase other ingredients are more expensive than others so one can use alternatives.
I think that this is something most of us who cook meals have had to do, at least sometimes. I will think that I have everything that I need to make a certain dish or recipe, and then once I start , I realize that i am all out of something or another. So, then I have to improvise, and ask myself what else might work instead of the ingredient that I do not have. I am also learning to substitute on purpose for some foods that I have decided are not healthy for me to eat any more. Potatoes , as an example. Potatoes are one of the most inflammatory foods, and as a senior, I sometimes struggle with arthritis and joint pain. I sure fo NOT need to eat something that will cause inflammation in my joints and even more pain ! So, I am learning that most of the time, I can substitute cauliflower, which is a very healthy vegetable, has less carbohydrates and calories than a potato, and is not at all going to give me an arthritis flare-up.
I had been using sweet potatoes ,Taro and Yam in place of potatoes because they are much more healthier than potatoes. Chili leaves is a great replacement for basil. I have my own garden and I grow my own chilis. It is hard to find basil leaves in my area but I love making Pesto. I used mushroom powder made from dehydrated mushroom as replacement of MSG, it achieves the umami taste without the headaches caused by MSG.
My wife is a very resourceful cook. Every time when she couldn't get the veggies she needs for our viand for the day, she could readily replace them. Like for example, a potato for an ingredient, she could replace it with cassava; an eggplant for a papaya, among others. I don't think if the cost really matters. Veggies in our place are very costly.
As I have told that I am not into cooking much but I have tried replacement of ingredient for couple of dishes. Like I am fond of Cauliflower Manchurian and I know how to cook it. In fact I like the way I cook it rather than it's cooked as per its original recipe. I prefer it with lots of broccoli, cabbage and onions. I grill cauliflower rather than deep frying it and then mix rest of the vegetables (not necessarily according to original recipe).
